And my reaction is somewhere between "What the FUCK?" and "No. Just no." It's been only a few hours since I saw the film so this is more of an instant reaction/ rant than an attempt at a review. I was never a fan of the series, but after the quite excellent 2.0 I would never have expected it to go this abysmal. The series has reached an all-time low, and so have my standards of understandable storytelling on even the most basic level. This is one hell of a mess of a movie. It is even worse than End of Evangelion in the sense of bringing up obscure terms and names that have never been mentioned before and not explaining them for one bit.
I'm going to spoil basically the whole movie so I'm dividing this into spoiler tags, because I have so much to get off my chest. I'm going to warn you, this is a shit ton of text to read, and I fear I might have gone into too much detail, but I have to vent about this to someone.
Let's see the fanboys explain their way out of all that. On the positive side, the animation was of course gorgeous and I found Shinji to be at his most relatable in this movie, because most of the time he's just as confused as the audience, and there's next to none of his usual sulky-angsty shtick present. Plus there were a few call-backs to iconic scenes from the series, which got a chuckle out of me.
I'm going to spoil basically the whole movie so I'm dividing this into spoiler tags, because I have so much to get off my chest. I'm going to warn you, this is a shit ton of text to read, and I fear I might have gone into too much detail, but I have to vent about this to someone.
SO, the new movie starts off 14 years after the second movie's ending. Much has changed since, but unfortunately the movie doesn't bother telling us what, why or how until over half an hour in. We get nothing, absolutely NOTHING out of the first 20 minutes (!!!!!!!!!!!) of the movie beyond "shit has changed". The movie was too absorbed in showing us some flashy cool stuff happening that it forgot to explain exactly why it was happening and where. In the first scene I had only a vague idea of what was supposed to be going on, and even that was mostly due to spoilers I'd read.
After that we get... err not much exactly. In short: After the Third Impact (and its subsequent cancellation) NERV has fallen apart, and Misato is the head of a new organization called Wille intent on destroying them because they've found out Gendo's been orchestrating towards Third Impact all along. And they have a helicarrier about the size of Manhattan and an entire nautical fleet for completely unexplained reasons. They have recovered Shinji from Eva-01, who wakes up completely baffled. Then they slap some device on him that can apparently kill him if he oversteps his boundaries. They don't want him to pilot an Eva again because if he gives in to his emotions while piloting, it will trigger Third Impact.
Shinji doesn't get any answers (neither do we), but then Rei comes in Eva-00 to rescue him (or did she? The fuck do I know) and take him back to NERV. NERV has been reduced (apparently, because I have no other idea of explaining it) to hunkering down in their ex-headquarters, and personnel now includes only Fuyutsuki, Gendo, Kaworu and Rei. Gendo, in one of his about 5 lines of dialogue in THE ENTIRE FUCKING FILM commands Shinji to pilot Eva number idontremember with Kaworu to initiate Third Impact... again. And that's pretty much it. Except that's not a plot, that's a setup.
The rest could only be described as dicking around. Shinji tries to get answers, doesn't get any, and then plays some piano with Kaworu, rinse and repeat. Later on we find out that Third Impact actually happened in a way, and the world is in ruins. To fix this, Kaworu convinces Shinji to come with him in a weird, double-piloted eva that apparently can trigger the Third Impact. When they do that, Wille attacks with Asuka and Mari and the final battle ensues. Already we run into a myriad of problems.
#1: It's been 14 years, and we have no clue as to what's happened in between. How did NERV and Wille become two separate entities? How long have they been fighting each other? How did Misato find out Gendo's plans? How in the name of FUCK have they been unable to destroy NERV so far? They know where they are, they have had loads of time, they have two fully operable evas with pilots, supported by an entire military fleet. NERV has exactly one eva, piloted by Rei. What in the name of Jesus bonkering christ have they been doing that has been more important than their, you know, SOLE PURPOSE OF EXISTENCE???? And what has Gendo been doing in this time? Twiddling his thumbs apparently, because his actions, motives and personality haven't changed at all from the previous film.
