Yes, the man who announced the apocalyptic cancellation memo in Pacific Rim has to possess one of the most epic-sounding and ridiculous names in one of the most epic and ridiculous movies of the year. Stacker Pentecost could easily be listed alongside Barney Ross and Lee Christmas in The Expendables without seeming the slightest bit out of place. It somehow gives him an air of authority, almost a religious aura, mixed with a dose or two of badassery.
Idris Elba doesn’t exactly need a big, tough name to give him any more gravitas than he can muster on his own, but Stacker Pentecost is enough of a departure from Stringer Bell to give off a slightly more monumental impression while maintain all the intensity and focus. But ultimately, like the rest of Pacific Rim, as much as I like it, I’m not sure I get why it’s there.
I mean, I enjoy it, it’s fairly awesome, but compared to other people, I wasn’t over the moon for it. I kept wanting it to mean something or to have some greater effect to make up for the stiff acting and general excess. I may not have been nostalgic enough, or may have just missed the point entirely, and was too busy thinking about how I want to have a son named Stacker Pentecost except not because that would be irresponsible and a weird reference to a movie I didn’t even like much.
Maybe someone else could explain to me what the hell it means, if anything, because I have no bloody clue.
Continue reading on the next page…
