The film begins in 2013.
Deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, a fissure opens up that leads to another dimension.
Through the fissure, a giant monster called Kaiju begins emerging, and destroys portions
of coastal cities.
After several days and countless lives lost, the creature is defeated by human military
forces.
In response, The world unites to stop the invaders, and builds massive robots called
Jaegers: a series of giant mechanical 'monsters, intended to stop the creatures.
as the test subjects were not able to handle the stress and strain of controlling such
a huge robot by themselves.
It was then decided that each Jaeger would be piloted by two or more people, who share
a mental link via a process called "Drifting" to share the mental stress of piloting the
machine, synchronizing their movements to maneuver the massive machines.
Pretty soon, the world is enthralled by the Jaegers and their pilots.
They become celebrities, and even have merchandise made.
As well, the dead Kaiju are soon seen as a black-market commodity, their parts sold off
for various collections and medicinal purposes.
But just as the war seems to be turning in humanity's favor, the Kaiju's attacks become
more frequent and more brutal.
In 2020, two brothers, Yancy and Raleigh Becket, one of the more famous Jaeger duos pilot the
American Jaeger, Gipsy Danger, to defend Anchorage from a Category-3 Kaiju codenamed "Knifehead".
they are sent off to stop this giant monster heading towards Anchorage.
The beast is larger and more powerful than previous category 3s and will be a challenge
for the team.
they end up being brutally attacked by the Kaiju, which possesses a head designed specifically
to penetrate the Danger's chest.
the kaiju rips off the Gipsy Danger's left arm, and tears away a chunk of the vehicle's
head which pulls Yancy out of the Conn Pod, killing him.
Raleigh barely manages to pilot the damaged Gipsy Danger on his own and finishes the battle,
using the robot's giant plasma blaster to kill the creature.
Raleigh later pilots the Jaeger to a remote beach where it finally collapses.
Raleigh walks out, bearing injuries from the battle -- exhausted and emotionally devastated
Raleigh collapses on the beach.
Traumatized by the loss of his brother and the strain of drifting alone, Raleigh quits
the Jaeger program.
Five years later, world leaders decide to cease funding for the Jaeger program and replace
it with coastal defense walls since Kaiju are appearing more frequently, and Jaegers
are being destroyed as quickly as they are built.
Many assume that building the coastal barriers will make them safe, but the walls are quickly
proven to be ineffective.
The remaining Jaegers are relocated to Hong Kong under the command of Marshal Stacker
Pentecost, who plans to try to destroy the Breach using a tactical nuclear weapon, even
though previous attempts to do so have failed.
Working on the wall near Sitka, Alaska, Raleigh sees television reports that a Kaiju has broken
through the wall surrounding Sydney Harbor in Australia.
Fortunately, a Jaeger is able to take the monster down.
After seeing the news report, Raleigh is surprised when a helicopter lands near his construction
area, Pentecost steps out of the copter and talks to Raleigh, and he finally convinces
Raleigh, and recruits him for the mission.
Raleigh is then flown to the Hong Kong Base, the Shatterdome, and he is introduced to Mako
Mori, the director of the Jaeger's restoration program and Pentecost's adoptive daughter.
Pentecost also introduces Raleigh to two scientists under their command.
One of them, Dr.Newton Geiszler, is an obsessive 'Kaiju Fanboy,' who studies the creatures
from a biological standpoint, through salvaged organs and other parts.
The other is Dr.Gottlieb, who is a more 'practical' man, using his mathematical knowledge to try
and pinpoint the frequency of creatures coming through the ocean rift.
In Shatterdome Only Four Jaegers remain in operation, the refurbished Gipsy Danger, the
Russian Cherno Alpha, the Chinese Crimson Typhoon, and the Australian Striker Eureka,
piloted by father-and-son team, Herc and Chuck Hansen.
Raleigh questions Pentecost on just what their plan is.
Pentecost explains that are formulating a plan to drop a nuclear weapon into the channel
between dimensions.
If it works, the channel will be destroyed, stopping any further Kaiju from coming through.
Though the plan of attacking the channel has failed in the past, the program's leaders
are confident they will be successful this time if all the remaining Jaegers attack simultaneously.
To find a new co-pilot, Raleigh participates in tryouts and decides that Mako is "drift-compatible."
A test run of Gipsy Danger within the Shatterdome appears to be going well, until during the
Drift session, Mako gets locked into a tragic memory and almost sets off the Jaeger's plasma
cannon within the dome.
Following the incident, Raleigh understands more about Mako and Pentecost.
When Mako was a child, she lost her family to a Kaiju attack in Tokyo.
Just when it seemed the creature was going to kill her, a Jaeger was deployed that stopped
it.
The pilot of the Jaeger was Pentecost himself.
Even with her becoming unfocused in the drift, Raleigh still wants Mako as his partner, but
is again rebuffed by Pentecost.
Pentecost soon after meets again with newton and Gottlieb.
Hermann claims the Breach will stabilize and the Kaiju will increase in number, but it
will allow the assault to succeed.
Newton suggests attempting to drift with a Kaiju's brain to learn more about them but
is dismissed by his colleagues.
He tries it regardless and hooks into the Kaiju brain in his lab.
The strain of the drift is quite overwhelming for newton and Gottlieb shuts it down.
newton reports to Pentecost and his men that the link allowed him a glimpse into the other
side of the portal.
discovering that Kaiju are bioweapons grown by alien colonists.
newton had theorized that based on some Kaiju samples, what they were seeing coming through
were cloned creatures, and his drift vision appears to corroborate the theory.
Unfortunately, the Kaiju brain has been damaged, and newton needs a fresher brain in order
to learn more.
