Mar 7, 2021
I just came back from watching this in the theatre. A tl;dr: The most satisfying ending to Evangelion with some caveats.
I should say off the bat that I only recently sat down and watched the original series and remake movies, and honestly I was kinda iffy about them. This review is coming not from an Eva super-fan, but a fan of movies and entertainment. What I found satisfying might ultimately not be what someone who has stuck with and loved the series for so long is after. That being said, let me start with what I know best: Animation and art direction.
Animation/Art: 8
This movie is
...
beautiful. All the more on the big screen if anyone is lucky enough to get the chance. I was blown away by the colour choices and sheer love put into every scene, and I was impressed by some of the bold moves taken by the directors; Not every film will be able to get away with doing what Eva did in this movie, but it pulled it off well and added a level of sincerity to an animated film that one rarely sees. The camera moves are astounding in the fight scenes and the cg is blended very well with the traditional hand drawn animation. Where I dock points is when the CG animation gets clunky at a very pivotal moment in the film. I was pulled straight out of the scene for a moment but I was drawn back in as soon as the traditional animation took over. If it wasn’t for that, I might have given the art a 10, but it was a big hit. If you can forgive one or two sins, you will love the art and animation in this movie.
Sound: 9
Great sound design goes unnoticed, and the sound design here is masterfully unnoticeable. The combination of some of the sound effects and animation almost moved me to tears. The soundtrack is also great and Hikaru Utada’s theme songs will be stuck in my head for a while to come. Not much to say about the sound, it’s good and it won’t distract you from the movie.
Character: 10
The characters are classic Evangelion; deeply flawed and painfully real. Whilst I had my doubts about what fans might want earlier, I don’t think any super-fan of Eva will be disappointed in the characterisation in this film. I can’t say really anything about how this plays out without spoiling everything, so I urge you to bear witness to them yourself.
Story: 8
Again, it’s very hard to say anything about the story without spoiling the entire thing, but just know that it was cathartic for me. It’s only an 8 because Eva will do Eva things but if I was judging it based on how the writers handled the ending to a series this massive and convoluted, it’d be a 10.
Enjoyment: 10
I cried. The people sitting next to me cried. I also gasped and laughed and felt angry and elated. I don’t know if I can ask for anything more from a piece of media. It’ll definitely stay with me and I’m glad I watched it.
Overall: 9
I rarely give 10’s and this is no exception. It was a step away from perfection but slipped and made a really good recovery. If you’ve already seen the first 3 movies I have no doubt you’ll see this one, but if you were in doubt about starting up the series I assure you that the ending, at least, is worth your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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