Go Big Or Go Extinct

Warner Bros. has released the previously WonderCon-exclusive longer trailer for Guillermo Del Toro's "Pacific Rim," which closes on a shot that - in a just world - should end up being the single most memorable image of the entire 2013 schedule. Holy. Shit....



I remain REALLY worried about the prospects for this one. Oh, it'll almost certainly be a magnificent film... but I feel like the studio and others might be way overestimating the prospects for it. I'm loathe to admit it, but all the military/LeBeouf/Fox douchebag bullshit that Bay etc piled on top of "Transformers" is what got that first movie to open as a mainstream blockbuster instead of a niche nerdstalgia property. "Rim," on the other hand, looks like much more of a "pure" version of what it is - a movie aimed at monster/robot/dinosaur/scifi-fixated 10 year-olds (and adults who never outgrew it) without much interest in getting "Fast & Furious's" (unironic) audience into seats. That's commendable, and will likely make for a better movie... but I can easily imagine Hollywood's precious teen-bro demographic saying "This looks GAY!" and taking a pass.

But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe "The Avengers" has changed the game already in that regard. Does anyone reading this have kids and could maybe attest to whether or not they're running ads/promos for this on Cartoon Network daytime or Nick or whatever? Because I think what'll make the difference on this one is if it become a pre-release "must-see" among the actual children at whom this kind of material is always best received when done right. We'll see.