Then I saw The End of Evangelion. Many people have said that The End of Evangelion is Hideaki Anno's giant fuck you to the fans who hated the original last two episodes of the show. Well I managed to feel that. I hated this movie. The plot got way too out of hand, it was overly cruel to its characters, there were film making techniques that came off as a bad David Lynch impersonation, the ending was a complete cop out and the entire movie made me wanna scream.
So with that in mind I checked out Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone. I had heard that all it was, was the first 6 or so episodes condensed, reanimated and re dubbed and that was 100% true. I took the first film as nothing more than fan service and sighed. There was an opportunity to do more but they really just did the George Lucas thing but a lot better and with less financially driven ideals.
So now we've come to Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance, and I gotta say guys if you were to ask me before I saw this movie I would have said I just wanna see it for the new animation. It's just going to be the same exact thing as the series so hooray. But wow. This movie shattered my expectations of what I could expect from an Evangelion product. When I sat down to watch the original series expecting to be amazed THIS is what I was hoping for. This is a more than worthy successor to the legacy that Evangelion carries with it.
There's so much that happens in this movie that to try and describe it would be going into spoiler territory so I'll try and remain vague but informative. One of the main problems I had with Evangelion was its story structure. I was able to follow along with it but it did get a bit heavy handed at times. The surreality was good but by the last two episodes it got a little grating. With 2.22 they finally struck that perfect balance with moments of surrealism perfectly intertwined with the action and human anguish of the main story. I loved the fact that they were actually able to get to a point that was the same in the series but had a completely different way of getting there. The action in this movie is extremely well staged as always with Evangelion big fights feel epic and there's so much more brutality in these fights that you didn't feel before.
While Misaro still feels a bit inconsequential like in the series Rei has more growth and development. I guess my problem with Rei in the series was one of her trademarks which was her distant attitude and lack of emotion. I usually don't support trying to make emotionless characters more human because that's what kinda makes them interesting but for some reason the things they had Rei doing in the movie that were a little more indicative of a teenage girl really felt right. I ended up caring more about her and found her really enjoyable to watch.
Shinji and Asuka still keep their personalities however which I fully support. I love the way these two work off of each other and they're the center of the film's comedy. The dub is masterfully done, it's great that they got back nearly all of the main cast with the exception of Amanda Winn-Lee as Rei but Brina Palencia is more than qualified to handle it. Everyone is on their A-Game bringing the raw emotion needed to carry the dialogue, there is such rage delivered in some of these lines that it can actually get kinda scary. When Shinji freaks out it doesn't come off as whiny it comes off as tortured and from a place of pain. Asuka is still able to keep that better than you attitude while still having that insecurity and Rei as said before just comes off as normal teenage girl trying to find her way. Trina Nishimura as always turns in a stellar performance as Mari which carries notes of insanity but still being badass.
I wish I could say more about the flick but it would really ruin it if you go in knowing too much. What I will say is that Evangelion 2.22 finally gets it right for me. It hits that sweet spot that I've desperately been looking for in this title. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a bonafide classic, it has loyal fans, created an international whirlwind and will likely be fondly remembered for years to come. I enjoyed the original series for its daring new storytelling but was disappointed in its final outcome. This rebuild series is proof that time can change a story for the better. It's one of the few remakes that goes above and beyond its original material. These movies could have been a total fuck up but if this was any indication then it's definitely heading in the right direction. I give Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance 4 and a half out of five stars.
4.5/5
