In terms of representation of women, there can be few worse offenders than Pacific Rim. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, and co-written by del Toro and Travis Beacham, the film is a science fiction-action tale set in the 2020s. Earth is at war with giant inter-dimensional creatures named Kaijus, which arrive through a portal under the Pacific Ocean. The human race fights them with enormous ‘mechas’, known as Jaegers – which are essentially humanoid machines piloted by operators joined to each other by a ‘neural bridge’. That may sound highly complex and sophisticated, but basically, it’s monsters versus robots.

Now, perhaps Mr del Toro is under the impression that women don’t like science fiction, or that girls aren’t especially interested in action. Maybe the studio behind t...

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