Pacific Rim

[Alatar]

For those talking about Bluray, I think these sort of movies really deserve the Big Screen treatment. DVD and Bluray for the Dramas and Chick Flicks.

[yovargas]

Of course, that's true...when I'm interested enough to actually pay $10 to see them...

[JewelSong]

I agree with Alatar about the big screen. When a movie is 95% special effects, you really need to see it BIG in order to appreciate them. What you're paying for is the big screen...not the plot or the characters (at least, in this case!). And I saw it in 3-D, too, which made some of the graphics really pop.

Plus, for less than $10, I got two and half hours of relief from the 95-degree heat and humidity. Which was definitely worth it.

[axordil]

Giant monsters and giant robots = giant screen. A fine summer movie. My son loved it. He's building a Jaeger on their website now.

[SirDennis]

I've seen it a few times now. Daughters, nieces, nephews and my love all thought it was great. I'm still astonished at how real everything looks (even in IMAX 3D); the level of detail and thought that went into every little thing is staggering. Here's my initial reaction (posted first at DTF):

From the Asian "Rosie the Riveter" to Pentecost's shining reveal... there are lots of interesting things going on just beneath the surface, especially in regards to iconography. Simply delighted with the depth built into what could have been merely eye candy...

Those who have seen it will know I'm not talking about the story. But the imagery really does have a depth about it that tells a story of its own. Due to the pace of the film though, it's easy to miss in some cases. Makes repeat viewings sweeter, I say!

Reviews and articles have been all over the place yet generally positive. A thread that runs through several articles is the intelligence on display, given the genre (see the two links below for instance). I really think it's that intelligence that has set movies such as the original Godzilla or, say, Nosferatu apart from the many genre films they birthed.

The Visual Intelligence of Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim: a thrilling bit of blockbuster sublimity

As for box office, they've almost hit their break even point as of today (across all markets) and it hasn't opened yet in some key markets. It appears that it is gaining traction, or at least holding steady. Some may recall that Inception performed similarly, that is opened relatively soft but ended up going to wider release once word of mouth took hold.

An interesting side note is we finally got to see Kazinsky in action and extrapolate him back to his lost role as a dwarf in Jackson's Hobbit. I thought he did a decent job in Pacific Rim, which surprised me somewhat.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Sir Dennis, do you think that we can read anything into the fact that Kazinsky and del Toro both left the Hobbit production, and then Kazinsky landed in del Toro's next big production?

[SirDennis]

Hmmm... well as I said when Kazinsky left The Hobbit, the most likely reason he left was that he sustained some sort of injury while shooting the troll scene (to his leg or knee perhaps was my sense at the time).

Having had the opportunity to spend time with Guillermo in RL, speak privately with him on the telephone and online, and observe the way he has interacted with fans and staff over the past 5 years, I can say without reservation that he is an honourable man and extremely loyal. (Knowing this about him makes me believe that leaving the Hobbit mid-stream as it were, must have been beyond heartbreaking for him, and not merely because of the effect it had on his fortunes and his family.) As well, in case it isn't obvious already, Guillermo's friends are fiercely loyal to him in kind.

Anyway my best guess is Kazinsky had to leave The Hobbit due to an injury that healed (or would have healed) by the time they began shooting Pacific Rim (some year and half later IIRC) which gave Guillermo the opportunity to exercise his extreme loyalty towards someone he likely had a hand in casting for a role that didn't pan out.

My sense of the industry is it is very hard on people who are injured while working or who otherwise present a greater than average risk of interrupting shooting schedules overmuch. Regardless of his suitability for the role, nor any talent he may possess, if Kazinsky was injured on The Hobbit, Guillermo fighting to cast him in a subsequent blockbuster -- if indeed he had to fight for him -- was an uncommon (in the film industry) act of largess.

I don't think Kazinsky left The Hobbit for Pacific Rim, or to follow Guillermo, necessarily; he is after all an NZ actor who likely was favoured by PJ as well for the role of Fili. Having said this, as I've said before elsewhere, a fair number of crew and artists left when Guillermo left, largely his usual cadre, but also some new talent he hired (the costume designer, Australian Kate Hawley for instance) while he was doing pre-production on TH. It is not clear if they just left, or were asked to leave. I'm sure some, such as DOP Navarro left because Guillermo left.

[SirDennis]

I thought I'd make a new post here as this is straying closer to gossip...

Kazinsky had a bit of a dark cloud over him already when he was cast for The Hobbit as he was fired from his previous gig due to improper use of a camera phone. This alone would have made the local (NZ) insurance houses leery of his appointment to a role on The Hobbit. Whatever happened (an injury, or otherwise) would have marked him as a higher than usual risk for subsequent projects I should think, hence the vagueness surrounding his departure.

In any event, it doesn't make sense that he just up and left a couple months into shooting. Clearly (based on Pacific Rim imho) he had the skills for the role of Fili. Nor does it make sense that PJ would have just fired him. Having to re-shoot and/or digitally alter the footage they had to that point left a noticeable residue -- even if only for those who were looking for it -- to say nothing of the cost, both financial and of time. So it must have been something else, something unexpected.

