In light of K-day (the day of the first Kaiju attack) or as non-Pacific Rim fans call it, August 10, 2013, I would like to share five things that I absolutely loved about this movie.

Let me start off by saying that yes, I realize this movie wasn’t perfect; yes, it did have flaws; yes, the women to men ratio was abysmal yet I just can’t stop loving this movie.

I am not an anime fan, I never watched it as a kid so I don’t really know much about it. I went into this movie with no prior knowledge about it except for the fact that giant machines (Jaegers) beat the shit out of giant monsters (Kaiju), and honestly that’s all I needed to know to draw me in.

Pacific Rim was one of those movies that I felt was a total surprise. I never expected it to be as awesome as it was. The visuals, the cinematography, the creativity, the sheer scale of those machines absolutely stunned me, and the story kept me intrigued.

In case you are on the fence about whether you should see it or pass it off, I’ve compiled a brief list of why it is worth your time (with little spoilers as possible).

1. The Global Reality

I’ve been waiting a long time for Hollywood to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around America; other nations need saving too. And Guillermo Del Toro understood that.

Unlike in all the latest summer blockbusters, in this we actually see that the entire Earth is under attack. From Manila, to Kabul, to Sydney, we see that the Kaiju did not discriminate (unlike other out-of-space aliens) and it was so REFRESHING to finally see that.

Also keeping the worldly aspect in mind, this was probably the most diverse blockbuster I’ve seen come out of Hollywood. In this we have an American pilot (Charlie Hunnam) commanded by a British officer (Idris Elba) who takes care of a Japanese girl (Rinko Kikuchi) in Hong Kong while managing a team of Jaeger pilots consisting of Russians, Chinese and Australians, and German scientists (Charlie Day and Burn Gorman) all directed by a Mexican genius and scored by a German composer. Can you name a blockbuster more diverse than that? Honestly.

2. Mako Mori

There are not enough words in the vocabulary for me to describe how I absolutely adore Mako Mori. Her entire character, her backstory, her intelligence, her demeanor, her accent, her fighting skills. Here we saw a female protagonist who is driven by personal motivation not by sexual interests. Her character was the least sexualized character I have seen in recent years and yet was the most attractive of them all; not just because of her beauty but because of the respect she shows towards everybody.

3. The Scientists

At first you might say that these characters seemed very cartoon-y and over the top and many reviewers criticized that. I, however, loved them. In this day and age in movies, scientists are known to be very plain, somewhat boring characters whose sole purpose is to magically solve the problem, but Pacific Rim totally turned a 180 on that stereotype.

These people, perfectly portrayed by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman, are actually funny, enthusiastic, and have a passion for their work. One works solely based on facts and figures, the other, a kaiju groupie, likes to take risks and do the unthinkable (the drift, anyone?). Yet the dynamic these two share is extremely intriguing and, without a doubt, entertaining. This movie actually made science cool!

4. Young Mako (Mana Ashida)

Can someone please give this girl an Oscar, like, now! Honestly, holy smokes, this little girl’s acting was phenomenal. It was this scene that gave this movie so much depth. Her vulnerability, her fear, everything was portrayed so beautifully that every second I was praying for her safety. Every. Second. Even though I knew she would live. That’s how crazy awesome she is. I’ve already seen this movie thrice, but I would go 10 more times just to see this breathtaking scene.

5. The Soundtrack

Ramin Djawadi hit it out of the ballpark with this one. If by the end of this movie you don’t walk out of the theater feeling like you have the power to slay a Kaiju, then you don’t have a single badass bone in your body. The soundtrack of this movie literally transports you inside the brain of a Jaeger, making you feel invincible. Major props to Djawadi for creating such a terrific soundtrack that brought this movie to a whole new level of A-W-E-S-O-M-E. This is honestly one of the best soundtracks I have heard in recent years.

Because this is ultimately an action movie, I’ve refrained from mentioning any details of the action scenes on here (to avoid spoilers) but I’m just letting you know that the battles in the movie are some of the most MIND-BLOWING, KICK-ASS, EPIC action sequences I’ve seen in a long time. These scenes alone are worth your money, the story is a bonus.

So that’s my list. Sorry for sounding like a 12-year-old kid, but this movie really makes you feel that way. I could go on and on about this film, but I’m limited to only a thousand words. So, in short, I’ll just say this: I command you to go see Pacific Rim NOW (while it’s still in theaters).

P.S. If you’re on the fence about 2D or 3D, I suggest 2D if you want to save some money. The 3D effects are only prominent in IMAX.