A perfect example...

Of how movies featuring giant robots can be enjoyable and not dumbed down to the masses, this is what I always tell narrow-minded film nerds who defend Michael Bay's insultingly bad Transformers movies!

What separates Pacific Rim from Transformers is that it's plot is smart and creative, where's Bay couldn't tell a good story if his life depended on it!! It also doesn't rely as extensively of special effects nearly as much whatever Bay craps out of his @ss, Bays over-reliance of aesthetics serves only to cover poor writing. The characters are also two-dimensional and are realistic and relatable, Bay's characters are just stereotypes.
Most importantly: In Pacific Rim the action is competently filmed and you can ACTUALLY see what is going on in the shots, unlike in Bayformers which the action is muddled and confusing with too much close-ups and explosions.

All this goes to show is that Guillermo del Toro understands and appreciates film, where's Bay is nothing but a money grabbing hack who doesn't give a *beep*.