Book Review: PACIFIC RIM – MAN, MACHINES And MONSTERS

Guillermo Del Toro’s giant monsters versus giant robots flick, Pacific Rim is an epic production and it deserves an epic making-of companion. Pacific Rim – Man, Machines And Monsters is such a tome.

The Titan book covers every aspect of production in immense detail (costumes, casting etc). However, let’s be honest – it’s all about the robots (Jaegers) and monsters(Kaiju) and Man, Machines And Monsters covers that in exactly the sort of detail you would want – heck, it’s even in the title. The most significant part of David S. Cohen’s book is the art by Del Toro himself, showing that Pacific Rim is his ambitious vision. The director has a deep appreciation of Lovecraftian lore (see his famed unmade version of At The Mountains Of Madness) and he takes this to the next level with Pacific Rim. The minutiae in the artwork on display here is mesmerizing and you can really feel the sheer scope of the world that Del Toro has created.

Quite often making-of books fail to hit the mark, coming across as little more than glorified press releases. However, Pacific Rim – Man, Machines And Monsters feels honest. Sure, it doesn’t go into any behind the scenes squabbling (surely there must be some on a $200 million epic), but it feels like it was written for fans of the movie who want more. Much more.

Pacific Rim – Man, Machines And Monsters delves deep into the production of Guillermo Del Toro’s monster-machine mash-up in glorious detail. It features a wealth of information and includes some posters, pop-outs and stickers for added fun.

If you loved Pacific Rim, then you will adore Pacific Rim – Man, Machines And Monsters.