Archive for October 28th, 2009
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Movie Review: Evangelion 01 – You Are (Not) Alone
Director: Masayuki, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Official Website
Plot: In the not-too-distant future, 14 year-old Shinji Ikari has been summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father who he has not seen for many years. Upon arriving, he finds the city under siege by a giant monster called an “Angel.” Picked up by a young woman who works for Shinji’s father’s organization called Nerv, she drives him to their underground base (a giant geo-front) and orders him to pilot a humanoid mechanized unit called Evangelion. When Shinji refuses, realizing that his father only summoned him here because he had a use for him, his father orders another 14 year-old pilot into the cockpit. However, this pilot, Rei, is severely injured from a previous experiment activating a previous Eva Unit, and can barely stand.
As the Angel attacks from above, the base begins to shake and Rei is thrust from her medical bed, blood leaking through her bandages. Shinji agrees to pilot the Eva, and is projected to the surface face to face with the monstrous Angel. However, not having any previous experience with the Evas before, he can’t even walk and the Angel attacks without mercy. Breaking his wrist and cracking his helmet armor, Eva Unit 01 is rendered broken and in the silence the human race watches as they are about to be wiped out from all existence by Third Impact.
Suddenly, Eva Unit 01 reactivates and goes berserk. It attacks the Angel with a ferocity and forces the Angel to blow itself up in an attempt to take Shinji with it. However, Shinji walks away with some minor physical wounds…but a whole lot of psychological trauma to deal with.
And this is only the first 20 minutes of the movie….
Those familiar with the popular (and highly controversial) anime series will see this as a rehash of the original footage. Let me put your fears to rest by saying that while there is a lot of footage from the original series and the beginning of the flick is a very sped up version of the first two episodes of the series (re-edited), the footage has been cleaned up to an amazing degree! There’s also new footage throughout, and while it’s mostly b-roll (stuff happening in the background or during voice overs), they do start to add more and more as the movie progresses. The battle with the 6th Angel is almost completely different, in fact. They’ve even added digital effects to many of the Eva and Angel sequences, and even some new conversations to help bring the audience up to speed.
For those of you not familiar with the series, you’re probably going to be completely lost watching this movie. But, like those of us who experienced the series, that’s part of the fun of it. Evangelion is brutal with it’s question asking, and not for forgiving with the giving of the answers. But, like modern TV shows like LOST, that’s part of the fun of it. For fans of the original series, they introduce some elements earlier on, making me think that later installments of this 4 movie series are going to be much much different. I also question if they’re going to follow more to the manga series (which has yet to finish, to my knowledge) which establishes more of the character relationships (specifically between Shinji and Rei), and builds Shinji more as a character instead of diminishing him like the series did.
I won’t go into the spoilers from the series, but in the movie they certainly lay the groundwork for a lot of the questions that many fans are still asking themselves after the conclusion of the series and the two movies that “finished it all off.” It is not a requirement for you to have seen the series to watch this movie; as I started before the beginning of the flick is the first two episodes in fast forward, and it just builds from there at a steady pace. The theatrical version of the movie that I watched was dubbed, and while I hate dubbed anime, this was tolerable to me because 1) new voice recording, so the voices are slightly less obnoxious, and 2) I was just so damn excited to watch this movie it wasn’t even funny.
Walking away from the theater, I just want to pop in the series again and start from the very beginning.
Shinji’s journey is a difficult one, as he not only has to deal with being a 14 year-old kid with all of the social skills of a mute, but also because the fate of the human race literally rests on his shoulders. And he’s not your regular hero. Shinji is incredibly flawed, and that helps make his journey that much more interesting to watch. At the end of the movie, in fact, the desperation of his struggle is made all the more clear by a speech given to him by an adult about the world that they live in. The audience feels the weight of his burden as they watch the drama unfold, and his last-ditch effort to save humanity from the onslaught of Angels barreling down on Tokyo-3.
If you loved the series, you should totally watch this movie. If you have never heard of Evangelion but enjoy anime, then you HAVE to watch this movie. Then go out and get the series and thank Lilith that you didn’t have to wait for them to come out like the rest of us. If you don’t like anime and have never heard of Evangelion (but enjoy shows that ask you questions, like LOST) then you could probably get into this series.
