This is Code Geass at it's best, and I didn't believe it could get better before I watched this.
Come on, Code Geass has mecha, so it is full of unrealistic technology, supernatural powers, Kururugi Suzaku and Big Brain plays everywhere. So none of these characteristics are new to anyone who has watched anime once before.
Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch first came out in 2006 and ended in 2008 with one of the best and saddest anime finales I've ever laid my eyes upon. If you can't relate to this, maybe consider we are very alike and/or Code Geass is not your kind of anime.
When I first knew Lelouch was coming back in a movie I couldn't help but think that they were going to butcher the great ending to the series for the sake of making money on Lelouch and his crew again, and that Code Geass and Lelouch's death, as I came to accept it after watching the series time and time again should remain untouched.
This movie shows us all of the great and not-so-great characters again, and does so the same way the series used to do, as we should expect. That's it, the movie does nothing different from what the series used to give us.
To have Lelouch back for one final display of his Big Brain's abilities is just too satisfying for someone who had invested themselves in that 2006 anime.
----- Story (9/10)
The story just works, it is Code Geass, and the movie's plot puts together everything we know it for, it is no masterpiece and there are a lot of questionable points in it. The conclusion to the story elevates my view on this
----- Art (9/10)
The artstyle is the same and the animation is filled with money and time, which means it's well made, something I've come to expect from what we call movies. I am no expert, I just like it. A lot.
----- Sound (6-7?/10)
I can't give it my best view on the soundtrack since I often just lose myself while enjoying the ride and even though the sound plays a role in it, I can't tell how good it is, what I can for sure say about it is that it was just enough so that there are no wierd soundless scenes or out-of-place sounds. I will be revisiting the whole series and I will try to pay more attention to this.
----- Character (10/10)
The old characters remain as good as they were and only a few go through some kind of development, as the other don't really need it and the movie is more of a re-encounter between them to achieve a common goal. The only new characters are the antagonists, which receive a brief introduction throughout the movie, we know too little about them to care about them, and enough to understand their motivations, or, if you are a bit more critic, just accept their role as antagonists.
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As the movie hints you that "Lelouch doesn't know if he'll be allowed to exist tomorrow" I began to accept that Lelouch would, at some point, perish along the other world after achieving his goals, similar to the 2008 ending. He does make a new visit to the other world and at this point I was sure he wouldn't come back. I could not be happier for being wrong, as Lelouch was saved and came back to end the series.
After the "CC is leaving without telling Lelouch" drama, I was gifted with the most satisfying conclusion I could have asked for, and the best part of it is that I didn't ask.
So Code Geass: Fukkatsu no Lelouch is a masterpiece for those who can enjoy Code Geass to it's core.
