--- title: "Pacific Rim: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/pacific-rim/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/pacific-rim" critics_score: 63 critics_reviews: 17 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Pacific Rim (2013): what the critics said Critics' score 63 from 17 reviews: 8 positive, 5 mixed, 4 negative. Most critics come away entertained, if not converted. The praise settles on Guillermo del Toro himself: his affection for kaiju and giant-robot pictures, the detail of the creature and machine designs, and the lived-in production design around them. The fights are the other point of agreement, admired for their scale and for being cut so that the eye can follow what is happening, a courtesy several reviewers note is rare in this kind of film. The warmer reviews call it a sincere blockbuster rather than a cynical one. The reservations are near-unanimous even among admirers: the humans are thinly written, the comedy flat, the script functional at best. From there the spread is wide. The Guardian misses del Toro’s usual visual personality, Time Out finds the film cold and repetitive, and The Wrap complains the monsters are hard to see through all the rain and night. Variety goes furthest, calling it the squarest and loudest of the director’s films. ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 July 2013. Del Toro's visionary imagination, detailed world-building, and spectacular visuals make this a worthy, magical return for the director after years away. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-jul-10-la-et-mn-pacific-rim-20130711-story.html) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 8 July 2013. The critic praises the film as a bold, exhaustive and utterly convincing definition of fun, with del Toro flooding the project with affection and artistry so that it enchants rather than merely nostalgically recalls childhood cartoons. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10162332/Pacific-Rim-review.html) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 3/4/4. 11 July 2013. The critic hails the film as a model blockbuster full of rich, romantic and sincere design that pays homage to classic monster movies while showing up cynical destructo-porn. It singles out the graceful, majestic action sequences and visual treats for particular praise. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/pacific-rim/) ## Total Film — Matthew Leyland Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 10 July 2013. A warmer Transformers-style blockbuster steeped in affection and sincerity, with strong creature designs and likeable humans, despite some murky action sequences. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/pacific-rim-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 2013. The critic calls it a better-than-average humans-vs.-monsters spectacular with first-class effects, coherent action, and lively direction that avoids bloating or padding. It singles out the strong forward momentum and fun surprises amid the formulaic elements. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/pacific-rim-film-review-581518/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 July 2013. The film is formulaic and lacks subtlety or novelty, but succeeds as energetic, fun spectacle with appealing giant-robot-vs-monster action and genre enthusiasm. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/movies/in-pacific-rim-pilots-inside-robots-face-alien-invaders.html) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 10 May 2011. The critic finds it a big, brash B-movie that delivers on robots punching monsters but notes the humans are thinly drawn and the action geography hard to follow. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/pacific-rim-review/) ## Sight and Sound — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 12 July 2013. The critic praises the breathtaking action sequences and del Toro's fanboy attention to kaiju design and homages, but faults the film for lacking ambition with cardboard human characters and a gung-ho militaristic tone. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/pacific-rim-review) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 7 August 2013. Sci-fi fans will enjoy the mechanical monster mash-up and del Toro's fanboy enthusiasm, but the murky fights and weak human drama will turn others off. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/pacific-rim-film-review-8705007.html) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 3/5. 8 July 2013. The critic finds the thunderous, detailed action set-pieces superb and a bang-up job for its target audience of 12-year-old boys, but complains that the film feels inhuman, repetitive and lacks del Toro's signature warmth and idiosyncrasy. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/pacific-rim-1) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 11 July 2013. The critic finds the film has a great premise of monsters versus robots but is hampered by thin characters, laugh-free comedy and little of del Toro's usual visual flair. The effects are ambitious but the overall result lacks personality and fails to transform the summer blockbuster genre. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/11/pacific-rim-review) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 8 July 2013. The critic finds the film an overstuffed but intriguing vision that stages battles like a multi-level video game, lacking emotional intimacy and poignancy despite elegant craft in effects and some personal touches. It singles out the Hong Kong sequence and the scientist character's ambition for praise while faulting the shallow human relationships. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/pacific-rim/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 22 July 2013. The script and characters are weak, but the massive monster-robot fights deliver the main appeal in a loud, business-oriented summer spectacle. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/22/grim-tidings) ## Variety — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 2013. It is the squarest, clunkiest, and loudest of del Toro's films—entertaining for fans of noise and chaos but lacking real engagement, wonder, or suspense. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-pacific-rim-1200535260/) ## Eye for Film — Max Crawford Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 July 2013. The critic praises the film as delivering exactly what fans of giant-robot vs. monster movies want, with astonishing battle scenes that avoid shaky-cam editing and give the jaegers real personality and physical presence. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pacific-rim-2013-film-review-by-stuart-crawford) ## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie Rating 4/5. 8 July 2013. The critic highlights Guillermo del Toro's visual imagination and infectious enthusiasm for kaiju and mecha genres, praising the spectacular robot-monster fights, lived-in production design, and bright eccentric atmosphere as a refreshing summer spectacle. It notes the film rushes through some character and story elements like the Drift concept and Mako's backstory, lacking depth and subtlety overall. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/pacific-rim-review-2/) ## The Wrap — Alonso Duralde Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 8 July 2013. The critic finds the film disappointing because the monsters and robots are hard to see clearly due to dark, rainy, night scenes, and the human elements and performances are weak. It offers some laughs and thrills but overall feels meager. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/pacific-rim-review-there-be-monsters-here-somewhere-101501/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/pacific-rim.md