Arcade and Retro General Chat in Karkariko Village Tavern: Live Ocarina Music

My biggest problem with Pacific Rim was just how aggressively underachieving it was. The constant allusions to superior influences. The fact it proposes interesting characterisation and subtexts only for them to evaporate into thin air. The fact that, even with Hellboy, we all know del Toro is capable of films with more imagination and energy - and I say that as someone who wouldn't really subscribe to the cult of del Toro. I could have happily bought dumb fun, but I kept getting distracted with how often it made a fool of itself.

Yes, that middle set piece is epic (although beyond that I even thought the battles were confused and repetitive with all the rain and dark water), and yes it's generally more coherent than your average modern blockbuster (amazing that coherence is now a badge of honour). But if this is the best an auteur can do with such mind boggling resources, Hollywood cinema is in a much grimmer state than I could have imagined. If it's better than the rest of this summer's crop (personally, Id consider it vastly inferior to the pretty unambitious and flawed but endearingly enthusiastic Into Darkness) that's only because it's like firing a rocket launcher at a barrel of fish. A genuinely pathetic bunch of cynical misfires this year, to the point where a mere mediocrity can come across as fresh and exciting.

I rewatched Battle Royale last night. If a contemporary blockbuster had even a fraction of the wit, energy and even character depth of that film cinema would be a much, much richer place.

Certainly wouldn't want to go asking for Squirrtles or Jigglypuffs in that kind of establishment.