Don’t read this if you haven’t watched Pacific Rim yet.
OK? OK. I’ve warned you.
Enough spoiler space.
I really liked Pacific Rim. And one of the things that impressed me was the setups and payoffs built into the storyline. My scriptwriting mentor always emphasised the importance of setups – without them, the payoff would seem empty. But you couldn’t draw too much attention to them otherwise you’d be giving the game away too early. And you had to be careful not to write things that seemed like setups, but went nowhere.
There were two plot elements in Pacific Rim that I thought were particularly well done examples of setups and payoffs, demonstrating that even a straight up science fiction action film can benefit from good setups and payoffs.
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Gipsy Danger’s nuclear core
Setup: When the Kaiju unleashes an EMP wave, all the other Jaegers are disabled because they’re too new. Gipsy Danger is the only one left who can battle the Kaiju, explained by the fact that she’s older and hence has a nuclear core, which is “not digital.” I didn’t get that either but it was well meaning scientific jargon.
Payoff: In the climax, they need to detonate a nuke at the Kaiju-producing source.. The only nuke they have is required to defeat the Kaiju protecting said source so that they can get to it. Solution? Detonate the Gipsy Danger’s nuclear core in its stead.
I think this was particularly well done because the nuclear core seemed like a random throwaway scientific fact that was later pulled back as the very reason why they were able to defeat all the Kaiju in the end. You didn’t expect the nuclear core to come back for any reason, but it did so naturally and elegantly.
Drifting
This isn’t so much setup and payoff as it is a wonderful plot device. It served so many purposes.
Two pilots per Jaeger: This creates a lot more dramatic tension, since there is the issue of compatibility between pilots. It can be seen as sexual, or co-operative, but there’s always the danger of them not co-operating. Were it just one pilot per Jaeger, they wouldn’t have someone else to talk to (and hence deliver exposition). I’d label this the setup.
Scientist’s information: This served to help the scientist gain information and create the added complication at the climax. I’d label this the payoff. This also helps to generate…
The Kaiju brain subplot: It’s not really necessary when you think about it, but without this subplot, the fight would have been very draggy.
Backstory of the pilots: Through drifting, you see the backstory of the pilots without resorting to flashbacks or lengthy exposition.
So there you go. Watch Pacific Rim, it’s showing in cinemas now!
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I’m a Singapore television scriptwriter who’s written for Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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EMP shockwave reminded me of starcraft!