STAR WARS (2) vs. PACIFIC RIM (7)

VS.

ACTING -  “Star Wars” is not usually touted for its acting and this is appropriate because the visuals stole the show. However, Alec Guinness was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and the Saturn Awards.  The rest of the cast was fairly unknown and would prove to be good actors in the future, but not so much here.  As the main character, Mark Hammill is the weak link, but as one of the great cinematic heroes, he is forgiven.  GRADE =  B-

“Pacific Rim” is even less about the actors than “Star Wars”.  Although there are some opportunities for emoting, that’s just killing time between the fights between giant human-piloted robots and giant monsters.  Because the mechas are piloted by two people, there is some acting involved, but it’s still all about the fight.  The movie garnered no acting award nominations.  Charlie Hannum is your typical rugged action hero.    He is given a redemption and revenge arc, but we’re still only waiting for the fights.    The screenplay wisely adds dueling buddy scientists for comic relief and Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are kicks.  GRADE =  C

ENTERTAINMENT -  The original “Star Wars” has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  It was a humongous box office success and was one of the first summer blockbusters.  The film was rereleased to acclaim.  It is generally considered to be the second best of the series (after “Empire Strikes Back”).  It may seem trope-ridden today, but you have to remember how much ground it broke in 1977.  It still holds up well today.  It has one of the greatest villains, unbelievable special effects, fantastic characters, a strong female, and one of the great sci-fi battles.  What’s not to like?  GRADE  =  A+

“Pacific Rim” is a fun movie.  It gives the audience exactly exactly what it wants and it is efficient in doing so.  It takes the Godzilla type movies into the 21^st Century.  Unlike the Toho films, humans are not just standing around waiting to be stomped and futilely firing useless weapons against the monsters, they can fight toe to toe.  The robots and monsters come in a variety and the battles are stunning.  The plot is a bit generic, but the acting is not embarrassing and dueling scientists subplot adds some decent humor.  The movie will not be remembered years from now and certainly won’t get a rerelease, but it is a good popcorn flick.  GRADE  =  B

COMBAT -  At the time it was made, the battle scene involving the Death Star was the gold standard for sci-fi war movies.  Over the years, there have been other movies that have topped it, but most that have not.   It is one of the rare movies in this tournament where the opposing sides in the climactic battle are relatively equal.  Combining “Battle of Britain” dogfight with the bombing runs of “The Dam Busters”, throw in realistic tactics and a confrontation involving the hero and the villain and you get gold.  Unfortunately, the battle with the Death Star is the only real combat.  The movie goes with quality over quantity.  GRADE  =  B

“Pacific Rim” is all about the combat.  There are three big battles and each has a flair to it.  There’s little subtlety, but the action and visuals are awesome.  The robots and the creatures vary so the duels are not repetitive.  Hell, at one point a kaiju uses a boat as a bat!  The venues for the battles also vary.  The combat has a quantity and quality to it.  GRADE  =  B

ENEMY -  “Star Wars” has a variety of creatures, but they are mostly for local color.  The enemy is similar to the protagonists.    The Empire is malevolent, but not scary.  The main villain is the iconic Darth Vader and he is #3 on AFI’s greatest villains list.  As far as the rest of the Empire, the Stormtroopers are some of the lamest foes in any sci-fi war movie.  They famously could not hit the blindside of a barn.  GRADE  =  C

“Pacific Rim” is dominated by the kaiju.  They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Each has a different “personality”.   They are toxic and can adapt to their environment.  They are extremely aggressive, but not brainless.  They certainly hold their own against the Jaegers.  These “strange beasts” make the movie a monsterfest.  The movie reminds of a beast show at Imperial Rome’s Colosseum.  GRADE  =  A

ANALYSIS:  These are two totally different movies.  One is an all-time great, and the other is a forgettable, if entertaining creature feature.  Aside from the enemy category, “Star Wars” is superior.  It also is more of a war movie.  “Pacific Rim” is more of a gladiator film.

STAR WARS  =  33

PACIFIC RIM  =  32

RETURN OF THE JEDI (7) vs. PACIFIC RIM (10)

VS.

