So I saw the new Guillermo del Toro film Pacific Rim tonight in iMax 3D. I don't see a lot of the big budget hollywood films that are released, but I do make an effort to catch what might be deemed the main wave of things. These are the Avatars and the Spidermen, enough to stay up with the most attractive stars and the latest styles of filmmaking.
Enter my experience of Pacific Rim. I am not familiar with del Toro's films outside of Pan's Labyrinth, which I fell asleep during many years ago (due to the time of night, not the quality of the film). My interest in this film was based primarily on my love of Neon Genesis Evangeleon, which was highly influential in this film's story and style. I can say that I share many of the influences that del Toro called upon in making this film. Certain scenes were very clearly influenced by existing films. Outside of the plot being a reworked, westernized telling of the Neon Genesis series, Blade Runner, Inception, Avatar, and Shadow of the Colossus were the main influences I saw in the film.
The film was a good, big budget hollywood film. Guillermo definitely has good taste, pulling from the appropriate sources when necessary. The film doesn't break new ground in any sense, but it was a well crafted, enjoyable experience. It makes me think a little bit about Girl Talk's mash up albums. When those are successful, each moment is calling upon a collective appreciation of the appropriate source material. This is analogous to del Toro's film making here, and the reason for the film's success.
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