Actually really liked Herc Hanson
The characters were all a little meh, but I liked Mako and Hannibal and Hercules was definitely my favorite. I like that he came all the way from piloting Mak 1's to the first and only Mak 5 Jaeger, and he and Chuck have the record for the most dead Kaiju. And that's just him and Chuck, goodness knows how many he killed before Chuck was old enough to drift. He is the only person really nice to Raleigh when he first shows up from just a genuine friendship point of view, and Raleigh honestly seems to respect him more than he does the Marshall. He's also a Marshall. I like how he and Stacker are on first name buddy term and just sort of do everything together, plus they're drift compatible.
The speed and efficiency that the Hansons use to pilot Stryker is so cool, and we only get to see a little bit of it on TV and before it gets fried, but it's enough to know that they really are probably the best pilots. And even when he gets shut down and they're just standing there in the middle of the ocean, Herc just continues to do his job and goes to shoot a Kaiju with a flare gun despite injured arm and certain death. There's a lot of courage for both him and Chuck in that small scene and it never gets mentioned. He has a lot of grace and humility as a character, probably more than anyone else.
I do tear up a little when he and Chuck talk before he dies, since they have such a crummy relationship and he feels like he's messed up as a dad.
Then in the control room scene. His closed eyes and trembling lip are only seen for a second when Chuck and Pentecost go kablooie, but it's noticeable. I love how when the bomb goes off and everyone is cheering he doesn't miss a beat, he's just GET THE CHOPPERS OUT COME ON THERE ARE STILL LIVES OUT THERE! And then when Mako and Raleigh are found and he says "stop the clock" I honestly think right there is the second best acting in the whole movie (after little Mako). His face just has this utter weariness to it, and while everyone else is celebrating he just look relieved and crushed in one facial expression, and he can't even bring himself to smile. It's the face of a soldier who went through a war and realizes that it's over, but cost so much in the winning. It's the face of a dad who lost his son and his best friend (not to mention his Jaeger) while other people got to come home. No parent should have to outlive their kid, and I can only imagine how hard it was for him to have to stay in when his son went out.