In Review: Pacific Rim

((((((((( Contains Spoilers ))))))))))
and possibly typos 
:P

So I went to the cinema to see Pacific Rim a couple nights ago. I’ve been mulling over this movie ever since. 

I’m just going to get right down to it.

Pacific Rim was incredible from a CGI, special effects stand point. The Kaijus and Jaegers were pure awesome. The weaponization of the machines—awesome. The elbow rocket and chain sword—awesome…I could go on, but I think you get my point. The battle scenes were huge taking place on the ground, in and under the water, even in the air. I got a kick out of seeing these mega mecha machines marching into the Pacific Ocean making it look like they were wading through the shallow end of the kiddie pool. And of course, I also really liked the concept of “drifting” with another person via a neural bridge as means to merge with the Jaeger. All of that was really cool. Another element that got me all kinds of excited was seeing Jaegers hailing from different countries, Australia, China, Russia, and the USA. Guillermo del Toro and his team did a superb job of personalizing each Jaeger to its country of origin. I also thought they did a great job of creating Pacific Rim Kaijus reminiscent of the original Kaiju films. Then there was the set of the Hong Kong facility that housed the Jaegers which was also incredible and had great attention to detail. And we even get to see a decent martial arts fight scene between Mako Mori (she was simply bad ass) and Raleigh Becket. 

However . . . there were several things that disappointed me about this film.

Lets start with the Jaegers. I was disappointed to see the Chinese Jaeger, Crimson Typhoon, get so little screen time. I thought it got taken down way too easily. I mean the thing has three arms and is piloted by triplets--COME ON. At the very least, it should have had a more honorable death. It would have also been fun to see the Jaegers take on the personalities of their pilots through their fighting styles. We kinda get a taste of that with the Russian Jaeger, Cherno Alpha, when it pounds the crap out of a Kaiju--all power, no finesse, just like I’d picture the Russian bear with a lost camper. But Cherno Alpha had very little screen time as well and was ripped to shreds shortly after Crimson Typhoon. *sigh* 

Also, I would have liked to have seen a Japanese Jaeger, just sayin…

Then there was the plot. In the film, the Kaijus are smart, adaptable and have a hive-like mind. Wouldn't this have prompted them to change their strategy when the two scientists drifted with the newborn? And I think the film could have expanded on why the Kaijus were after Newton, the scientist who drifted with the secondary brain. Unfortunately, the Kaijus never really did anything with him except for one that sorta licked Newton, but it wasn’t clear what that was all about. Honestly, the Kaiju should have just eaten him. 

Oh and a flare gun? Really guys? *shakes head*

The characters. Le grand sigh. This was by far the biggest bummer in this film. I never connect with any of the characters. Live or become Kaiju chewing gum, it didn’t matter to me. Could this be because I’m a heartless b****, OR is it because Pacific Rim cruelly lacked character development? Though highly debatable, (; I’m going with the latter. This film borrowed from many other science fiction movies and reminded me a lot of Armageddon, Independence Day, even Top Gun. But with all this potential, it never quite hit the mark. The rivalry between pilots Becket and Chuck could have easily been better developed with more trash talking between them (Maverick vs Iceman, anyone?). And the supposedly deep emotional connection between Becket and Mako I thought was terribly done and failed to convince me anything was really there. And remember when Bruce Willis sacrificed himself in Armageddon? I don’t know about you, but I shed my little tear. But when Stacker and Chuck blew up, I was like…meh, pass the chips. 

There was another point in the film where I felt pretty indifferent and that was during Mako’s traumatizing childhood memory when she drifts with Becket for the first time. At the end of that scene, we see her as a small child staring up at a Jaeger that just defeated the Kaiju that killed her family. Stacker, the pilot of the Jaeger, comes out and stands on top of his Jaeger (why the hell he’d do that in the first place I don’t know) like he’s Superman smiling down at little Mako (who is so far away she’s just a speck from where he’s standing, but I get I’m just being bitchy at this point). Anyway, he’s looking at her and she’s looking at him as if he’s some giant ice cream cone, and the whole scene is kinda cheesy. You know what would have been better? Having the Jaeger bend on one knee, put his hand down in front of little Mako, and have her climb into this massive metal hand and have him raise her up a la King Kong. Cliché? Absolutely. Effective? I think so. The scene could have also included a quick 5 second shot of Stacker in the Jaeger looking at the child with tenderness in his eyes and why not have him whisper a promise to be her protector for the rest of his life…or something like that. 

Which brings me to the dialogue. This movie had the potential for some great lines, peppered with humor but it fell short here as well. Honestly, there was some pretty bad lines in this film. The best ones were what you got in the trailer like, 

“…today, we are cancelling the apocalypse!” ç I thought that was pretty awesome. 

Overall, I think this film just needed to be a bit longer to carve out believable and more rounded characters. But don’t get me wrong, I didn’t regret the money spent on tickets or the time spent looking for a cinema that still had a showing in English. The 3D was well done and this film, of massive proportions, deserved to be watched on the big screen. But for the rest, damn, it could have been so much better.

