Pacific Rim - Grading and Discussion

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by sojourner, Jul 12, 2013.

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How do you rate Pacific Rim?

  1. A+

    31 vote(s)
    24.8%
  2. A

    35 vote(s)
    28.0%
  3. A-

    15 vote(s)
    12.0%
  4. B+

    25 vote(s)
    20.0%
  5. B

    7 vote(s)
    5.6%
  6. B-

    2 vote(s)
    1.6%
  7. C+

    2 vote(s)
    1.6%
  8. C

    1 vote(s)
    0.8%
  9. C-

    1 vote(s)
    0.8%
  10. D+

    1 vote(s)
    0.8%
  11. D

    1 vote(s)
    0.8%
  12. D-

    3 vote(s)
    2.4%
  13. F+

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  14. F

    1 vote(s)
    0.8%
  15. F-

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. DarthTom

    DarthTom Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Which is exactly why US movie studios are more concerned with the domestic box office totals.
     
  2. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

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  3. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Movies are odd like that and depending on the movie and the universe there's different levels of suspension of disbelief.

    World War Z was for the large part taking place in "reality" and "our universe" so when odd things happen that don't hold up to scrutiny it can cause plot questions.

    Star Trek again, by and large, takes place in "our universe." The distant future, sure, but it's not supposed to be in a comic book universe or anything like that so, again, it has some sense of grounded reality it has to adhere to. Also the "magic blood" thing was clearly a deus ex machnia put in to allow the movie to have its cake (kill Kirk) and eat it too (have him survive.)

    Superman, lower standard for reality, higher allowance for "suspension of disbelief" but when a movie's not good enough people will not forgive easily.

    Which brings us to this movie. It's a movie going into it you pretty much already know you have to turn off the brain. It's not a movie supposing to take place in "our reality" so, like Superman, going into it buys a LOT of forgiveness in the suspension of disbelief department. For many people -myself included- it succeed in being fun, entertaining and a spectacle which means everything it pulls it buys a hand wave.

    World War Z I enjoyed so its problems weren't something that ruined the movie for me though in hindsight it did have plot problems. But those plot problems didn't ruin the movie for me.

    Superman I have my problems with, though I liked it, but the problems I DO have with it are what harmed the movie for me. (This does not include Superman breaking Zod's neck, something I liked.)

    Star Trek... Ehhhhhhh........ I've accepted it's "not for me" but still the "magic blood" thing was deus ex machina at its worst. There's no reason why it's there other than to reference the "death of Spock" scene without having to bare the weight of it. It also, much like the transwarp beaming in the previous movie, does a LOT of "damage" to the already thin barriers of reality Star Trek has tried to stay in.
     
  4. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I had a perfect opportunity to see it in IMAX 3D while on vacation last week but ended up not going. The trailer did nothing for me, and the same goes for a clip I saw on a talk show appearance. But the positive reviews I saw on here had me seriously considering seeing it. I'll see it on home video eventually...
     
  5. Tulin

    Tulin Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah and the American public preferred "Grown Ups 2" over this.

    Shame on you America, seriously.

    SHAME.
     
  6. Tulin

    Tulin Vice Admiral Admiral

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  7. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    No kidding.
     
  8. Noname Given

    Noname Given Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  9. Corran Horn

    Corran Horn Vice Admiral Admiral

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  10. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    Coming late to this thread, as, unlike IM3, STID and MOS, I didn't see it within days of it opening (and, unlike them) I think it opened in the US before Ireland & the UK.

    I really enjoyed this movie, which is the dark horse of this year's summer blockbusters. I had more fun with it than with Trek or Steel. I would not have expected a mixture of Godzilla, Transformers, Top Gun and Armageddon to have been more enjoyable than Man of Steel or Into Darkness, but it was. Really spectacular, but with wit and imagination. Plus it helped that you could actually tell what was going on in the action sequences (Mr Snyder, take note). Ron Perlman and Idris Elba brought the acting up a level too.

