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Hideo Kojima reviews PACIFIC RIM, "the ultimate otaku film"

Neiteio

Member
I'm basically expecting:

- Lots of cliché lines that are tweaked enough to be somewhat fresh and quotable

- Lots of typical beats, I.E. this guy failed and is SAD, but now he's on the up and up!

- Fairly simple, straightforward characters. GDT said it's not really about any one or two characters, but about a bunch of characters coming together, "the world saving the world"

- Emotional scenes that probably would've benefitted from an extra beat or two

- Lots of crazy colors and rich texture and incredible attention to detail

- Real weight and impact to the monsters and robots

- Deft editing, snapping pacing, maybe a little TOO snappy

- Music that is superheroic (Iron Man composer here) and a bit incongruent at times

- All in all, a sort of cheesy, over-the-top Saturday morning cartoon feel. GDT said it's not a war movie, but an "adventure movie," what he considers a rare breed these days.

Take it in stride and you'll have fun. The hot robo-on-kaiju porn should be worth the price of admission.

Crimson Typhoon is the best robot, btw. Someone post the GIF of it rising in front of the catwalk!
 

Neiteio

Member
Funny that Kojima likes 2001: A Space Odyssey, 'cuz Crimson Typhoon has a sort of HAL deal going on:

tumblr_mmwsmnHZeJ1qimft8o3_400.gif


Note the tiny people on the catwalk in front of the robot's eye. DAT SCALE.
 

Daingurse

Member
Funny that Kojima likes 2001: A Space Odyssey, 'cuz Crimson Typhoon has a sort of HAL deal going on:

tumblr_mmwsmnHZeJ1qimft8o3_400.gif


Note the tiny people on the catwalk in front of the robot's eye. DAT SCALE.

Big threats demand big bots :)

Gypsy Danger is like 79m, we're getting Heisei Godzilla size threats . . .

tumblr_inline_mlu2joXCHA1qz4rgp.gif


Akira is a pretty extraordinary film. I think Spirited Away is unquestionably better cinema, more refined and coherent, but I can understand the argument that Akira is better for the power of its vision. It really depends on what you value in movies.

I can absolutely accept that Spirited Away is a better film, but Akira is far more entertaining for me personally.
 

Krev

Unconfirmed Member
Akira is a pretty extraordinary film. I think Spirited Away is unquestionably better cinema, more refined and coherent, but I can understand the argument that Akira is better for the power of its vision. It really depends on what you value in movies.
 

chrono01

Member
Crimson Typhoon is the best robot, btw. Someone post the GIF of it rising in front of the catwalk!
I'm cheering for the underdog which is, ironically enough, Coyote Tango [Japan].

That's right, comparing all of the stats from the Jaegers/Giant Robots, Japan has the lowest.

I don't understand it either. -_-
 

Neiteio

Member
I'm cheering for the underdog which is, ironically enough, Coyote Tango [Japan].

That's right, comparing all of the stats from the Jaegers/Giant Robots, Japan has the lowest.

I don't understand it either. -_-
Coyote Tango is actually an American mech -- it's just stationed in Japan. The true Japan mech is Tacit Ronin.

Jaeger-03.jpg


That's a funny way of spelling Striker Eureka.

tumblr_mp2gd2pCdW1rz9hl6o3_250.gif


I'm picking up the Sideshow Collectibles scale figuirine of this bad boy the second it's available.
Striker Eureka is too smug. :-\
 

Daingurse

Member
The super poster does a nice job of conveying the scale (click to super-size -- 14,543 x 1024):

I'm telling ya, this movie would have to try so hard to fuck up with me. I'm an enormous Kaiju fan, grew up watching shit like Rodan, Gorgo and pretty much everything Godzilla related ALL THE TIME. Even Godzilla's Revenge, aka ,"WTF is this shit."?! All day, errr day son. Pacific Rim needs to sustain me till Legendary Godzilla.
 

Pistolero

Member
Guillermo is a great story teller (The devil's backbone and, to a lesser extent, Chronos), and a very inspired images creator (The Hellboy films). Sometimes, he can hit both notes gracefully (Pan's Labyrinth...). I have no doubt that his take on the Giant Mecha vs Monsters will be a sight to behold...But I'm not sure I still care about those universes. The age, maybe...
 

chrono01

Member
Tango Coyote is actually an American mech -- it's just stationed in Japan. The true Japan mech is Tacit Ronin.

Jaeger-03.jpg
Ah, good to know. Thanks! That makes more sense.

Any image of the stats for Tacit Ronin? I can't seem to find one, which leads me to believe that there isn't one. Or maybe, my Google Skills are failing me.

Oh well, hopefully it represents itself well. I don't want to question it more due to spoilers.
 
I'm cheering for the underdog which is, ironically enough, Coyote Tango [Japan].

That's right, comparing all of the stats from the Jaegers/Giant Robots, Japan has the lowest.

I don't understand it either. -_-

I hate to burst your bubble, but according to the official site, Coyote Tango is currently retired from active service. You can probably count on seeing it in flashbacks and the like though.

Heck, all three of the Mark I Jaegers look really cool. Tacit Ronin is my favourite of that batch.
 

Neiteio

Member
I hate to burst your bubble, but according to the official site, Coyote Tango is currently retired from active service. You can probably count on seeing it in flashbacks and the like though.

Heck, all three of the Mark I Jaegers look really cool. Tacit Ronin is my favourite of that batch.
Coyote Tango is in the film. It's piloted by
Stacker Pentecost
and fights the Kaiju named
Onibaba
in the flashback to
the attack on Tokyo, of which Mako Mori was the lone survivor.
 

chrono01

Member
I hate to burst your bubble, but according to the official site, Coyote Tango is currently retired from active service. You can probably count on seeing it in flashbacks and the like though.

