Pacific Rim Shows You How They Made That Kickass Intro

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim wasn’t the most celebrated science fiction movie of 2013. Critics gave the movie middling to lukewarm reviews, while audiences in the States generally opted not to watch it. The film wasn’t a total box office bomb, but its domestic grosses fell way short of expectations. Meanwhile, the film was a smash film overseas with countries like China, Japan, and Brazil contributing to its $406.7 million worldwide box office take. Love it or hate it, Pacific Rim is a spectacle tailor made for giant movie screens.

One element that helps deliver a believable experience is the film’s amazing visual effects and art direction. Del Toro sets the film in fully realized worlds full of moving parts and a great attention to detail. The video above, which also includes over 80 fast-paced visual effects shots, showcases what went into creating giant Jaegers and Kaiju featured in Pacific Rim. The production budget was a reported $190 million, and you can see every dollar spent onscreen. No matter how you feel about the movie itself; you have to admit this is jaw-dropping stuff.

Del Toro’s own Mirada Studios created the effects for Pacific Rim, and this video also shows off what went into making the film’s prologue. When Kaiju first attacked Earth’s coastal cities, mankind was ill prepared for the chaos and had little idea how to handle the giant alien sea monsters. Humanity built Jaegers, giant mech suits, to take care of the new threat, and over the years you see how both sides of the conflict became parts of global pop culture, history, and religion. Director Mathew Cullen, cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, and executive producer Javier Jimenez all founded Mirada Studios with del Toro in 2010.

Despite grossing more than $400 million worldwide, it’s doubtful that a Pacific Rim sequel will be made. The film hits Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on October 15. Hopefully if it moves enough units the powers-that-be will deliver a second movie.

Del Toro and co-screenwriter Travis Beacham are currently working on the screenplay for Pacific Rim 2, regardless if that’s a realistic possibility or not. If no sequel is made, maybe they’ll release this story as a graphic novel or animated feature instead. Del Tor has hinted at a few ideas, which involve even bigger Jaegers and Kaiju, as well as a melding of both into one terrifying monster.

It feels like this video could easily be one of the bonus features on the upcoming home release. Jam-packed full of extra content, the director’s commentary track alone should be worth the sticker price. You can spring for any number of versions of Pacific Rim, but the one that stands out from the crowd is the special collector’s edition, which includes a four-disc set and a scale model of the Jaeger Gipsy Danger.