PLOT - Luke and his posse rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt to bring closure to that arc. The rest of the movie involves the Rebel Alliance attempting to destroy the new and improved Death Star which coincidentally has the Emperor on board. The attack is two-pronged with a commando raid on the shield generator on the planet (allowing for the introduction of the Ewoks to appeal to four year olds) and an aerial assault similar to the first film. Meanwhile, Luke deals with his daddy issues. In fact, there is a lot similar to the first film as this movie shows an embarrassing lack of originality. It is predictable and cloying. GRADE = C

In "Pacific Rim", there is an interdimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that allows monsters called kaijus to wreak havoc. Mankind has developed giant robots called Jaegers to combat the monsters. The Jaegers are piloted by two people who establish a mind link. When the enemy take the offensive, the last remaining Jaegers are called on to explode a nuke to seal the portal. The plot concentrates on a two PTSD individuals who pair up to save mankind. The kaijus (who come in an interesting variety) and the Jaegers are the real reason to watch the movie. The rest of the plot beyond the combat is standard redemption fare. GRADE = B-

STRATEGY AND TACTICS - The Rebel plan in ROTJ is the same as in the first film: destroy the Death Star by targeting a weak spot. How original! The plot adds the commando raid to take out the shield generator. That attack does use the diversion provided by the Ewoks who use ambush tactics. The dog-fights still involve melee fighting with not a lot of wingman support, but that’s pretty par for the course in sci-fi war movies. GRADE = C

The strategy of building a wall to stop the monsters in PR makes sense. Pulling back to build up forces for one last push is logical. The idea of sealing the portal with a nuke is standard sci-fi, but it leaves you wondering why tactical nukes have not been used against the monsters themselves. Even in the future and with absolutely desperate situations, mankind still apparently refuses to use them. As far as tactics, the attempt to nuke the portal involves other Jaegers clearing a path for the hero Jaeger. More a football tactic than war, but not unrealistic. GRADE = B

WEAPONRY - In "Return", the weapons are basically the same as in the previous two movies. There are no significant advances in technology. In fact, the new weapons are the Ewoks’ medieval arrows, rocks, and catapults. The Death Star is essentially the same, just more powerful. It still does not have its own force-field. Just like the plot, the movie shows a lack of imagination in its weaponry. GRADE = C

Since PR is set in 2013 (WTF), the only futuristic weapon is the Jaegers. These are basically giant exoskeletons manned by two for plot purposes. Although armed with Plasmacasters (particle beam cannons), they mainly fight the kaiju hand-to-hand with edged weapons. The kaiju have no artificial weapons in the classic style of Japanese Toho monsters like Godzilla. There are nine different kaiju in the movie, each with its own personality and powers. For example, Leatherneck can kick ass in a one-on-one bout, but also can give off an electromagnetic pulse to disable electronics. The movie, in a sense, combines American sci-fi weaponry with Japanese monsters. GRADE = B

SPECIAL EFFECTS - The special effects in ROTJ are improved from “A New Hope” and are still amazing today. Although the effects are used for a similar space battle, the movie does add the battle over the Sarlaac mouth and the chase in the forest of Endor. GRADE = A

Director Del Toro of PR brought on several Oscar winners to create the effects. The kaiju steal the show and if you watch this and have seen the early Godzilla movies, you can see how far we have come in depicting these type of monsters. They look great and they are clearly seen, most of the time. These types of films tend to be dark. The variety is commendable. GRADE = A-

ANALYSIS: Most agree the original Star Wars trilogy peaked with "The Empire Strikes Back", but it did not have to be that way. ROTJ starts strong with the rescue of Han Solo, but it's downhill from there. It is basically a retread of the original with a few baubles thrown in. While PR gives us an update of the classic Toho monsters, ROTJ gives us the Ewoks. ROTJ is more of a war movie. It has battles both on land and in space. PR has battles, but they are more like duels. However, there is a war going on between humans and the monsters so I feel it fits the tournament. Since it qualifies as a war movie, it is clearly superior to ROTJ.

Pacific Rim = 33
Return of the Jedi = 30