“Pacific Rim” is a movie that takes a lot of risks and is looking for a big reward.

The film stars “Sons of Anarchy” actor Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket, a once-great pilot of giant mechanical robots called jaegers that left the program after tragedy struck. The jaegers are weapons that have been created to fight giant aliens from another dimension called the Kaiju.

The war between the Kaiju and humans has been raging on for a while as the introduction to the film ends. The humans have become masters of the art of fighting with their jaegers, and many of the pilots have become cocky in their ability to defeat the Kaiju. The film describes them as being rock stars.

Eventually, the Kaiju become bigger and stronger, requiring Idris Elba, playing Stacker Pentecost, to put together a ragtag team of the best pilots around. Becket returns as pilot of his old jaeger Gypsy Danger and is joined by rookie pilot Mako Mori, played masterfully by Asian actress Rinko Kikuchi.

The movie is a love song to fans of similar anime titles such as “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” but it is like nothing you have seen on a movie screen before.

Director Guillermo del Toro is a master of his craft known for making acclaimed films on a low budget, so this project held a lot of interest to see if he could successfully transfer to a film with a bigger budget. And he absolutely did.

I expected to enjoy the movie because of the sheer awesome factor of seeing giant robots fighting giant aliens, something children have dreamed about for years playing with toys like Transformers. What I didn’t expect, however, was to enjoy the story as much as I did.

The film proves that you can take a simple story with good characters and a lot of heart, and put it together in an action movie – something Michael Bay needs to learn before putting out his next Transformers schlock.

But when people go to a movie like “Pacific Rim,” they go for the action, and this movie has it in spades.

Throughout the film, you get to see the jaegers fighting the Kaiju in different locale – from the icy shores of Alaska to the streets of Hong Kong and even deep below the surface of the ocean – each with their own style and intricacies that make the audience a part of the action. The excellent 3D work done on the movie doesn’t hurt matters either.

At one point in the film, while the two monsters are fighting underwater, there is a large explosion that drains the ocean floor. In that moment, the audience can feel an atmospheric shift as dead fish rain down from the sky and water rushes back into the screen. Scenes like this immerse you in the movie so much that you almost feel as though you’re at the fights yourself.

I watch a lot of movies, particularly in the summer, and like “Dredd” did last year, “Pacific Rim” quickly stole my number one slot.

With its beautiful imagery and effects, this is a film that begs to be seen on a big screen, and there is no bigger around here than the IMAX theater. It may be a little more expensive, but I feel that it’s the best way to experience this monster of a movie. It’s entirely worth it.

If the film appeals to you in the slightest, go see it. You will not be disappointed.