Now that the formalities are over with in Eva 1.0, Eva 2.0 is where the deviation from the source material begins. One of my complaints with the previous film is that it feels like an extended movie trailer because it tried to cram episodes together. This movie doesn’t nearly have that problem. While there are old story elements sprinkled here and there, most of this film is new content that has room to breathe. The direction is stronger here; there isn’t a need to cut out as much radio silence as possible.
There are some interesting character moments here and there. Rei has more of a soul, and a subplot regarding a dinner with Gendo brought some warmth to her character. More importantly, Shinji doesn’t suck here. His sulking is much more tolerable and understandable in this film. A new character, Mari, is introduced, and she’s serviceable, I guess.
There is more emphasis on 3D animation here, which is positive or negative depending on how you see it. I feel this makes Eva look sleek and modern, though I can understand people who prefer a more traditional look.
Overall, Eva 2.0 is alright. What it adds, it succeeds at. The whole film still has a case of the “movie trailer syndrome”, and I found the story to be directionless, much like its predecessor. While the climactic scenes are done well, there are some baffling music choices during crucial points of the story that, if substituted with another song, would’ve greatly improved the scenes. It’s definitely better than 1.0, but I won’t lie, I was a bit bored watching through it.
