Archive for ‘movie review’
32 items.
Movie Review: King of Kong Fistful of Quarters (2007)
Director: Seth Gordon
Cast: Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Walter Day
Plot: Donkey Kong, one of the most famous (and most difficult) video games of all time. This documentary is about the World Record of the highest score of the hardest arcade video game – and one man’s journey to achieve it.
In 1982 the highest score in Donkey Kong was awarded to Billy Mitchell – competitive gamer and restaurant owner – which was over 800,000 points. The second highest score was achieved in 2001, and was almost 300,000 points lower. Since that time, a foundation called Twin Galaxies has become the official record keeper of all things video game scores, and have even partnered with the Guinness Books of World Record. Billy Mitchell has become a member of Twin Galaxies and advocate for awards to be given to gamers who compete and play in public.
Steve Wiebe lost his job and needed to find purpose. He bought an arcade of Donkey Kong and started recording himself playing, in the hopes he would beat the world record. And he did. Over a million points! Upon sending the tape into Twin Galaxies, the group sent out people to take apart his machine, suspecting fraud. Ultimately they declared the score didn’t count, because it wasn’t done live.
So Steve enters a professional gaming tournement, and scores over 900,000 points. However, Billy Mitchell submits a video where he wins over a million points, and so the World Record remains with Billy. And so the drama of the movie continues to unfold.
I watched King of Kong with my buddy Josh – two comic nerds and video game lovers – who were completely enthralled in the plot of the flick. It shows what every Halo match online proves – there are douche bags who play video games. And while the audacity of the organization and the journey that Steve has to go through is compelling and incredible to watch, it’s also a little sad.
To me, video games have been a cultural experience. Something to be shared with friends, enjoyed by yourself, and something that challenges you to get to the next level. It develops eye hand coordination, and can be used as a learning tool. Let me give you an example: My little brother and I didn’t always see eye to eye while we were growing up, but when the opportunity arose to pool our money to purchase our first video game system (Super Nintendo), we jumped on it. But we had to establish a set of rules so no one hogged the system. We crafted a two-page set of rules for how we would give the other person their turn.
Plus, video games of past involved a lot of reading and puzzle solving.
But then you get the competitive jerks who aren’t satisfied by just playing a game – they have to defeat someone and be the best at it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to competition. I’m just opposed to douche bags. And sadly, the competitive nature of some video games has acted as a welcome mat in front of an open door for douche bags to push and shove and force their way in. Suddenly the video game party is filled with popped collars and keggers.
I exaggerate for dramatic and comedic effect, but still – this movie shows that it’s not exactly far from the truth.
Even if you don’t like video games or know anything about Donkey Kong, you totally need to watch this flick.
”Comment
Movie Review: Toy Story 3 (2010)
Director: Lee Unkrich
Plot: Buzz, Woody, Rex, the Potatoheads, and the rest are back. Well, most of them. You see, Andy’s grown up too and gotten rid of most of his toys. In fact, in a few days he’s about to start his first day at college, and his mom wants him to clean out everything he’s not taking. Some things get stored in the attic, some go to school with him…and some gets thrown out.
Due to a mishap, most of Andy’s toys get put into a donation box and end up at a day care center run by a pink bear named Lotso. But things are not quite as they appear, and it turns out that the toys try to get back to Andy – but are being held at the day care center by Lotso and his goons. Now the toys must band together and escape before Andy goes away to school.
Toy Story was the first fully CG animated movie, and also an amazing flick that touched me in ways I can’t even begin to describe. As someone with an over-active imagination, I played with my toys all the time, right up until college. Even then I was trying to make stop-and-go animated films with my GI Joe figures.
Toy Story 2 was a fun romp through the world that John Lasseter had created, and continued the success of the Pixar animated flicks. Toy Story 3 was the first in the franchise not directed by John Lasseter, which had me a little worried. Let me just say from the word “go” this movie is magical. Absolutely and completely. From the opening sequence (a direct call back to the first flick) to the final shot (I thought freshmen weren’t allowed to have cars on campus), this movie will captivate your imagination and throw you on an emotional / nostalgic rollercoaster that will make you long for the days of playing with your toys – or pull them back out and play with them again.
Your kids will love it, you’ll love it – and it won’t be able to come out to blu-ray fast enough.
Just a warning for more sensitive viewers (ie: the little little kids), the ending of the movie is kind of intense. I was surprised that they got away with the G rating, just based on how intense it was. My buddy and I were like, “oh snap, they’re not going to do this. No way!” And I won’t give away spoilers, but we were practically in tears.
