The big event on television tonight was the premiere of Under The Dome, the new post-apocalyptic series based on the novel by Stephen King and brought to the small screen by acclaimed writer Brian K. Vaughn (Y: The Last Man). Exciting as that is by itself (and you can read our own Kelly West's recap to that point), the television also happened to deliver a brand new expanded TV preview of the brand new epic monster vs. robots film Pacific Rim. And now that clip has arrived online, thanks to the WB YouTube page.
Over the past few months, the folks behind the new Guillermo del Toro film have been working hard to get across the scale of the giant battles that will be seen on screen in the new film, but what I love about this new preview is how it shows off something new: tension. When 30-story aliens and robots are doing battle, everyone is bound to feel the terrifying effects, and this trailer gets that across wonderfully. I love hearing Rinko Kikuchi's nervous breath play over shots of preparation, battle, and destruction, and the shots of Charlie Day's character standing among throngs of scared people are just as effective. Then, of course, you have Idris Elba's ridiculously awesome, motivational speech, which makes me want to leave my apartment and find a way to pilot a mech so that I can cancel the apocalypse personally.
Based on an original screenplay by Travis Beacham, Pacific Rim is set in a not-too-distant future where monsters from another dimension nicknamed Kaiju begin to emerge from a rift that has opened up in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. When these beasts begin to attack populated cities, the United Nation comes together and organizes the Jaeger program, the department in charge of creating skyskraper-sized robots that can be used to fight off the other-worldly invaders. The story centers on a washed-up veteran (Charlie Hunnam) and an inexperienced newbie (Kikuchi) who have to team up and pilot an outdated Jaeger model called Gypsy Danger in order to save the world from destruction.
We've been waiting for this film for a long time, but it will finally be arriving in theaters on July 12th. To dive even deeper into the world of the epic science-fiction film be sure to read all about my time on the set, which I posted last week, and you can watch the latest full-length trailer below.
