Pacific Rim
and Monsters University. A double movie feature. This can only mean one thing –
a double review. First up is Monsters University!
It’s been
12 years since we saw Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan storm onto the screen
scaring kids and collecting their screams. Now we get to see how they got
there. Before they were incorporated, they had to be educated. Cue feel good
movie about the geek vs the jock, who eventually team up to overcome the
problems of college. That’s pretty much the story and it’s massively generic,
yet still charming.
Most of the
charm comes from all the prettyful colours, and believe me, there are lots of
prettyful colours. There are more monsters in this film than in Monsters Inc,
and no two are the same. The amount of effort that must have gone into designing
this world and its inhabitants is ridiculous! There’s everything you can think
of, from the adorable, to the downright terrifying, (I’m not kidding, look up “The
Librarian”, I’m 18 soon, and it still gave me chills).
Admittedly,
the generic story could have been done better, and sure, Sully is a far more
lovable central character than Mike (who takes centre stage), but the
supporting characters (mainly the brotherhood of Oosma Kappa) really added some
fresh, new faces to the cast, and even characters like Randall are somewhat
likeable. Plus, there is a moment at the end that changes the feel of the film
altogether, replacing the colourful, vibrant world of Monster’s University
with...something else. At the risk of spoilers, my lips on the matter are
sealed.
As a teen
movie (which it can definitely be compared to), it can’t really stand as a
competitor, because the vulgar humour and dirty jokes that attract audiences to
this genre have to be dialled back, and on the one hand it provides an example
of why this sort of film shouldn’t be rated at any lower than a 15. On the
other hand, this ISN’T a teen movie. It
just resembles one. This is a Monster’s Inc prequel, and whilst it makes it a
great film for older fans with plenty of references, it’s also massively
accessible for a new, younger audience. Unfortunately for us a large population
of this younger audience were in the same theatre, so their shouting and
screaming sullied the experience a little...and yes, that pun was intended.
BUT! Let’s
not go into that now. Despite the distractions, the film was still enjoyable.
It wasn’t my favourite film this summer, but it fits as a worthy successor to
Monster’s Inc, and I do recommend it!
So! After
resisting the urge to shout at the unruly children, using language that would
probably mentally scar them for the rest of their lives, I left the cinema and
began preparation for movie number two. Pacific Rim. Now let me just tell you
about what I went through before I saw it. When I first saw the trailer, I
thought “Dear God...what is this? It looks awful”. The more I saw of it, the
more I didn’t want to watch it. Then the feedback came out, and people were
loving it! Saying how amazing it was! This confused me, because I couldn’t see
how it could be good. For this reason, it was curiosity more than anything else
that led me to the cinema.
Well. I don’t
think my initial judgement of a film has ever been so right; or so wrong.
Confused? You should be. Let me clear things up for you by splitting it in
half. Looking at the technicalities, this film is absolutely awful. Seriously,
one of the worst films of the year. It’s clichéd, badly written, and the acting
induced more cringes than an episode of Jackass. But ask yourself this: does
all of that really matter as long as it’s entertaining? Because if there’s one
word to describe Pacific Rim, that word is “entertaining”. From start to finish
I was truly enticed by the sheer intensity of it all. There’s no waiting
whatsoever. I was expecting to see an attack, then half a film of building,
then a massive showdown at the end. The first five minutes quickly sum up where
the Kaiju came from, and within 10 minutes, we’re already seeing a huge robot
punch a huge alien in the face.
As the film
goes on, the dialogue gets worse, the acting maintains that low that we see
right at the beginning (with the exception of Idris Elba who steals the show),
but the Kaiju get bigger, we see more Jaegers (the robots, not the drinks), and
battles involving 2 or 3 fighters on each side. Despite its numerous flaws, the
entire thing is absolutely spectacular, and I couldn’t help but smile watching
it! Besides, how can you not love a film featuring Ron Pearlman as a one-eyed
monster hunter with gold-tipped shoes? I just wouldn’t recommend it to anyone
who values their eardrums.
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