Will this be the final Toy Story movie? I hope not. They certainly left it open for the possibility of more. And I hope it happens. The imaginative world that these characters inhabit reminds me of the adventures that I used to go on with my toys. And I love that nostalgic feeling. And I long to play with my kids and their toys and have those adventures again. Someday.
Movie Review: Sex and the City 2 (2010)
Director: Michael Patrick King
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Chris Noth
Plot: Carrie and the girls are back – hanging out and showcasing the latest apparel trends. Make no mistake, this movie is a film of fashion fantasy. And that’s about as far as it goes.
First off, I totally admit to not being the target audience for this movie. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy a good flick. Unfortunately, this movie falls flat on its face from a storytelling perspective. The conflict doesn’t even reveal itself until way late in the second act – lasts about 20 minutes, and then the movie ends.
So what’s the story about? It’s two years after Carrie (Parker) and Big (Noth) got married in the first movie, and Carrie’s written a book about being married for a year. They attend a gay wedding, Carrie and Big fight about him wanting to relax after a hard day at work (she’s a freelance writer and doesn’t have to go anywhere during the day – so of course she wants to go out when he comes home. But he’s been at the office all day. Dilemma).
Samantha (Cattrall) gets invited to promote a hotel out in the middle east, and of course brings all of the girls for another adventure abroad (noticing a pattern here in the movies). After a fashion travel montage, the girls are out in the desert learning about a new culture and basically soaking up the sun. Nothing happens plot wise for about an hour, and then Carrie runs into an old boyfriend. There’s your conflict.
Suffice it to say, if you were expecting clever writing or plot twists from Sex and the City 2, you will be sorely disappointed. The first movie was essentially an expensive / extended episode of the show (that, in my opinion, would have been stronger if they’d cut about an hour out of the running time) – and this movie follows suit. It’s about an hour too long to support the loosely thrown together plot, but that’s not the purpose of the movie. The magic of this flick isn’t in the storytelling – it’s in the reaction that it receives from female audience goers.
Attending a pre-screening of a movie that’s target audience is women (young and old), you make a few observations. First, all of the women in the theater assume that your girlfriend dragged you along to the movie, or that you’re gay. Because I don’t dress with style, they almost instantly disqualify the later of those two options. Second, the women in the audience react less to the plot than they do to the characters and the outfits.
I remember when the show was popular and everyone would say things like, “Oh that’s so Samantha,” and the point was that people identified with these personas that they created for the show. The audience can identify with the characters in the show, and experience their lives vicariously. This movie is the ultimate fan service, in this case. You identify with these female characters who wear these glamorous outfits and have these luxurious lifestyles, and you can live it with them. It’s a modern day princess movie. Only there are shoes instead of a prince charming.
After arriving at this revelation (sometime around the 30 minute mark), I was actually able to kick back and enjoy the movie with the audience for what it was – a fashion catalog. Starring you and your friends (again, vicariously).
This is never more apparent than when the girls first arrive in the middle east, only to discover that the entire Australian men’s soccer team is also staying at the hotel. While enjoying lunch out by the pool, the girls see the guys come back from practice sporting their speedos. There’s a montage of Australian soccer sausage shots that follows.
All in the movie, this movie isn’t going to win any awards for storytelling (or acting), but that’s not why you go see it. You go to see your friends (both in the movie and who’re coming to see the movie with you), experience glamor and fashion, and you go home. Maybe buy a new pair of shoes. Or a hat. That’s the purpose of this movie. And if you go in with that mentality, then you’ll have a good time.
If you’re expecting a plot even as simply constructed as a romantic comedy, then you’re going to be bored to tears. There’s no story here. There’s really no subtext (and trying to grasp subtext from the movie would probably ruin it for what it is – a fashion magazine). It’s just pretty clothes on girls.
If that’s your thing, enjoy. If not, then I recommend going to see Iron Man 2 again, or waiting for more summer blockbuster flicks.
I was invited by BAZAAR magazine to a pre-screening of Iron Man 2, and boy-oh-boy was it a fun flick. Don’t ask me why BAZAAR didn’t sponsor a Sex and the City 2 outing (maybe they will, when the flick hits theaters), but I’m certainly not complaining. So without anymore fuss, here’s the review (with some minor spoilers):
Movie Review: Iron Man 2 (2010)
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gweneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Micky Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle, Samuel L Jackson
Plot: Tony Stark (Downey Jr), after having revealed to the world that he was a superhero at the end of the last movie (hope I didn’t spoil it for anyone), has been living the high life. Sure he has some problems – the United States government wants the Iron Man suit, people are trying to replicate his technology, and the very system keeping him alive is also slowly killing him – but hey, life’s not so bad, right?
