- As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.
- When monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.—Del Torro
- For years, Earth is repeatedly attacked by giant monsters called Kaiju that emerge from a portal beneath the Pacific Ocean. The only effective defense is the Jaeger program, massive complex robots that require pairs of neural-linked pilots. However, as each Kaiju attack becomes more powerful and frequent, Humanity must change its tactics. To that end, former Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket is reactivated as part of a desperate plan to destroy the portal. As Raleigh strives to heal his inner scars and help his new partner conquer hers, an intrepid scientist discovers a way to link to the Kaiju's mind to learn about them. Unfortunately, that proves a mixed blessing as vital information of both sides is inadvertently shared and the stakes rise for a final battle.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
- The war between mankind and monsters began when sea monsters or Kaijus start rising from the portal beneath the Pacific Ocean. To fight the Kaijus, humans build giant robots called Jaegers, controlled by two pilots simulteneously. Unfortunately Kaijus began to develop and gets stronger that Jaegers could barely defeat them. On the edge of defeat, Pentecost, the man in charge decided to destroy the portal with the help of Raleigh Becket the Jaeger pilot and a trainee Mako Mori—Aken Purnomo
- In the near future, gargantuan alien beasts identified as Kaijus have risen from a portal in a crevasse beneath the Pacific Ocean and attack coastal cities resulting in a war that takes millions of lives and quickly consumes humanity's resources. To combat the monsters, the nations of the world set aside their differences and combine resources to build a new type of weapon: massive, humanoid fighting machines, known as Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are bound in a neural link which lets them share the mental strain which would otherwise overwhelm a single pilot.
The Jaegers are initially successful in fending off Kaiju attacks; however, over time, Kaijus cross through the portal at a faster rate, with each new Kaiju adapted for fighting the Jaegers, targeting their vulnerabilities. As they become less effective, Earth's united governments lose faith in the Jaegers' ability; the Jaeger program is terminated, with resources diverted to building a coastal fortification to protect coastal cities. The four remaining Jaegers are redeployed to Hong Kong to defend the unfortified coastline until the wall can be completed. Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), commander of the Jaeger forces, devises a plan to end the war by using a nuclear warhead to destroy the portal in the ocean.
At Anchorage, Alaska, brothers Raleigh (Charlie Hunnam) and Yancy Becket (Diego Klattenhoff), are deployed in their jaeger to fight a new kaiju named "Knifehead". The Beckets' jaeger, Gipsy Danger, is one of the older and most successful machines in the service, having racked up several kills. A small fishing boat finds itself in close proximity to the approaching beast. Countermanding their orders, the brothers are able to grab the boat and deposit it out of danger. Gipsy takes on the beast in hand-to-hand combat and blasts it a few times with it's plasma cannon. The monster falls, seemingly dead. However, a few seconds after the Beckets report their "victory", the monster attacks more viciously, tearing away at Gipsy and using it's namesake nose to sever the jaeger's arm at the shoulder. The monster also attacks the machine's head, tearing a chunk away, taking Yancy with it. Overcome by grief and injury, Raleigh barely manages to convert the jaeger to single-pilot control as it is attacked again, the beast driving its pointed snout into the machine's chest. Raleigh is able to activate the jaeger's blaster and finally kill the beast. He pilots the machine back to the Alaska coast where it finally topples. Raleigh himself is found by a father and son scavenging on the beach, who see him emerge in shock from the jaeger before he collapses.
Five years later Pentecost finds Raleigh working on the anti-kaiju wall being erected around Anchorage and convinces him to return and rejoin the jaeger fleet at the Shatterdome in Hong Kong. Raleigh is surprised to see that the wrecked Gipsy Danger is in there as well, repaired and refitted with new systems and weapons. Raleigh tests with potential co-pilots to find one with a strong connection, as the stronger the connection, the better their performance in battle. Sensing a strong connection, Raleigh demands to be partnered with Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi). Pentecost opposes, as Mako is his adoptive daughter, but he eventually relents.
The duo's initial test run nearly ends in disaster when Mako is trapped in a childhood memory of a Kaiju attack; she inadvertently activates and nearly discharges Gipsy Danger's weapons while in the hangar. The duo are withdrawn from the field as the remaining Jaegers, Cherno Alpha, Crimson Typhoon and Striker Eureka, are tasked with fending off a double Kaiju attack in Victoria Harbor. The defense goes badly, with the Kaijus destroying Typhoon and Cherno with newer appendages designed to target the more vulnerable spots on the jaegers. Cherno is sprayed with acid from the Otachi kaiju, Typhoon's command center head is torn off by Otachi's clawed tail. Striker is rendered completely inert when the larger of the two kaijus sets off an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that also disables all tactical and communication equipment at the Shatterdome. Pentecost sends Raleigh and Mako to mount a last stand, and the duo drive off the assault, killing both kaijus.
Meanwhile, Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day) -- a scientist studying the Kaijus -- assembles a machine allowing him to establish a mental link with a Kaiju brain fragment. The experience nearly kills him, but he discovers the Kaijus are actually artificial weapons sent to Earth as an invading force to allow another species to colonize the planet.
With Pentecost's approval, he seeks out Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman), a major figure in the trafficking of Kaiju parts, in an attempt to procure an intact Kaiju brain to repeat the experiment. Chau criticizes Geiszler's merging with the Kaiju brain, as he has attracted their attention, and the Kaiju attacking Hong Kong are seeking him. After Gipsy Danger kills the two Kaiju, Chau and his team move in to harvest parts. Geiszler realizes one of the Kaiju is pregnant; Chau and his crew are attacked by the newborn, which dies after eating Chau. Geiszler and his colleague Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) merge with the baby Kaiju's intact brain, where they discover the secret controlling the flow of Kaijus through the portal.
The Jaeger forces reassemble to complete their plan to destroy the portal. Pentecost, revealed to have been one of the original Jaeger pilots, takes command of Striker Eureka as one of its usual pilots was injured in the defense of Hong Kong. Pentecost ventures into the ocean depths, with Raleigh and Mako supporting him. Geiszler and Gottlieb inform them the portal has a fail-safe system to control the passage of Kaijus and will only allow them to enter if they can mimic a Kaiju's genetic code.
Before they can process this information, they are attacked by three Kaijus, including the largest on record. Pentecost detonates the warhead, sacrificing himself and Striker Eureka to kill the Kaijus guarding the portal. Raleigh and Mako seize a weakened Kaiju and enter the portal, intending to overload Gipsy Danger's nuclear reactors to use it as an improvised bomb. With the Jaeger critically damaged by the fight, Raleigh ejects Mako and manually overrides the safety protocols before ejecting himself. Gipsy Danger detonates on the other side of the portal, destroying it and the alien commanders, as the two pilots emerge safely on the sea's surface.
In a post-credits scene, Chau-revealed to have survived-cuts his way out of the newborn Kaiju's stomach.
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