#2: The plot, if you even want to call it that, doesn't make sense and nothing of it is explained. Why does Gendo need Shinji specifically to trigger Third Impact? Why did it need to be set 14 years after the previous film? Seriously, name one good reason. Why doesn't Gendo for once in his life explain to Shinji what he needs him for? Why does Wille show up at the very last moment when they've known ALL ALONG WHERE SHINJI IS AND WHAT GENDO IS GOING TO USE HIM FOR?????????!??!??!??! And I'm not even sure what the purpose of Kaworu in this film was, aside from providing some incredibly awkward scenes with Shinji which I fear are going to turn into yaoi fan-fiction fodder instantly. Even the fact that he's actually an angel is only briefly mentioned in one line, despite it being one of the main plot points of the story. Third Impact happened, and humanity seems to have been wiped out. How are Misato, Asuka, Mari, and the entire crew of Wille's airship still alive? How is anyone still alive???
After that we get... err not much exactly. In short: After the Third Impact (and its subsequent cancellation) NERV has fallen apart, and Misato is the head of a new organization called Wille intent on destroying them because they've found out Gendo's been orchestrating towards Third Impact all along. And they have a helicarrier about the size of Manhattan and an entire nautical fleet for completely unexplained reasons. They have recovered Shinji from Eva-01, who wakes up completely baffled. Then they slap some device on him that can apparently kill him if he oversteps his boundaries. They don't want him to pilot an Eva again because if he gives in to his emotions while piloting, it will trigger Third Impact.
Shinji doesn't get any answers (neither do we), but then Rei comes in Eva-00 to rescue him (or did she? The fuck do I know) and take him back to NERV. NERV has been reduced (apparently, because I have no other idea of explaining it) to hunkering down in their ex-headquarters, and personnel now includes only Fuyutsuki, Gendo, Kaworu and Rei. Gendo, in one of his about 5 lines of dialogue in THE ENTIRE FUCKING FILM commands Shinji to pilot Eva number idontremember with Kaworu to initiate Third Impact... again. And that's pretty much it. Except that's not a plot, that's a setup.
The rest could only be described as dicking around. Shinji tries to get answers, doesn't get any, and then plays some piano with Kaworu, rinse and repeat. Later on we find out that Third Impact actually happened in a way, and the world is in ruins. To fix this, Kaworu convinces Shinji to come with him in a weird, double-piloted eva that apparently can trigger the Third Impact. When they do that, Wille attacks with Asuka and Mari and the final battle ensues. Already we run into a myriad of problems.
#1: It's been 14 years, and we have no clue as to what's happened in between. How did NERV and Wille become two separate entities? How long have they been fighting each other? How did Misato find out Gendo's plans? How in the name of FUCK have they been unable to destroy NERV so far? They know where they are, they have had loads of time, they have two fully operable evas with pilots, supported by an entire military fleet. NERV has exactly one eva, piloted by Rei. What in the name of Jesus bonkering christ have they been doing that has been more important than their, you know, SOLE PURPOSE OF EXISTENCE???? And what has Gendo been doing in this time? Twiddling his thumbs apparently, because his actions, motives and personality haven't changed at all from the previous film.
#2: The plot, if you even want to call it that, doesn't make sense and nothing of it is explained. Why does Gendo need Shinji specifically to trigger Third Impact? Why did it need to be set 14 years after the previous film? Seriously, name one good reason. Why doesn't Gendo for once in his life explain to Shinji what he needs him for? Why does Wille show up at the very last moment when they've known ALL ALONG WHERE SHINJI IS AND WHAT GENDO IS GOING TO USE HIM FOR?????????!??!??!??! And I'm not even sure what the purpose of Kaworu in this film was, aside from providing some incredibly awkward scenes with Shinji which I fear are going to turn into yaoi fan-fiction fodder instantly. Even the fact that he's actually an angel is only briefly mentioned in one line, despite it being one of the main plot points of the story. Third Impact happened, and humanity seems to have been wiped out. How are Misato, Asuka, Mari, and the entire crew of Wille's airship still alive? How is anyone still alive???
