Guillermo del Toro saves a mediocre blockbuster season with Pacific Rim, an imaginative and enthralling riff on the monster movie that has a strong heartbeat in the centre of its epic CGI frame.  

Since Hellboy II was released in 2008, Guillermo del Toro has been a director without a movie. Extensive pre-production work on The Hobbit went to tatters after the Mexican filmmaker removed himself (or was removed?) from the project, and a sure thing with an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness – with megastar Tom Cruise attached – was kyboshed by Universal Pictures before production could commence.

This all leads to Pacific Rim, a sci-fi action blockbuster where colossal human piloted machines battle giant monsters in what has to be the most geek-gasmic synopsis heard in a while. Yet while its premise is steeped in novelty, Del Toro injects the right amount of heart, energy and dazzling craftsmanship into a story where mankind takes the fight to monstrous creatures who have emerged from the deep with a taste for destruction.

There is a lot that could have gone wrong. The movie begins with the type of exposition worthy of a M. Night Shyamalan film; talk of “kaiju” (used to describe the monsters) and “jaeger” (that’ll be the robots) can confuse; and the track record for giants on the screen (whether they be robot or monster) is not the best.

Del Toro makes it work because he makes it all so interesting. Countless times audiences have seen mass destruction Hollywood style, especially during these superhero heavy times (we’re looking at you, Man of Steel). But rarely do the characters match the strength of the special effects and Pacific Rim features the year’s best in its dazzlingly crafted & choreographed scenes of colossal steel VS monstrous flesh, epic battles where not only the fate of mankind rests in the balance but we actually care about the outcome.

The performances are a big reason for that. Not so much lead hero Raleigh, played by Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam who brings the needed heroic cool to an otherwise bland character. It’s the films other actors and their characters who leave an impression, especially Oscar nominated actress Rinki Kikuchi whose unique screen presence matches well with Del Toro’s peculiar eye, and Idris Elba who uses his authoritative presence well, especially during a rally-the-troops rousing speech that is almost Shakespearean in weight.

But Pacific Rim firmly belongs to Del Toro. Here is a genre filmmaker who brings a strong sense of story and characters to his work, who much like George Lucas and James Cameron before him creates the best toys and playfully & skilfully lets his imagination run wild. What Pacific Rim would have looked like in the hands of another director is anyone’s guess, but what is for certain is that Pacific Rim in Del Toro’s hands is a better movie than anyone could wish for.