Think again. A man with a vendetta against the Stark family (Rourke) has come into town, and has started a mad scheme to destroy Tony and Iron Man forever. Meanwhile, the government is so hard-up to get their hands on the Iron Man tech that they employ Stark’s rival Justin Hammer (Rockwell) to try to recreate the suit.
And remember after the credits of the first movie there was an appearance by Nick Fury (Jackson), agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Well, he’s back in this flick in a much larger role, working to get Tony back on track.
Iron Man 2 is a fun movie where shiny things go boom! It suffers from what I call sequelitis, which is where plot is sacrificed for action scenes. This isn’t always an bad thing – and if you’re one of those audience members who doesn’t like thinking or any of that boring story stuff, then this movie will suit you just fine.
You get to see Iron Man doing everything you ever wanted to see him do in a movie. Fighting in the air, fighting against robots, fighting a dude with electrical whips, fighting himself, getting dropped on expensive cars.
No wait, that last one happened in the first movie. Well, it happens again here, too.
The inclusion of S.H.I.E.L.D. taking more of a front and center role in this movie really made me excited for the 2012 Avengers movie (and maybe a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie at some point?). With Black Widow (Johansson) kicking ass, and our regular Agent Coulson back again (remember him as the nerdy agent from the first movie), all lead by Nick Fury – I’m stoked.
Let’s talk for a moment about the replacement of Don Cheadle for Terrance Howard as Tony’s good friend, Rhodey. I personally think that Cheadle’s a better actor by far, and should’ve been cast in the role in the first place. He fills Howard’s shoes nicely. Too nicely. In fact, I want a War Machine movie. This is the flick where we get to see him come into his own – where he no longer stands in Tony’s shadow. And it’s great.
This movie was a fun way to start the summer, and if you enjoyed the first one then you should definitely check it out. Don’t expect any characterization or deeper insight into any of the characters – this is a pure popcorn movie. And sometimes, that ain’t so bad.
Also, a bit of note: the movie doesn’t end when the credits start rolling.
Movie Review: Cashback (2006)
Director: Sean Ellis
Cast: Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox
Plot: After a painful breakup, art student Ben Willis (Biggerstaff) starts having insomnia. To help pass the time, he gets an overnight job at a supermarket where his artistic imagination runs wild. He believes that he has the ability to stop time. As his sleeplessness grows, Ben begins to fall for one of the checkout girls. Can he overcome the trauma from his previous relationship and move on, or will he be cursed to continue not sleeping and freezing time?
Cashback is one of those rare movies that is very interesting and well written, yet also has some fantastic performances and deals with social issues that everyone has to face. At the time that I watched it, I had undergone a pretty serious breakup my own self, and even though I had started dating again, really hadn’t started feeling like myself yet. This movie captures that feeling perfectly. The numbness and loneliness of romantic loss are felt throughout. The scenes of freezing time are almost artistic visual poetry.
Without trying to give anything away, there’s a scene where Ben freezes time for two days trying to figure out how to undo what had already been done, and he knows there’s nothing he can do to change it. It’s a fantastic scene that really makes the movie stand out.
If you enjoy teen movies with themes of romance and love, be sure to check this movie.
Movie Review: Fido (2006)
Director: Andrew Currie
Cast: Carrie-Ann Moss, Billy Connolly, Dylan Baker
Plot: Fido is the classic story of a boy and his dog – only in this case, his dog just so happens to be a zombie. And not a zombie dog, but a zombie person.
Hold on, allow me to back up here. The time is Leave It to Beaver era 1950s, and the world has been over taken by the zombie apocalypse. In an effort to protect society, humanity has gathered into suburban camps with tall fences to keep the zombies at bay. However people can still turn into zombies inside the fence when they die or have accidents. Since space for graveyards is limited, the people have turned these zombies into servants, doing the undesirable jobs. To keep their human flesh desires in check, each zombie is fitted with a neck collar to suppress their hunger.
Enter Fido (Connolly), an older zombie who joins the Robinson family. Timmy, the little boy of the family, begins thinking of Fido as a pet. One day, Fido’s neck collar is damaged and he accidentally turns the old lady neighbor into a zombie. Of course, all hell starts to break loose from there and the result is one of the cutest zombie movies since – well, I don’t know when.
