The main selling point of this one, the revisiting of Kaworu, is extremely disappointing. Because of the short run time, most of the romance we've been waiting to see is just exchanging exposition and lore dumps. If you were hoping a modern retelling of Kaworu's story might be more explicitly queer, you're out of luck because the relationship is now predicated mostly on an exchange of information. Shinji's internal conflict has been quieted to make way for musings about overcomplicated lore that does little for the story.
The rest of the cast is absent or unable to shine for most of the movie, so fans hoping to see badass Asuka with her cool new eyepatch won't have much in the way of character. There's an abundance of loud, bombastic fight scenes which tend to happen in the background of recreated character moments from the original series. At times it feels like watching a very old play at the theatre, while children with lightsaber toys run around behind the main cast fighting.
It's worth watching for morbid curiosity's sake or to appreciate the nice shots and a few good scenes, but anyone new to the series will be confused, and veterans will be frustrated with the butchering of once loved elements.