Heck, all three of the Mark I Jaegers look really cool. Tacit Ronin is my favourite of that batch.
Ah, so it's not even part of the initial war in the film, huh? [Edit: Never mind, Neiteio set things straight!].

Well, as long as Japan has a robot [and a pretty damn cool-looking one, I might add], I will have no complaints! :)
 
Someone needs to tell him to read the manga.

AKIRA movie is crap and make no sense whatsoever.

That's funny. You're funny.

I like Spirited Away more than both though.

Striker Eureka is too smug. :-

Au contrere, it's not smug enough! del Toro specifically said that it moves like a samurai, in a way that makes it seem proud but not conceited. Gipsy Danger on the other hand was animated to move with a swagger in its step, as though it were cocky and confident. Striker is just that cool ;)
 

Jubern

Member
I was thinking of maaaaaaybe going to see the Japanese dub of PR, since it has a pretty incredible MECHA ALL-STAR kind of cast and I'm a mecha anime nutcase. After seeing the trailer for the dub, I don't think I will, this is going to be way to jarring ahah.
 

Neiteio

Member
Au contrere, it's not smug enough! del Toro specifically said that it moves like a samurai, in a way that makes it seem proud but not conceited. Gipsy Danger on the other hand was animated to move with a swagger in its step, as though it were cocky and confident. Striker is just that cool ;)
Striker Eureka was actually originally in the running to be the main robot of the movie, but it was deemed "too cold and angular" and "too cocky" for the empathetic lead mech, lol. (This is according to the behind-the-scenes book that recently came out)

Gipsy Danger is supposed to resemble a Western gunslinger. :)
 

Toxi

Banned
2001 was lame.

Actually, it's a decent movie hampered by a focus on special effects and a plot that feels like its crawling up its own rectum. The entire Discovery 1 sequence redeems most of the movie's flaws and is easily one of the best science fiction films ever made on its own, but the rest feels disjointed and bloated. The moon landing was essentially "OMG LOOK HOW COOL IT IS THAT A SPACE SHIP IS LANDING ON THE MOON!!!1!" Ironically enough, it feels dated not because the special effects are bad (they're amazing), but because it's focusing on special effects that aren't revolutionary by today's standards.

Anyways, I'm very excited for Pacific Rim, especially for the action sequences (I heard Del Toro will be mercifully light on the shaky cam and quick shots). It'll be sad if it bombs.
 
2001 was lame.

Actually, it's a decent movie hampered by a focus on special effects and a plot that feels like its crawling up its own rectum. The entire Discovery 1 sequence redeems most of the movie's flaws and is easily one of the best science fiction films ever made on its own, but the rest feels disjointed and bloated. The moon landing was essentially "OMG LOOK HOW COOL IT IS THAT A SPACE SHIP IS LANDING ON THE MOON!!!1!" Ironically enough, it feels dated not because the special effects are bad (they're amazing), but because it's focusing on special effects that aren't revolutionary by today's standards.

Maybe on its own. Give the book a read and then rewatch the film, and you'll see how tightly-crafted and intricate the film's universe is. I've read all 4 Space Odyssey books and let me tell you; you'll be hard-pressed to find a Sci-Fi universe as beautifully simple and yet surprisingly complex.
 

turk128

Member
Someone needs to tell him to read the manga.

AKIRA movie is crap and make no sense whatsoever.
Akira was not crap, it was simply over-rated (and continues to be so).

And, yeah, they picked the safest parts of the manga to adapt and proceeded to depict it in the safest way. Understandable really, Akira can't be adapted down to one movie (it should have been a mini series).
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
This Movie is going to suck like every movie this year...

Man of Steel, shivers..

What is the deal with GAF being full of debbie downers? Do you guys enjoy ANYTHING in life?

Being so horribly jaded must be tiring.
 
What is the deal with GAF being full of debbie downers? Do you guys enjoy ANYTHING in life?

Being so horribly jaded must be tiring.

Ugh, I know. If you are unable to enjoy something so purely exciting and well-crafted (unlike that choppy, murky Bayformers junk), then you should probably reflect on the number of things that bring you joy in life.
 

Cidd

Member
What is the deal with GAF being full of debbie downers? Do you guys enjoy ANYTHING in life?

Being so horribly jaded must be tiring.

I have nothing against good movies, but personally I think Man of Steel was really bad too many expositions, it was as if I was watching a Superman documentary. also the plot was god awful. I've watched a few movies this year including, Iron Man 3, The Purge, Olympus Has Fallen, Dead Man Down etc. And they were all bad imo so excuse me if I don't like something you do.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
I have nothing against good movies, but personally I think Man of Steel was really bad too many expositions, it was as if I was watching a Superman documentary. also the plot was god awful. I've watched a few movies this year including, Iron Man 3, The Purge, Olympus Has Fallen, Dead Man Down etc. And they were all bad imo so excuse me if I don't like something you do.

I really just don't understand people who say "I saw a bunch of bad things, so I can no longer get excited about future things."

My mind is seriously unable to find the correlation. I guess I just get excited about stuff, and if it sucks, I move on. Man of Steel is not a great movie, but it's also not the equivalent of being burned alive in a crashed car. It's just a bad movie.

I see LOTS of bad movies. LOTS. It has never affected my ability to get hyped for stuff. What is there left in life if we can't be giggly high school girls about something neato?

It just seems very tiring to be so pessimistic about stuff. Just be a little kid again. It brings a lot more happiness.
 
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