Virgin Atlantic Has Restored My Faith in Airline Customer Service

My next few posts I'll be highlighting parts of my vacation. Some posts will be simple, others will be long (like this one), and some will be just photographs. Now, I know a few of you arn't the biggest fans of vacation posts so, I promise to keep out the cheesy pictures of my feet in the sand. Actually, no I won't. :P

****

Remember when TWA was the top airline in customer service? I don't. Actually, I did fly TWA when I was a wee one. The only thing I remember, since most of that time was spent nose first in the courtesy barf bag, was that passengers always applauded when the plane landed. My mom however, remembers TWA back when it was king of the sky. It was a time when flying was a luxury and it was fun. Unfortunately, when the company went belly up, customer service and the whole unique flying experienced died with it.  

Since then, I've done a bit of traveling and have had my share of flight delays, cancellations, damaged luggage, stolen items, and lost bags. And when my bags aren't the very last ones to tumble down the carousel, they've missed the connection flight. I remember a trip to the US few years ago. I was with my kids and we arrived at Dulles, exhausted, and cranky, only to find out our bags were lost. It took AIR FRANCE FIVE days to find and deliver our luggage. You know what I got for compensation? A care kit. You know, the ones with a comb, mini toothbrush, toothpaste, one-time use deodorant and socks. Because, nothing says 'we're sorry we fucked up and lost your bags' like an ugly pair of unisize socks. It's sad the number of times my bags have been delayed. Then, there was the time I was sick on the plane, suffering from Ménière disease, which is a nasty middle ear viral infection that causes spinning vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus. Basically, every time I turned my head, my world would go into a spin and make me throw up. Anyway, the whole flight was a nightmare and a few hours before landing in Paris, I asked the flight attendant if I could lie down. I was dehydrated, dizzy, and on the verge of passing out. You'd think that on a commercial airline, the plane would be equipped with a cot or some kind of drop-down bed for passenger with medical issues. Well, it was my luck that nothing like that was available so the flight crew laid me on the floor in between cabin sections. Worst flight ever, except for maybe the time I flew to California. That plane did an emergency landing in Texas due to problems with the plane's hydraulic system. And I wonder why I have visions of planes crashing to the ground in a fiery ball of Hell fire. 

Needless to say, I'm not a fan of flying. However, my tumultuous heart and fear of flying seems to have been quieted thanks to my recent flight over to the US. I had planned a family vacation, was on a tight budget, and needed to get four people from Paris, France to Orlando, Florida. For the first time, I chose to travel with Virgin Atlantic Airlines. And guess what? I actually enjoyed my flight. That hasn’t happen since I was . . . 

It all started in Manchester. While waiting to board the plane, all the kids received a tote bag that could be converted to a backpack. Inside were an activities booklet, Virgin baseball cap, a small digital watch, a pen, and a book. So, lesson number 1: you want happy passengers and parents flying on your plane? Give their kids gifts that keep them quiet and occupied. 

 Like the plastic, stylized purple utensils  
I stole found in my carry-on? (; I do.
Remember when airline cutlerly used to be metal? 

Then, there was the food. I felt like I was fed stuffed for 8 hours straight. Right after take-off we were served drinks with cheese pretzels (nomnommnom). Then, dinner was served and holy kazoo-playing zombies, it was edible! I had the Butter Chicken with mixed Basmati Rice, Caesar salad with Parmesan cheese and croûtons. And then we finished it off with Gü dessert. I have no idea what Gü is, only that it tastes better than it sounds. Anyway, I was tickled the food was so good because my previous experiences have been mostly THIS. Anyway, lesson number two: keep passengers happy by keeping their bellies filled and not charging them for a damn soda, ahem--FLYBE! 

Feel Good Kit: Eye cover, toothbrush, toothpaste,
pen, ear plugs, charity donation card, ugly unisize socks.

On the trip back from Orlando, each passenger received an amenities "Feel Good Kit." I wasn't impressed over the contents of the kit (airlines still have a love affair with unisized socks that I will never understand), but what impressed me was that each passenger in economy class received a kit. Rejoice! Everyone gets ugly socks! Note, if you want me to "feel good" pack the kit with gummy bears since the other stuff is probably illegal to have on-board. :P

As for the entertainment, everyone had their own individual touch screen which is pretty standard now on international flights. They had a decent selection of movies, TV series, music, games, and everything you could think of to entertain the kids. And, guess what? The headsets were FREE and they worked! Did you hear that US AIRWAYS?

In the end, what I appreciated the most (aside from not dying in a horrible explosion and having parts of my body scattered for miles over the Atlantic Ocean), was finding our luggage waiting for us next to the carousel when we arrived in Orlando got through US Customs in Orlando. And, when we arrived in Paris, our bags (all 4 of them) were almost the first to come down the carousel--in one piece!

Though I still can't say I love flying, I can say that this trip has tamed some of my apprehension of air travel. Is Virgin Atlantic perfect? No. But Air France, KLM, United, Delta, US Airways and many others can go back to airplane school and take serious notes at what Sir Richard Branson has manage to do with Virgin Airlines in only a few years time. And if you want to read a fun post about Richard Branson, visit Michael Offutt’s post HERE.

So in conclusion, I want to say to Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic Airlines, thank you. Thank you for restoring my faith in air travel and airline customer service. Keep it up and you'll have a loyal customer for life. But for crap's sake, lose the damn unisize socks!