From the opening sequence described above to the dramatic conclusion of the final battle against the 6th Angel, this movie is loaded with everything you love (or will love) about this series. And a closing song by Utada Hikaru (who did the theme song to Kingdom Hearts, for those of you unfamiliar with Japanese singers), and this movie is definitely going into my DVD collection. It may be a scam to get more money out of me years after the series has ended, but you know what – it worked, and I don’t mind at all. And the promise of things to come in the next installment (stay until after the credits for a teaser), and I’d say that a new generation of anime lovers is going to get hooked – and the previous generation will get hooked again.
I’ll leave you now with the closing credits song by Utada Hikaru, entitled “Beautiful World.” I have to dust off my DVD box set of Evangelion now and go nerd out….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OGncC04dRI
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Video Game Review: Uncharted 2 – Among Thieves
Platform: PS3
Developer: Naughty Dog
Official Website
Plot: The game opens with fortune hunter Nathan Drake (a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, a great explorer) sitting in the chair of a train, blood pouring out of a gunshot wound in his stomach. Looking out the window, he appears to be in the mountains. Upon trying to sit up, he realizes that gravity is playing tricks on him – and that the train car is actually dangling from the side of a mountain cliff. Falls and breaking out of the bottom of the train, Drake watches in horror as the door falls far down into the valley below. Losing blood and moving slowly, Drake begins to climb the train cars to reach a safe area….
…and that’s where Uncharted 2 starts you off.
After the events of the first game, Drake is looking for his next score that is going to make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. Apparently separated from Elena (the journalist that followed his adventures to find El Dorado in the first game), Drake teams up with new love interest Chloe and her partner to follow the clues left by Marco Polo and find the Cintamani Stone from the lost city of Shambhala. Based on some historical truth but with a measure of fantasy and fiction (think Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider…but a little less fantastic), Uncharted 2 is like the biggest action movie (but with a plot that actually makes sense) where you play the movie hero. Drake is a fun protagonist with a heart of gold and quick with the witty banter, and some sweet moves to get him through the levels against armed soldiers and a madman trying to gain ancient power for himself.
The gameplay is mostly duck and cover mechanics, with very fluid animation and intuitive controls. You also do some platforming and puzzle solving, but if you get stuck the game does give you hints throughout. I will admit to getting stuck in a few rooms because your path doesn’t stick out as obviously as in other games of this type. The path you’re supposed to take blends into the lush backgrounds like it was actually part of the world. This is not a flaw, but something that I’ve been looking forward to in gaming for a long time. A level of emersion that completely brings the world to life, instead of pointing out the path you should take. Thankfully, there’s not much penalty for dying if you make a wrong jump.
The game is very forgiving in it’s platforming, though. Jumps that appear to be impossible are very probable with Drake being one of the most athletic characters in a game (even with a bullet in the gut).
The action sequences are what stick out to me the most in this game. While the first game focused more on the duck-and-cover mechanics, this game enjoys marrying more the gun play with fist-a-cuffs. The ability for Drake to duck behind cover, shoot some guys, grab a dude that’s running him to him and pull him over cover and punch him in the face, then run out shooting and get into a fist fight with another enemy is jaw-dropping to watch, and even more fun to play.
I’ve already reviewed the multiplayer beta for the game, but I’ll add here that they have added additional content, play modes, maps, and even extended the maps that were available in the beta! I’m not much of an online game player, but with some friends this game is rather fun – mostly because I can actually hold my own.
If you own a PS3, you need to get this game and the first one. They are fantastic, hours of fun, and with a great story and great play mechanics. If you don’t own a PS3, then you should be jealous of me like I’m jealous of you (ie: I want to play Mass Effect). This is the game to own on this system, and probably the best game of the year!
Nominate this website in the 2009 Web Comic Reader’s Choice Awards (Trevor A Mueller Presents). Suggested nomination categories include writing and art. This is the last week to make your nominations!
A period of time passes between the previous scene and this scene. Originally when I envisioned it while doing the shoot, Trevor was still drunk or under the influence of drugs. But something’s not quite right here….and we’ll find out on Friday, with the finale!