Fido is excellent on all fronts, from the classic Disney-esque story about a boy and his dog to the trials and tribulations of life. All under the guise of a zombie movie. The performances in the movie are very fitting. It’s the kind of movie that you don’t really want to see end.
If you like 1950s cinema, comedy, or zombie movies, then I highly recommend Fido.
Movie Review: Avatar (2009)
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, CCH Pounder
Plot: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Friendly scientists, Mean space marines, Greedy corporate guys, a main character trying to prove himself, and a discriminated people all have disagreements and duke it out. The difference here is the backdrop: an alien planet called Pandora – which is the real star of the movie.
Jake Sully (Worthington) is a space marine in a wheelchair. When his twin brother is killed in the AVATAR program on a planet called Pandora, they bring in little Sully to take over. The AVATAR program allows humans to pilot empty vessels that look like the indigenous people, called The Navi. The idea is to use the AVATARs to diplomatically relocate the Navi away from their home, which is the largest source of this mineral that Greedy Corporate Guy (Ribisi) wants. However, the trigger-happy military wants little Sully to do recon work for them so they can come in and blow everything up.
It’s like Fern Gully meets Dances with Wolves, only with the action and direction of Aliens.
.jpg){kind=avatar}
During his first mission in the AVATAR, Sully gets separated from his scientist buddies (Weaver and Lang), and is saved from an onslaught of local predators by a Navi named Neytiri (Saldana). Because she sees some (sentient?) seeds attract to him, she takes him to the village where the elder says that she must train him in the ways of the Navi.
Thus begins the purpose of the movie – learning about another culture and starting a student / teacher romance, and all the while showcasing the fantastic visuals and details put into the world of Pandora.
But just in case you have a short attention span when things aren’t going boom, the military guys are still gathering intel and plan to forcefully relocate the Navi people. And it’s up to Sully to stop them.
###
My review above doesn’t give the movie justice, so let me just say this: I went to go see this movie three weeks after it was released to theaters on a Monday. This is not really prime time for a theater to have a lot of patrons. I was expecting a handful of people when I got to see the flick in 3-D (which is the only way to experience this movie, by the way), but what I encountered was closer to opening night crowds. The theater was PACKED. I thought I would at least have a seat to put my winter coat on, but no. Coat was on the lap, people on both sides of me, every seat in the house was filled. It was insane!
Thankfully, no one talked during the movie. And no cell phones went off. I was very happy with that.
But I was simply amazed by the turn out three weeks after being released.
The star of the movie (“the draw,” if you will) is clearly the WETA effects and the world of Pandora. The flora AND fauna. There’s so much to soak in visually that it almost demands repeat viewing. But not in a bad way. You want to see some of the fantastic images that they bring to life in this flick. I was nervous that this movie (like other sci-fi special effects movies, cough cough “Star Wars” cough cough) simply couldn’t live up to the hype that it was generating. Let me put your fears to rest: it SURPASSES them.
The pictures don’t do it justice. The trailers don’t do it justice. This movie will be a different / lesser experience on your small screen (but I’ll no doubt still buy it). This movie is a reason to go see something in theaters. This is one of those rare “event movies” where going to the theater actually means something.
WETA has created another standard for special effects in movies, and it only took them 14 years to do it this time (last time it took them 5-7, with Lord of the Rings). The time and effort clearly show through.
Like any good fantasy story, the writers use the narrative to introduce you to the world that they have spent so much time creating. Unfortunately, there are some areas here that fall flat in the film. For example: the planet has a toxic air to humans, yet still has water and produces rain (so there’s hydrogen and oxygen in the air). What about the air makes it so toxic? Little things like this stuck out to me, since I had so many more questions about the world of Pandora (and the world that the humans came from) as the credits were rolling. The ending narration says that the people went back to heir dying world – but they never mentioned Earth has being a dying world before. Is that why we were on Pandora mining this substance? What would that substance give us?
I suppose in the grand scheme of the story these questions are not very important, but for someone who has started lecturing on crafting fictional worlds, I’d like to know more. Perhaps the 9+ hours of special features on the blu-ray will enlighten me (we can only hope there’s 9+ hours of special features).
The movie is long (2 hr, 40 min) but doesn’t feel long at all. I didn’t find myself checking my watch or shifting in my seat. I was engrossed in the world of Pandora. The 3-D effects were both subtle and in your face, but I think it was the subtle ones that stuck out the most to me. When little lightning bugs are flying around and popping up in your face, I felt compelled to brush away whatever was interrupting my view of Pandora. But it wasn’t interrupting – it was engrossing. You start to feel like you’re actually there.