Pentecost instructs Newton to find black market dealer Hannibal Chau to obtain another Kaiju
brain to drift with it.
Chau is a dealer in Kaiju remains, collecting them from battle sites and dealing them on
the black market.
newton is sufficiently impressed with Chau's secret room containing live specimens that
could be useful in his research.
newton tells Chau that he wants an intact brain.
Chau reveals that he'd also drifted with a Kaiju brain and the result was permanent injury
to his left eye and the danger that the aliens can send any Kaiju to find him in the city.
Newton now realizes the Kaiju hive mind gained access to his brain, since drifting is a two-way
link, and Shortly after their discussion, two Category 4 Kaijus surface near Hong Kong.
Pentecost sends out Crimson Typhoon and the Cherno Alpha to fight the creatures, with
Striker Eureka as backup to protect the City's coastline.
All Jaegers except Gipsy Danger is dispatched to intervene.
One possesses a pouch in its throat containing acid that melts away Cherno Alpha's armor,
severely disabling it.
Crimson Typhoon's crew takes her into the fight, but she is soon overwhelmed by one
of the Kaiju that uses a clawed tail to rip off the jaeger's head.
Cherno is attacked by the larger of the two Kaiju and defeated when they're forced underwater
and the monster crushes their reactor, drowning both pilots.
The father-son team piloting Striker Eureka abandons their orders to protect Hong Kong,
and go at the creatures.
However, the other Kaiju lets loose an EMP burst that disables Striker Eureka, and the
equipment in the Shatterdome.
With 2 hours until the system can be rebooted, Striker Eureka is dead in the water until
Raleigh offers a solution: though the newer models of Jaeger are digital, the Gypsy Danger
is analog and thus more resistant to EMP attacks.
Pentecost sends out Raleigh and Mako, who end up destroying the EMP-armed Kaiju after
a protracted battle, but the other one ends up heading into Hong Kong.
While Chau and his associates have fled to their bunker, newton has been thrown out into
the streets by Chau to hide in a public fallout shelter.
However, when it sounds like the creature has settled directly over them, he begins
to panic that Chau may have been right, and that it may be looking for him.
As if to answer that the ceiling caves in, and the Kaiju attempts to reach him.
Just then Gipsy Danger appears and distracts the Kaiju.
The battle goes through many buildings, and Gipsy is able to freeze and shatter the creature's
tail and tear out its acid sac.
However, the battle takes a turn when the creature suddenly sprouts giant wings and
begins to carry the Jaeger into Earth's upper atmosphere.
Utilizing a new weapon, a large chain sword, they manage to destroy it before plummeting
back to Earth, barely regaining control of the Jaeger as a team to make a safe landing.
Raleigh and Mako return to the Shatterdome to cheers as the pilots of the Eureka also
voice their thanks and appreciation.
During the jubilation, Raleigh notes Pentecost bleeding slightly from both nostrils.
In private, Pentecost reveals to Raleigh he has terminal cancer due to piloting a first-generation
Jaeger, which lacked radiation shielding.
Meanwhile, newton has returned to Chau and demands claim over the dead Kaiju's secondary
brain.
Chau's men attempt to get to it, but find it damaged and useless.
However, they also discover the Kaiju is actually pregnant before their communication link with
Chau goes dead.
Just then, an infant Kaiju breaks through and attempts to escape before falling down,
seemingly choking on it's own umbilical cord.
As Chau gloats over the dead infant Kaiju, the creature rears up and swallows him whole,
finally dying in the street.
Dr. Gottlieb soon shows up in Hong Kong with newton's machine, and though the first attempt
almost killed him, Gottlieb volunteers to drift with the other scientist, to cooperate
in learning more through the infant Kaiju's brain and handle the strain of the experience
together.
Plans are soon made to set up the Gipsy Danger and Striker Eureka to deliver the warhead
to the undersea rift.
With his father unable to pilot Striker due to a broken arm, Herc Hansen is left without
a partner.
Pentecost surprises everyone when he takes the role.
However, the strain of piloting a Jaeger could prove fatal to Pentecost, but he volunteers
anyway.
As the two Jaegers near the rift, newton and Gottlieb rush into the Shatterdome's control
room, and explain that the plan will not work.
The channel between dimensions reads DNA and will only allow in a Kaiju.
Two new Category 4 Kaiju are detected guarding the Breach.
both Jaegers battle the creatures to clear the path to the rift.
as a third Kaiju, a Category 5, larger and more powerful than the previous creatures,
emerges.
Gipsy Danger and Striker Eureka sustain heavy damage in the battle.
Unable to deliver the bomb, Striker Eureka detonates it to take out the defending Kaiju
and give Gipsy Danger a chance to enter the rift, as Gipsy acts as the nuclear bomb to
seal the Breach.
Once inside, Raleigh and Mako will detonate Gipsy's nuclear reactor and destroy the rift.
Gipsy attaches itself to the Category 5 Kaiju and fall with it into the rift, bypassing
the code that would reject any non-kaiju.
Inside the Kaiju dimension, Raleigh ejects Mako in a life pod and manually initiates
the detonation of the nuclear core.
As Gypsy Danger enters the other dimension, Raleigh ejects in his own pod before Gipsy
Danger explodes and collapses the rift, ending the Kaiju threat once and for all.
On the surface of the Pacific Ocean, both pods reach the surface.
For a brief period, it seems that Raleigh may be dead but he awakens, much to Mako's
joy.
Every one on the shatter dome celebrates the victory as the kaiju threat has completely
gone, and moments after helicopters arrives to rescue them.
A mid-credits scene reveals that Hannibal Chau has survived being swallowed by the baby
Kaiju by cutting his way out with a pocket knife.