    I gave it an A-, which is perhaps low of me, if anything. Not quite a perfect film but a lot of fun and well worth seeing. I hope it does well at the box office, it deserves to.
     
  11. KGator

    KGator Commander Red Shirt

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    Mentally? . . . that's debatable.
    Well yes and no. The domestic market is shrinking and prior revenue sources like DVD sales have dropped over a 3rd. Hollywood is making fewer movies but bigger "tent-pole" movies (giant budget films intended to support the bottom line like a tent pole).

    There are also threats on the horizon like straight to streaming productions and a growing audience that doesn't go to the theater as much. It may not show right away but because costs of production have gotten higher (budgets) and revenue streams are being reduced the movie industry looks at foreign revenue as the lifeboat to save them. China by itself. The chinese box office has doubled in the past year or two and still has considerable room to grow. There's also the potential that home entertainment sales will grow in China as they decline in the US.

    If a movie was big in China by the time a sequel is produced the revenue from that country could easily double and that doesn't count any renegotiation in box office split (that occured recently from 17% up to 25% and increased the number of big films which could be released).
     
  12. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

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  13. DarthTom

    DarthTom Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It's no wonder that they removed the reference to the zombie plague being started in China in the film World War Z as to not offend the Chinese audience even though that is how it happens in the book.
     
  14. KGator

    KGator Commander Red Shirt

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    Mentally? . . . that's debatable.
    Exactly! That's the reason they removed that reference.

    I would not be surprised to see a Pacific Rim sequel if the film makes $350-400 million worldwide. Because then it would be an established franchise with name recognition and a foothold domestically and overseas. Plus I think the big mistake that was made here was not advertising more to children and a larger toy line production. Graphic novels and such seem to be flying off the shelves. There's a lot of secondary marketting potential for a film like this (and sequels).

    Movie studios far prefer to invest in known entities (prequels, sequels, books with large established fanbases, remakes, etc) than betting on original ideas. For example . . . who the hell did the Percy Jackson film rate a sequel? It lost money overall (at least $7 million as reported) and didn't fell short of a $90 million box office domestically.

    I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to trim the budget for a Pacific Rim sequel some though just in case.
     
  15. KGator

    KGator Commander Red Shirt

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    Mentally? . . . that's debatable.
    Of course World War Z was still denied release in China sooooo . . . . . I guess it was an unappreciated gesture.
     
  16. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

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    That's crazy. I thought those people had embraced capitalism.
     
  17. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    China has funny taboos about how death/undeath is depicted in media. For example, the Chinese release of World of Warcraft had to be changed so that when your character died you didn't see a body, but instead it was replaced with a tombstone. I'm guessing they didn't take to well to the idea of being chased by corpses in a movie.
     
  18. KGator

    KGator Commander Red Shirt

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    Mentally? . . . that's debatable.
    Personally, I think their denial of Despicable Me 2 was for protectionist/corruption reasons. They are trying to protect their own movie industry's animated films (They cut short the Croods because it was making so much money) and someone on the ministry might have been "persuaded" to deny DM2.

    I think WWZ was denied not just because the Chinese are very touchy about "the dead" as the ministry claimed but because they didn't want people hearing about or seeing the film and then reading the book which puts the Chinese government in a very poor light (China is where the zombie virus begins and is covered up by the government until its too late). JMHO
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2013
  19. Noname Given

    Noname Given Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    In fact, I believe some WoW MOBs that had a corpse-like or zombie appearance were changed to appearing as skeletons in addition to what sojourner mentions above - so yeah, I don't see Zombie stuff being released in China.
     
  20. Tulin

    Tulin Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Part of the reason Hong Kong Disneyland has no "Haunted Mansion" attraction. There are strange Chinese taboos about ghosts.

    They DID, however, get the AWESOME alternative earlier this year, "Mystic Manor". Have a look;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqGwhee9GbY