There are a few items that people tease about when it comes to the look of the characters, namely that the Navi are not unlike Smurfs. First off, notice that James Cameron is obsessed with the color blue. The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies – there’s a lot of blue lighting in those movies making the characters look blue. When given the opportunity to just change their skin pigment, it’s the color that he chose. Had his favorite color been red or purple, there wouldn’t be any Smurf references.
Cameron’s return to movie making is certainly a triumphant one. I’ve liked all of his movies that I’ve seen previously (yes even Titanic, despite Leo Dicrapio’s best efforts), and this is no exception. I had previously been skeptical about his wanting to adapt Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita for the big screen, but now I’m not so certain I’m fully opposed to it. I’m optimistically curious.
Go see this movie. In 3-D. Bring friends.
Movie Review: 9 (2009)
Director: Shane Acker
Plot: Waking up in a destroyed room with a dead old man in it, 9 wanders out into a post-apocalyptic world populated by 8 other rag-dolls characters and a handful of red-eyed monsters called The Beast. Taking a small green device from the room with him, 9 encounters 2 who is being chased by The Beast and is eventually kidnapped.
Now, 9 must gather the remaining rag-doll creatures and try to rescue 2, while understanding what the mystery of the green device is and how it all ties into what happened to the world.
From having first gleaned the trailer for this movie, I knew I wanted to see it. I watched the 9 minutes award-winning short film that it was based on and instantly went into media shut-out mode. I didn’t want anything about this movie spoiled for me. And it was not disappointing.
Well, the visuals weren’t disappointing. The story was flat and the movie was basically just an action movie with computer animated rag-dolls, but man was it ever a fun ride! I kept wanting more from it in terms of story, sure, but the visuals more than made up for the lack of plot in the flick.
Shane Acker did not disappoint on the direction, considering this is his first feature length movie. Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov have their signatures all over this movie, but instead of coming off clunky like a lot of creative collaborations (cough cough Indiana Jones 4 cough cough), this movie flows and synergizes with ease. The action is great, and while there’s hardly any characterization, the drama in the direction and the danger from the sequences is enough to make you sit on edge and hope for these characters. And with a PG-13 rating, you know that not everyone is going to walk away from this story….
…or if you didn’t, then I just spoiled that for you.
In summary, it’s a visually excellent movie and exciting action flick, but lacking in story and characterization. So it should appeal to most movie-goers. 
I tease.
Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Rachael McAdams, Mark Strong
Plot: Upon stopping the evil Lord Blackwood (Strong) from killing his next victim, Holmes (Downey Jr) and his partner Watson (Law) watch as the man is hanged. However, several days later Blackwood’s crypt is opened from the inside and he has started killing again. Is something supernatural at work here, and what does Blackwood’s resurrection have to do with the return of Irene Adler (McAdams), Holmes old flame?
Holmes and Watson are back on the case (for the first time, in this movie franchise), dodging martial arts trained criminals and explosions. That’s right, kids. In this non-origin story first movie, Sherlock Holmes solves mysteries…with his fists!
While there may be some slight exaggeration in that statement, the mystery of Blackwood’s resurrection seems to just be the road that takes Holmes and Watson from one fist fight to the next. I’m sure the more ADD among us will absolutely love it (and I admit that I didn’t mind it as much as I feared I would), but a little more sleuthing and a little less punching would’ve suited me just fine.
But that’s not to say that the action isn’t entertaining. Holmes is such a smarty that he actually figures out how a fight is going to happen (in slow motion with great details on how much damage would be inflicted) before he moves on it – which takes all of 3 seconds to execute. It was a brilliant testament to Holmes intellect and physical prowess.
And there certainly is drama (and yes, sleuthing) throughout this movie. Watson is breaking up the dynamic duo by getting married and moving out, and Holmes only real flame has returned to his life under mysterious circumstances. There are secret societies, conspiracy theories, and clues throughout – but sadly, it’s difficult to put all of the pieces together and solve the mystery before the end because, well, Holmes is leagues beyond everyone else when it comes to solving cases. His knowledge and insight into how events unfold doesn’t come to light until the very end of the movie, which does have a satisfying ending to a roller-coaster ride of a movie.
I admit to having low expectations for this flick, and was pleasantly surprised having seen it opening weekend. It’s an enjoyable Hollywood romp through a modernization of Holmes. And while it wasn’t the Hitchcockian thriller that I was hoping for, it does have enough elements of that to have kept me in my seat for the duration. That said, it may be best to watch this movie at home so you can revisit parts after the mysteries are revealed.
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