The Human Factor: Characters of Pacific Rim

When we're talking about a mega robot vs. giant alien film, the least we can expect is some good visuals and some believable human characters to come in contact with them. So Guillermo Del Toro was burdened with the task of creating a universe with the capacity to house human, alien, and synthetic beings. He's good at what he does, but we simply cannot expect miracles, and, as far as I'm concerned, the film can be forgiven for not performing in terms of presenting an array of memorable characters. However, there are some that work really well, among others that clearly don't. Here are the ones that stood out to me (some for all the wrong reasons). SOME SPOILERS Rayleigh Becket Rayleigh, played by Charlie Hunnam, starts out as a passionate and reckless character, a loose cannon. As a result of this, he suffers a devastating loss. The primary scenes reveal the extent to which he is ruled by his emotions. This obviously causes him problems. By the end he retains his passion but is more careful. He learns to double check whether the monsters are dead before celebrating, and for that, we should applaud him; he is now 100% smarter than 99% of all other action heroes in Hollywood films. Throughout the film I didn't get a sense that he really had much to fight for which, for me, made his willingness to pilot the very Jaeger in which harbours these terrible memories somewhat unconvincing. It's not until he comes into contact with Mako that we realise that this lone wolf character will finally have a chance to look to the future. I also appreciated the fact that he was shown to have integrity and respect for others; however, again, his emotions prevented him at times from making the most logical decision for the benefit of the greater good. Beating the crap out of Chuck was nice but a pretty poor decision considering that he was one of the few remaining humans with the ability to pilot the fastest Jaeger, Striker Eureka. Mako Mori She comes across very subtly at the beginning. Rinko Kikuchi has plenty of screen presence without having to be overly sexualised or have an attitude problem - refreshing. She is obviously passionate about her role as a Jaeger pilot but rather more rational than Rayleigh. She is also more in control of her emotions. However, she has a certain amount of curiosity which adds depth to her occasionally stoic demeanour. When she spies on Rayleigh from her room we see the instinctively curious side of her which is obscured by her logical actions. Her downfall is that she is stuck in the past, and with good reason. Her inability to move forward is is somewhat out of her control, nevertheless, her desire for revenge causes her to progress from trainee to to pilot status perhaps too quickly, as she attempts to overcome her memories and her troubled past. Stacker Pentecost Here we have, by far, the most complicated character. Disregarding his illness, he relentlessly continues his crusade to end the Kaiju's reign of terror. Why, when he is clearly on his way out? For the sake of Mako, his adopted daughter. He reveals himself to be is selfless yet stern. I don't know if its because of Idris Elba's outstanding skills but this character stood out to me the most. Elba is overflowing with emotion, and we see the pain in his eyes throughout. Stacker loves Mako more than anyone and it shows - he is irrational in his thinking and actions only when it comes to her. His instinct to protect her contradicts the logic he follows as a pilot and commander (to sacrifice the small number for the greater good). However, as a human being, it is natural for him to value the life of his adopted daughter above all others. This hypocrisy reveals his character's faults. Although strong and respectable, he is fallible like the rest of us. Dr. Newton Geiszler and Dr. Hermann Gottlieb Unfortunately, I was not impressed by this duo at all. The two served as comedic characters in a film which already had enough funny moments. Too much effort was put into their character traits that they became unbelievable caricatures. The dorky one with the leg stuff and the hyperactive Kaijiu groupie may have gotten a few laughs but more, I suggest, out of bewilderment about their relevance to modern day science fiction plots. The only way I could relate to Geizler was through his passion for the Kaijiu. I, too, am obsessed with aliens, however I would draw the line at merging consciousnesses with one of them. I won't waste too much time talking about Gottlieb because I felt that his extreme awkwardness was just too over the top. These are the archetypal dorks we're all to familiar with from watching cartoons as children. Unsurprisingly they did not find their place in a film which faltered on very few other occasions. Have you seen Pacific Rim? If so, what did you think of the human cast? Sound off below.

About the author

Laura Duckett