When legions of monsters, known as Kaiju, started rising from the ocean, a war began absorb the resources of humanity for decades on end and that will take tens of thousands of lives. To combat the Kaiju, a particular sort of weapon was invented: gigantic robots which two pilots whose minds are secured in a bridge control simultaneously. But the Jaegers are demonstrating almost defenseless in the face of the persistent Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces protecting humanity have no option but to turn into two unlikely personalities --a washed-up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an undercover trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)--who are teamed to drive a mythical but apparently obsolete Jaeger before. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the apocalypse that is mounting.