Pacific Rim, the movie spacifically.

[Hammerskjold]

The problem I had was that the Gipsy Danger was getting its arse handed to it throughout most of the movie, until it finally pulls out the giant sword and starts tearing Kaiju to shreds. Why was it engaging in a boxing match when it had a huge-ass sword they had seemingly forgotten about? Why not LEAD with that weapon?

Just off my memory here, IIRC Gypsy Danger only had the sword in the repaired\upgraded\refurbed version.

I know I know, then why the hell didn't they use this sword right away when the upgraded Gypsy Danger stepped back into the ring?

My guess is respect for the source material\tradition. No seriously. I grew up with 'Voltes V', possibly one of -the- great grandfather of Japanese giant robot anime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%8Dden...e_Voltes_V

Voltes V's arsenal consists of variety of missiles, a bazooka, beams, and weapons such as Chōdenji Top (Similar to the Chōdenji Yo-Yo of Combattler V) and Tenkūken (天空剣 Sky Sword, "Laser Sword" in the English dub, "Excalibur" in the Italian dub). With Tenkūken, Voltes V marks the enemy's final moments with a signature "V" slash. This established it as one of the first super robots to use a sword in its finishing attack.

Now I can definitely confirm this for nearly all the episodes until the last one. Monster of the week\episode shows up, battle ensues with various weapon vs monster of the week's power, but the sword was -the- finishing move.

But story wise it's probably treated more like a Mortal Kombat 'Fatality' move, not an actual move. Otherwise why not start with a 'Falcon Punch' in every fight. Also, fight would be over too soon without showing the rest of the toys accessories dammit!

Or if I'm thinking it as in-universe and trying to be generous, maybe they weren't even completely finished testing it? Cause' it would be a jerk move if Mako deliberately held back on the info until nearly the last minute.

Perhaps huge stress since despite her skill she's still a relative rookie\didn't want to mention it except as a last resort because she wasn't sure if it would've worked at all?

Speaking of the upgrade scene though, there was one bit that I personally really had to be generous with in overlooking. It was the 'she's rebuilt with pure iron, no alloy' quip. Now I'm not a metallurgist. But I do futz around with metal and steel for a hobby. And my first reaction was, '...wait that's retarded if they meant that literally.' Actual pure iron would be crap as a hull for a Jaeger. I chalked it up to 'maybe they're using the word as slang'. Iron= fictionallium metal\hollywoodized titanium.'

Though that is a bit of a missed opportunity for me I think. I know it's another trope in fiction that unobtanium metal alloy=weak, pure unobtanium metal=strongest. While in reality that's usually the opposite. Then again I guess this trope follows more the gold route. Alloyed=less valuable therefore weaker, higher purity = more valuable therefore stronger.

I say it's a bit of a missed opportunity because the 2 pilots, the mind drift, the various countries\personalities allying\alloyed are stronger together idea, they could've used a real life example of metal alloys as yet another subtle nod to the theme.

Then again, I guess the movie is not catered towards metal hobbyist only.

That's what I figured. These are giant monster killing robots. I don't imagine that any of the budget was used to make them "safe".

But think of the children! On a more serious note, I know Gypsy Danger was the main Jaeger of the story, but Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon was such an awesome design\name that I was slightly pissed off that they didn't get more screen time.

Take a well deserved bow Cherno and Crimson, you two were awesomest in my book.