I saved this one for last.
After all, you don’t often witness chemisty as immediate and as just plain weird as whatever’s going on between Charlie Day and Ron Perlman. In “Pacific Rim,” Charlie Day stars as a scientist who has devoted his life to the study of the kaiju, the giant monsters that have been pouring out of a hole at the bottom of the ocean. I love Day’s work in the film, and I think they made some sensational choices in terms of his look. I love that he’s got tattoo sleeves that are all kaiju that have fallen in battle. His character is trying to contribute something to the war efforts that is totally different from what the Jaeger pilots do, but just as valuable.
It’s because of his efforts that he comes into contact with Hannibal Chau, played by Ron Perlman, who is such a brother to the film’s director at this point that Perlman could probably get away with changing his last name to Del Toro. Chau runs the black market for kaiju organs and anything else they can salvage when these giant monsters fall. Even thought Day is playing a kaiju expert working for the military, he still have no choice but to reach out to Chau. There is something he needs that only Chau can provide, and from the moment they meet, there is this great tense mood of near-violence between them.
On-set, it seemed like there was a fairly active atmosphere of ball-busting, and if they ever make that an Olympic sport, Perlman could probably medal in it. Day is a really interesting choice for this film, and I think there’s something of a Michael J. Fox attitude to what he does. Fox was always so great at the physical side of what he did, and Day really sells what he’s doing in a similar way. That’s high praise coming from me.
Now that “Pacific Rim” is done, I’d like to see someone make about a dozen movies starring these two. I don’t even care what they’re about. I just think they’re great together, and I suspect many of you will feel the same.
“Pacific Rim” opens this Friday.