Everyone in this movie is a complete maniac with the possible exception of Fuyutsuki, who seems to be the only character that behaves like an actual human being. The rest are just batshit insane.
Let's start with Shinji. He's been trapped inside the Eva for 14 years, and his last memory is from 14 years ago. At first he's quite convincing being completely baffled and confused (no less than we are). When he demands answers, he just gets a scolding. The first warning light switches on when he meets Touji's little sister, who is actually now older than Shinji himself. Despite having last seen Touji ages ago, he doesn't bother asking where he's gone or what happened to the rest of his friends. A little odd, but acceptable.
The warning lights light up like christmas trees when he arrives at NERV HQ. Wille refused to give him answers, so maybe someone there would? He goes to Rei for answers, but she isn't actually the same Rei from the last film, but a clone of her. She doesn't remember anythig either. After not getting any more answers from her than he got from Misato, he apparenyl just lets it be and starts playing piano with Kaworu. It actually takes Fuyutsuki to finally provide some answers, and he has to actively tell them to Shinji. At one point Shinji comes by a shirt that has Touji's name on it, and even then he doesn't bother asking what happened to humanity. And then he kind of flips out and decides to go with Kaworu to Terminal Dogma to initiate Third (or was it Fourth already?) Impact, because Kaworu told him the only way to go is forward, as Shinji cannot redo what he's... ooooh, I see what you did there movie!
Misato, in all the around 15 minutes of screen time she gets, seems to have all her sanity. She's captured Shinji and threatens to kill him, but doesn't bother telling him why, or telling him anything at all. Brilliant! I've already mentioned all my questions regarding Wille, so suffice to say she's a terrible organization leader. Moving on.
Rei. IMO one of the best things about 2.0 was specifically Rei. In this movie, all of it is rendered completely pointless, as the Rei Shinji saved at the end of 2.0 has... gone somewhere (this wasn't explained either), and the Rei in 3.0 is actually a clone. So she has none of the memories, experiences or character development she had previously. She's an entirely different character, and most of her character moments boil down to "I'm a clone?" Give me one good reason why the previous Rei had to be eliminated. This character serves no purpose beyond a couple of fight scenes and making the movie even more confusing.
Mari and Asuka. All the way through 2.0 Mari's character had an aura of mystery surrounding her, suggesting a greater and darker meaning in the future. But no, she's just Asuka's whacky sidekick whose behavior is so utterly inhuman I'm pretty sure she's kept in a padded cell when she's not on pilot duty. And Asuka only has one thing to do in this movie, and that's being angry at Shinji, which is what she already had enough of in the series. Never mind the fact that their not aging is explained with such a hackneyed excuse as "Curse of Evangelion" which is never explained any further, because at that point I was so confused that I accepted even the flimsiest explanation. But the biggest dealbreaker is the fact that their personalities are still completely unchanged, not having matured at all, despite being twice the age they previously were.
Kaworu. I'm not sure what his point in this movie was. He didn't really do anything besides showing Shinji what the world has come to and teching him to play the piano. Honestly, I can't come up with anything.
In addition to this, we get Touji's little sister and some crewmembers of the Wille helicarrier, who are on screen for about 5 minutes and serve no purpose, yet are given quite clear personalities.
Let's start with Shinji. He's been trapped inside the Eva for 14 years, and his last memory is from 14 years ago. At first he's quite convincing being completely baffled and confused (no less than we are). When he demands answers, he just gets a scolding. The first warning light switches on when he meets Touji's little sister, who is actually now older than Shinji himself. Despite having last seen Touji ages ago, he doesn't bother asking where he's gone or what happened to the rest of his friends. A little odd, but acceptable.
