Five Ways Pacific Rim Succeeds Where Other Summer Blockbusters Have Failed

Five Ways Pacific Rim Succeeds Where Other Summer Blockbusters Have Failed

By David Chen/July 13, 2013 10:00 am EST

Then I saw Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim. 

For me, Pacific Rim stands above the summer box office fray. Not since I first saw Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day back in 1996 have I felt as entertained and as awed as I did when I saw this film (and if you find that comparison off-putting then Pacific Rim probably isn’t the film for you). This movie was so ridiculously fun that it actually made me feel more negative about all the other films I’ve seen in the past few months. Below, you’ll find five ways I think the film succeeds where other summer films have failed. Note that there will be minor spoilers, so if you don’t want to know anything about the movie, you should probably stay away from the jump.