WATCH: Do The Jaeger Meisters In New 'Pacific Rim' Trailer Defy Logic?
So there's a new Pacific Rim trailer out. It's not a whole lot different from the last one that was released, and, like the last one, it leaves me with one big suspension-of-disbelief problem.
I can't say I'm a student of the whole Gundam/Jaeger/Voltron school of big bad-ass mechanical suits, but every time I see the scene — that's been in both trailers — in which two side-by-side soldiers operate the legs of the fighting machine by running in place, I have to ask, why would any defense contractor build a weapon that would requite more than one independent-thinking individual to operate it? I know that there's some kind of neural piloting system called "pons" that keeps everyone in the Jaeger operating as one, but, I mean, those soldiers look pretty strapped in place. What if one of them gets a cramp?
It looks like Guillermo Del Toro is going for a Real Steel meets Fritz Lang's Metropolis by way of Michael Bay's Transformers-type vibe, but I keep thinking that, on a logical level, operating one of these Jaegers would be a coordination nightmare, particularly in the heat of battle. And if I had Idris Elba yelling in my earpiece all day, I'd have an even bigger problem staying in sync.
Also, if you look at this Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) video, the future of robotic warfare looks like the only humans required will be those operating the remote controls. (That AlphaDog just won't go down.) Why make it more complicated than that?
I'm betting that some Pacific Rim super fan out there will have answers to my questions and restore logic and balance to my world. Leave them in the comments section below.
Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Subscribe to the new Movieline on YouTube
Comments
It's simple. Making them take two pilots to operate eliminates (or limits) the chance that a pilot will go bugnuts, steal a robot and start going smashy smashy with it.
It's like when they need two keys to launch a nuke (WarGames).
That's an interesting concept. Hadn't thought of that, but doesn't that also make fighting the aliens harder unless you recruit the pilots from the Olympic Synchronized Swimming team?
Cue wacky "WE HAVE TO LEARN TO THINK AS ONE" montage.
Of course it has to do with nural processing power. You couldn't run on a one brain processor; you need a fancy duo brain processor. They have to walk in tandem because their brains are linked in some fancy way. If one get a scratchy ass they both feel it and respond in the same way. DRAGON ZORD POWER NOW!
In other words, a scratchy ass spells doom for the Jaeger.
There will be a device that creates a neural bridge between the two pilots. It basically allows synchronized movement but still has two people to operate all the complex machinery, like how many military vehicles right now require multiple people to operate (like tanks and combat helicopters).
That being said, the Japanese Jaeger, being an earlier model, only uses one person, so it's clear that it's mostly because technology advanced quickly to fight the kaiju.
My idea of a blog post for sure, good work on the fantastic piece you have done on checking the subject down into easy information.
I've had another question going through my head ever since I learned the plot for the movie a couple years ago: So interdimensional monsters emerge and we have to deal with them. That's fine; makes sense, they're a threat to mankind. But, we couldn't just blast them? Guns, bullets, bombs, fire, lasers, et al apparently didn't work but giant metal robots doing hand to hand combat does???? Building robots that (going by the trailers, anyway) only fight seems like a colossal waste of resources. Are you really telling me that bombs(maybe even nukes) wouldn't work against these monsters? They're obviously flesh & blood, otherwise why else would punches and kicks work on them.
I am so grateful for your article post. Fantastic.