The warning lights light up like christmas trees when he arrives at NERV HQ. Wille refused to give him answers, so maybe someone there would? He goes to Rei for answers, but she isn't actually the same Rei from the last film, but a clone of her. She doesn't remember anythig either. After not getting any more answers from her than he got from Misato, he apparenyl just lets it be and starts playing piano with Kaworu. It actually takes Fuyutsuki to finally provide some answers, and he has to actively tell them to Shinji. At one point Shinji comes by a shirt that has Touji's name on it, and even then he doesn't bother asking what happened to humanity. And then he kind of flips out and decides to go with Kaworu to Terminal Dogma to initiate Third (or was it Fourth already?) Impact, because Kaworu told him the only way to go is forward, as Shinji cannot redo what he's... ooooh, I see what you did there movie!
Misato, in all the around 15 minutes of screen time she gets, seems to have all her sanity. She's captured Shinji and threatens to kill him, but doesn't bother telling him why, or telling him anything at all. Brilliant! I've already mentioned all my questions regarding Wille, so suffice to say she's a terrible organization leader. Moving on.
Rei. IMO one of the best things about 2.0 was specifically Rei. In this movie, all of it is rendered completely pointless, as the Rei Shinji saved at the end of 2.0 has... gone somewhere (this wasn't explained either), and the Rei in 3.0 is actually a clone. So she has none of the memories, experiences or character development she had previously. She's an entirely different character, and most of her character moments boil down to "I'm a clone?" Give me one good reason why the previous Rei had to be eliminated. This character serves no purpose beyond a couple of fight scenes and making the movie even more confusing.
Mari and Asuka. All the way through 2.0 Mari's character had an aura of mystery surrounding her, suggesting a greater and darker meaning in the future. But no, she's just Asuka's whacky sidekick whose behavior is so utterly inhuman I'm pretty sure she's kept in a padded cell when she's not on pilot duty. And Asuka only has one thing to do in this movie, and that's being angry at Shinji, which is what she already had enough of in the series. Never mind the fact that their not aging is explained with such a hackneyed excuse as "Curse of Evangelion" which is never explained any further, because at that point I was so confused that I accepted even the flimsiest explanation. But the biggest dealbreaker is the fact that their personalities are still completely unchanged, not having matured at all, despite being twice the age they previously were.
Kaworu. I'm not sure what his point in this movie was. He didn't really do anything besides showing Shinji what the world has come to and teching him to play the piano. Honestly, I can't come up with anything.
In addition to this, we get Touji's little sister and some crewmembers of the Wille helicarrier, who are on screen for about 5 minutes and serve no purpose, yet are given quite clear personalities.
Why don't we get any information about the 14 years between 2.0 and now? Why has Lilith turned into a corpse in terminal dogma? Why are there suddenly two holy lances (Longinus and Cassius) which are apparently needed for Third Impact? Why is Eva Mark 06 inside Lilith's corpse? Why is the corpse resting on a mountain of skulls? If Gendo's intention was to start Third Impact all along and Kaworu was in his control, why did Kaworu stop it at the very end of 2.0? Why are two pilots needed to take the lances? Where exactly did Wille find the resources or even the people to start up a military organization if the human race is nearly extinct and the world in ruins? Why is Eva-00 suddenly being referred to as "Vessel of Adams" (in plural)? Why does Asuka refer to the human race as "Lilin"? What does Lilin even mean? Why are two of the biggest reveals of the entire series (Rei being a clone and the fact that Yui chose to remain inside Eva-01 willingly) revealed in an incredibly anticlimactic manner? What the fuck was that giant thing rising from underground at the end? How does Gendo run a massive military base when his entire staff includes himself, an old man, a half-mute clone, his son and a monster meant to bring the apocalypse? What the fuck was that "The Killing of God" stuff all about? Why was Eva-01 needed as a power source for the helicarrier when they've clearly established in the past that Evas also need power sources of their own?
Let's see the fanboys explain their way out of all that. On the positive side, the animation was of course gorgeous and I found Shinji to be at his most relatable in this movie, because most of the time he's just as confused as the audience, and there's next to none of his usual sulky-angsty shtick present. Plus there were a few call-backs to iconic scenes from the series, which got a chuckle out of me.
