Can You See How Pacific Rim Brings an End-of-Times Religious Slant to the Theaters?

At first glance, the science fiction film, ‘Pacific Rim,’ which hit movie theaters this summer, seems like the typical good guys fighting the bad guys flick. However, some viewers have responded to and likened the trailers, advertisements, and the movie itself to having a religious ‘savior-like’ slant related to the End of Times. Whether intentional or not, it’s not uncommon for movies to incorporate themes of religion, the apocalypse, or an ‘end of the world’ struggle. For some, this kind of underlying theme is just to increase the entertainment value, but sometimes, there is a specific message being sent out into the world.

The plot of Pacific Rim centers on a legion of large, monster-like creatures (called Kaiju), which start rising from out of a portal located at the bottom of the sea (the Pacific), and attack various locations around the world. Their presence kickstarts a war that has the potential to kill millions of people, as well as drain the resources afforded to humanity for a lengthy period of time. In order to overcome the Kaiju, the need to create a unique weapon is answered with huge robots called Jaegers. These heaps of metal and electronics are actually simultaneously controlled by two pilots whose minds and memories are locked into some sort of a bridge between the two that creates a link to one another’s brains.

While the Jaegers are a help to their current situation, they simply do not have capabilities advanced enough to truly defeat the Kaiju. As mankind come closer to facing a loss of humanity, forces defending the world must rely on two unlikely heroes to man a ‘legendary’ yet ‘seemingly obsolete’ Jaeger from the past. The movie goes on to highlight the efforts of a washed up former pilot and an untested trainee to put an end to an escalating apocalypse.

Aside from the obvious threat to the end of the world that is represented by the Kaiju defeating humankind, there are also various themes and scenes in the film that possess a strong religious link that feels as if characters and events related to the Bible are actually playing out across the screen.

A few points to consider regarding Pacific Rim include:

•    The Concept of a Religious Pit – In the Bible, a religious pit where a ‘beast’ emerges out of the sea is addressed. This same concept is used to describe how the Kaiju make their way into the world. With this ‘pit’ being opened, most of the Earth is destroyed, and an ‘end of times’ scenario starts to play out. This religious (bottomless) pit is referred to as the ‘abyss’ in the Bible, which leads to the underworld or hell.

•    A Reference to the New World Order – The Kaiju represent the forces that will supposedly ‘rise’ to take over humankind, and establish a New World Order that in our days, aims to take over global populations, and place everyone under the control of a world ran by just one government.

•    The Rising of a Savior – Humanity fights back and ‘rises’ against the Kaiju with their own version of a ‘savior’ to take down the ‘beast.’