Success in the world of Pacific Rim doesn't come from brawn, intelligence, or strategy. It's about one's ability to "drift," or connect with the experiences and vibe of another being. I leaned back in my cushioned stadium seat, had the surround sound scorch my eardrums, and let the impressive visuals wash over me. Despite the lavish images and multiplex accoutrements, I was never able to fully embrace this summer blockbuster. It might have been the fact that the script felt like it was written by a fourteen year-old or it might have been my lack of a kaiju (Japanese for "knockoff Godzilla")/anime-fanboy background, but the film never allowed me to fully "initiate a neural handshake."
The crew of the Jaeger (German for "giant robots that fight Godzilla knockoffs") program are - for the most part - stock characters without much personality of their own. Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), ostensibly the main character, begins the film by stating that he was never the strongest or smartest before spending the remainder of the film being superbly devoid of any real characteristics. Perhaps the writers were attempting to make him a relatable everyman, but he betrays little in the way of depth and says things like "there are things you can't fight - acts of God. You see a hurricane coming, you get out of the way. But when you're in a Jaeger, you can finally fight the hurricane. You can win." The closest he comes to emotion is his reaction to the death of his copilot brother, but that seems to be more of a device to have him leave the Jaeger force before a triumphant return with a new partner than something we feel. He is a thoroughly reliable narrator, but the combination of a script that doesn't provide him with any distinctive traits and Hunnam's bland performance make us wonder why it's him we're following.