If I recall, at the time, a health matter was floated as the reason for his sudden departure, but it wasn't clear to me whether it was his or a loved one's health. The later case seems unlikely to me... breaking a contract for any reason, even bereavement, would lessen his marketability. But then, this too would bring out Guillermo's largess...

[Voronwë the Faithful]

The only official reason given out was "personal reasons". There certainly was speculation that it was a health issue, but I don't believe that was ever confirmed.

The original announcement was on PJ's Facebook page:

I am sad to report that Rob Kazinsky, who was cast in the role of Fili, is having to leave The Hobbit and return home, for personal reasons. Rob has been terrific to work with and his enthusiasm and infectious sense of humour will be missed by all of us. I should say that Rob’s departure will not affect ongoing filming of The Hobbit, nor will it impact work done to date, as we had yet to film much of Fili’s storyline. At the moment we are shooting scenes featuring Bilbo without the Dwarves, which will give us time to find a new Fili. I’ll keep everyone posted with updates as they come.

Cheers,

Peter J

Then Kazinski tweeted:

Thanks for all your support, Peter and team have been the most wonderful and supportive team to work for and it’s with a truly sad heart that things have turned out this way. The Hobbit will go on to be as great as i’ve seen and I will miss the family and friends that i’ve here, From every disaster i’ve tried to make an opportunity. “john d rokerfeller”

It seems to me that if it really was a health issue, they would have said so, rather than leaving it so vague and open to speculation. But I don't claim to be an expert in these things.

[SirDennis]

Ha V, I had a feeling you'd reproduce those quotes if I let my imagination run amok.

[Primula Baggins]

I'm curious where Kazinski tweeted 355 characters. . . . My very few tweets have hit the wall well before that.

[SirDennis]

It seems to me that if it really was a health issue, they would have said so, rather than leaving it so vague and open to speculation. But I don't claim to be an expert in these things.

Well that's the point. If he was injured on set, it would have been in everyone's interest to keep it quiet: the production for liability reasons and Kazinsky for his long term career prospects.


The only other thing that might make sense is if he was working on a probationary basis. Though even given the labour environment we're aware of that's highly unlikely, especially for a principle role.

But I can't imagine that he was "stinking up the place" as they say, at least not bad enough that Jackson would fire him a couple months into principle photography. He would have had plenty of time before production started to realize he didn't like him in the role... even I would find it hard to believe that his methodology is that sloppy/decadent/self indulgent/thing.

[yovargas]

Just got around to watching this on bluray. Asides from having some of very, very best FX work I've ever seen, the movie is in the realm of totally generic action movie stuff. Outside the fighting, it's all predictable, cliche, been there done that stuff. It made me glad del Toro left The Hobbit.

[Frelga]

I didn't see the movie, only some clips, but it strikes me that giant, human-controlled robots is possibly the least efficient way to combat giant monsters.

[Passdagas the Brown]

This film has nothing to do with what a GDT Hobbit might have been like. It's an entirely different beast. Pan's Labyrinth is likely a better place to look in terms of how he might have treated Tolkien.

GDT's not my favorite filmmaker by any stretch, but he would definitely NOT have made a generic or cliche-ridden set of Hobbit films. Would have been nice to get someone else's vision of Tolkien on screen, but I'm pleased enough with DOS at least...

ETA: To SirDennis: I thought Kazinsky was English, not Kiwi...

[yovargas]

GDT's not my favorite filmmaker by any stretch, but he would definitely NOT have made a generic or cliche-ridden set of Hobbit films.

Considering how much DOS turned into (IMO) a pure silly roller coaster action movie, I now fully expect that GDT would've simply made a pure silly roller coaster action movie with stupider characters and even less sense of an actual story. I very much doubt that there was ever any intention of filming TH with a Pan's Labyrinth-level of thoughtfulness and artistry.

I didn't see the movie, only some clips, but it strikes me that giant, human-controlled robots is possibly the least efficient way to combat giant monsters.

Man, I know it was just supposed to be ultra-kewlness for kewlness's sake but I had a really hard time getting past how stupid it would be to fight giant monsters by punching them a lot. It would've helped a lot if the movie had been self-aware of its own silliness but overall it took itself way too seriously for it to really work for me.

[Alatar]

Honestly, I know there's a suspension of disbelief required, but sometimes something is just good dumb fun. I took this as a modern day Godzilla movie and it worked for me.

Plus, anything with Idris Elba gets automatic cool points!

[yovargas]

Yeah, I went into it knowing its a silly premise and to take it as just good dumb fun. But I was surprised with how seriously the movie seemed to try to take itself which made it hard for me to totally get into that mindset. The move was fairly humorless which worked against its silly, campy premise. Just about every moment not involving giant robots was just bad dumb boredom.

I'd say AUJ, DOS, and PR all strove for "just good dumb fun" style action movies. This movie made me feel confident that PJ is better at this style than GDT.

Agreed on Elba's auto-coolness, though.

[Passdagas the Brown]

Based on GDT's extensive comments about TH, while he was still on as director, the evidence suggests that he was planning on treating the material with intelligence and depth. There is no evidence whatsoever that he wanted to give it the big, dumb fun treatment.

[yovargas]

I'm betting PJ & crew's comments also suggest they were planning on treating the material with intelligence and depth....