Author: David S. Cohen
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Insight Edition
Release Date: June 18, 2013
Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars
Guillermo del Toro is my absolute hero! This guy should be making every single movie in Hollywood. “Pacific Rim” is any guys dream come true. Giant monsters and giant robots going head-to-head…I need a minute to myself. Ok, I am back! I seriously can say that this is my most anticipated film of the entire summer. Yes, I know that action heroes are the hottest thing right now but you cannot put that up against monsters and robots. This book is also one of my favorite companion books from this year. It is part art book, part visual companion. Best of both worlds!
Official Premise: When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
You can also imagine that a $200 million dollar film is going to be backed with some amazing artwork and pre-production planning. This book contains some really amazing images, all displayed in super high quality. There is some amazing detailed set photography, along with great commentary from the film’s creative team. I also liked insights into the battle-torn world of 2025 CE depicted in the movie, so it takes you behind the story as well as behind the scenes. One aspect I loved about this book is that it is also very hands on, there are multiple sketches, blueprints and various tabs to enhance this experience. There are also two pull out posters in the back of the book.
David S. Cohen has been writing for Variety for over 10 years and is the author of “The Ballad of Rango: The Art & Making of an Outlaw Film”, which is another great companion book. There is an awesome foreword from director Guillermo del Toro. He really is so passionate about his films and I loved reading what he had to say about this film. Some of the art in the book might be considered to be a bit of a spoiler since all of the monsters and robots are not show in the trailers but I couldn’t care less, I loved every page of this book and now I just want to see the film more!