Atlantic Rim (film)

Atlantic Rim (also known as Attack from Beneath, Attack from the Atlantic Rim and From the Sea) is a 2013 American science fiction monster film produced by The Asylum and directed by Jared Cohn. Shot in Pensacola, Florida, the film stars Graham Greene, David Chokachi, Treach, and Jackie Moore, and in the tradition of The Asylum's catalog, it is a mockbuster of the Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures film Pacific Rim.

Atlantic Rim
DVD cover
Directed by	Jared Cohn
Screenplay by	Richard Lima Thunder Levin Hank Woon, Jr.
Story by	Jared Cohn
Produced by	David Michael Latt David Rimawi Paul Bales Christopher Ray
Starring	Graham Greene David Chokachi Treach Jackie Moore
Cinematography	Alexander Yellen
Edited by	Rob Pallatina
Music by	Chris Ridenhour
Production company	The Asylum
Distributed by	The Asylum
Release dates	June 24, 2013 (2013-06-24) (United Kingdom) July 9, 2013 (2013-07-09) (United States)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$500,000

Released direct-to-DVD on June 24, 2013 in the United Kingdom, and on July 9 in the United States, the film received generally mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

Following the mysterious disappearance of an oil rig and a reconnaissance mini-submarine in the Gulf of Mexico, scientist Dr. Margaret Adams initiates the Armada Program, which consists of giant robots designed for deep sea rescue. The three robots – piloted by Red, Tracy and their friend Lieutenant Jim Rushing – dive nearly 800 fathoms to the sea bed, where they encounter both the mangled remains of the oil rig and the monster that brought it down. Against orders from Vice Admiral Hadley, a U.S. Navy SEAL and the commander of the District 7 Naval Base, Red pursues the creature, prompting Hadley to order every naval fleet on the East Coast to converge on the oil rig's site. Red emerges on a beach to warn the bystanders to evacuate the area; the monster suddenly attacks him from behind, and their subsequent brawl heavily damages the city. After an F/A-18 Hornet assists him in defeating and killing the monster, Red is arrested for disobeying a direct order and is locked in solitary confinement; he is briefly released by Hadley and later given a Medal of Honor for his earlier heroism, before serving the rest of his confinement.

Later, Hadley is informed by Captain Sheldon "Snake" Geise, a Surface Warfare Officer, of a top-secret sonar program that discovered the monsters, which are hundreds of millions of years old and lay their eggs on a mixture of crude oil and saltwater. Two eggs have been discovered, one of which hatched into the monster that Red and Spitfire killed earlier. Hadley orders a search for the other egg, but he is too late, as it has already hatched, with the second monster, much bigger than the first, feeding on the corpse of the first monster and destroying a whole naval fleet before wreaking havoc on the city. As the monster attacks the naval base, Tracy and Jim scramble to spring Red out of solitary before they are picked up by Lieutenant Wexler. Meanwhile, Geise informs Hadley that the President has authorized a nuclear strike on the monster, but Hadley defies that decision and orders all personnel to evacuate the base. The monster retreats after a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit drops a payload on it. Hadley is later informed that another egg has hatched off the Atlantic Coast.

Adams gives the trio special "halo" headbands that neurally link them to their robots, increasing their reflexes by using their direct body movements instead of joysticks but also causing the pilots to feel pain when the robots are damaged. After a crash course on the new system, the trio fly their robots to New York City to battle the monster. Following numerous refusals by Hadley to launch a nuclear strike, Geise orders the USS Virginia to launch a warhead. Red intercepts the missile and jams its frequency, saving the city from suffering from a nuclear holocaust. Geise retaliatorily threatens to shut down the robots, but is quickly subdued by Wexler, despite shooting Hadley in the arm. During the battle, Tracy loses consciousness when her neural level goes critical. Jim rescues Tracy and carries her to safety while Red grabs the warhead and the monster before flying them to the atmosphere. He then kicks the monster into deep space, subsequently detonating the warhead and sending himself crashing back to Earth. The trio reunite upon Red's recovery, and Hadley invites them to celebrate by heading to the local bar for several rounds of tequila shots.

Cast

• Graham Greene as Vice Admiral Hadley, a U.S. Navy SEAL and the commander of the District 7 Naval Base
• David Chokachi as "Red"
• Treach as Lieutenant Jim Rushing
• Jackie Moore as Tracy
• Nicole Alexandra Shipley as Stone
• Jared Cohn as "Spitfire"
• Jinhi Evans as Dr. Quinn Baker
• Steven Marlow as Captain Sheldon "Snake" Geise, a Surface Warfare Officer
• Nicole Dickson as Dr. Margaret Adams
• Demetrius Stear as Lieutenant Wexler
• Larry Gamell Jr. as Smith
• William Shannon Williams as Captain Dager, a Surface Warfare Officer
• Joseph Brown as Motion Capture For Robot / Paramedic

Production

Atlantic Rim was originally planned to be shot at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, but The Asylum were denied permission to film at the base after a high-ranking official read the script and disagreed with the portrayal of the soldiers. As a result, the production team relocated to a private helicopter airport that served as a stand-in for at least seven locations for the film. The film's script underwent at least nine rewrites during production due to weather conditions and the last-minute relocation.

Reception

Dave Pace of Fangoria gave the film two out of four stars, calling it "a testament to why there aren't many live action giant robot vs. monster movies. It's a very difficult thing to do right and keep the audience on your side. Atlantic Rim manages to be enjoyable as a bit of a goof and works on the 'so bad it's good' level." Dread Central gave the film three out of five stars, describing it as "the ultimate monster movie about booze-hounding broskis in battle bots saving New York City from a crazy-eyed giant sea beast that frequently appears to be merely a lost animal, confused and irritated that these metal men won't stop hitting it."

It is one of six films featured in Season 12 of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and was the first film released in the 21st century to be riffed on the show.

Future

Sequel

On October 5, 2017, it was announced that a sequel had wrapped filming. The film, entitled Atlantic Rim: Resurrection, was released in March 2018. Following from the first film, it was a mockbuster of Pacific Rim Uprising, and it received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.

Spinoff

One of the Armada Suits from the Atlantic Rim films appears in the 2022 film 2025 Armageddon, a crossover film released to celebrate The Asylum's 25th anniversary. It is sent by alien invaders to attack Earth, but is captured by humanity and used as a weapon against other Asylum monsters sent by the aliens.

External links

• Official website
• Atlantic Rim at IMDb