Have yet to see Pacific Rim, but the probability of it being worse than this is highly unlikely. There are worse movies from The Asylum than Atlantic Rim, but is that saying much? The Asylum have been capable of some tolerable movies and some movies that have a lot of flaws but have a dumb sort of fun(the recent Sharknado fitted in this category), then there are some that are lame but with its moments and some that are bottom-of-the-barrel. Atlantic Rim is bottom-of-the-barrel quality, it not only is so badly done in every way but there isn't any novelty value to make it fun, whereas some other terrible Asylum movies did have specks of that. There are worse special effects from The Asylum and they are the least bad asset of Atlantic Rim, the robots are very Power Rangers-like but they do look decent though the sea creature is slapdash and doesn't seem that much of a threat. In other technical areas Atlantic Rim fares worse, the editing and camera work are rushed and frenzied, making some scenes containing action not very cohesive and the sound effects and mixing are muddied. The music is generic and doesn't come across as memorable at all, sometimes at a sluggish tempo which made it a rather dull score too.
The dialogue is just painful, the interplay between the soldiers is awkward and the actors look even more uncomfortable delivering it while the scripting itself is shallow and rambling and if you're looking for sense you won't find it. The story as to be expected shows The Asylum's complete lack of originality, it's a decent idea but executed horribly. The pacing is hugely problematic in the movie, there is a lot of irrelevant filler and exposition that bogs everything down significantly while the action is rushed and done in such a half-hearted. Anybody who expects thrills, fun and a little suspense are better off finding something else, none of those things are in Atlantic Rim. None of the characters are likable, they have cardboard personalities- once you get over the fact that once again The Asylum are using literally every cliché in the book- and are severely undeveloped, to make things worse the soldiers are annoying and the villain is like one from a bad Saturday morning cartoon. The acting gives insult to the word amateurish, with a mix of looking constipated, bad overacting, having the inability of acting scared or fearful of their situation and just acting emotionless. Atlantic Rim joins the long list of low-budget movies where a capable actor gives a lousy performance, in this case Graeme Greene, and there are the obligatory beautiful women whose acting talents don't match their looks. All in all, just terrible with no entertainment value to be had. And that is even when you know what to expect. 1/10 Bethany Cox
