'Pacific Rim' Packs Enviro-Scare Message

The upcoming monster movie Pacific Rim looks like everything a summer movie aspires to be–big, loud and chock full of fun special effects.

The film, opening nationwide July 12, also includes an environmental scare message that puts it in ideological lockstep with several other summer movies.

Rim, from director Guillermo del Toro, follows humanity’s battle against a race of monstrous aliens who rose up from the bottom of the ocean. Turns out the creatures’ path to the surface was paved, in part, by ozone depletion and good ol’ fashioned pollution.

It’s a minor plot point but part of a bigger trend this season where Hollywood fuses its progressive messages onto otherwise standard popcorn fare.

In White House Down, conservative politicians and pundits alike are taken to the cinematic woodshed, all the while a stand-in for President Barack Obama (Jamie Foxx) gets the action hero treatment. The Lone Ranger trots out its anti “white man” theme repeatedly through its bloated running time.

Next month, the sci-fi feature Elysium promises to have audiences rooting for a 99 percent type (Matt Damon) against the very rich who live apart from the downtrodden. The film also packs a pro-amnesty theme detailed in the film’s official web presence.

Both White House Down and The Lone Ranger have under-performed, with the latter potentially costing its studio $150 million.