Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

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Alright, this is my first review about a movie, so, let's get into business. I'll try to speak minimal spoilers and be brief as possible. The Evangelion 2.0 (or Evangelion 2.22 in American English and Brazilian versions) is a new concept of the story of Evangelion. For those who were used to Evangelion series, this movie really breaks with the old series, with an entirely new plot, and a new course of actions during the movie. We got 2 new characters who makes this movie great, and they are Mari Illustrious Makinami and Asuka Langley Shikinami. With a great sense of humor and something crazy, Mari shows great movements and great battles, which is great for a whole new character, who had never appeared before in this series. Asuka has gotten a new design and a new personality that really thrown me inside the movie. Differently from the Asuka from the anime, this Asuka shows a little more maturity, and also some optimism, what breaks that atmosphere dark and pessimistic what the original series had. At last, Shinji also got a further development of his personality in this movie, showing a more brave, fearless and determined Shinji than the one of the series, who was coward, pathetic and depressive. As a sequel from Evangelion 1.0, this movie was really great, with the good things the anime had (like the amazingly designed battles and the fantastic soundtrack), and the new included features that improved the plot and the characters. For anyone who has seen the original series and the Evangelion 1.0, this sequel is astounding, and makes everyone to wish to see the 3rd part, with high expectations for the end.

I have to admit that, after the first film in this new 'Rebuild of Evangelion' cycle, I had extremely low expectations for the second film. 1.11 was such a carbon copy of the 1995 series that I was convinced that Anno and the crew at Gainax were content to simply cash in on remaining fan fervor and release a mildly rehashed version of that admittedly brilliant storyline. The first 10 minutes of 2.22 utterly destroyed this preconception and left me breathless in my seat. This is one of the most fantastic opening sequences I've seen in film and sets the stage for a thrilling experience. 'You Can (Not) Advance' opens with the introduction of a new character, a new EVA, a new Angel, and a new scenario, and proceeds to evolve the storyline in a completely unpredictable fashion. People who think they 'know' Eva are going to be knocked on their asses by this film. Nearly everything has been upgraded for the better: from the stunning visuals to the revamped plot line to the compelling musical score (Shiroh Sagisu at the absolute pinnacle of his game). It's breathless and fast-paced and a very compelling movie experience. Which brings me to my one big gripe about the film: it may be a little TOO entertaining. The original TV series was filled with tortuous self-doubt and self-loathing, an introspective psychoanalytical and quasi-religious experience set to the background of giant robot combat for human survival. The new films streamline this so much (seemingly for the sake of watch-ability) that they lose a key part of what really made the series so engrossing, at least for longtime fans like myself. To give one big example: Shinji's ambiguous relationship with the 3 women in his life (Misato, Asuka and Rei) is a huge aspect of the original series. He is continuously torn apart by his mix of adolescent sexual desire, desire for friendship, and desire for a mother-figure with regards to each of them. This is an underlying current throughout the series and becomes a real driving force in the original theatrical climax ('Air' and 'My Pure Heart for You'). In the 'Rebuild' storyline, this is re-imagined as a much simpler developing romance between Shinji and Rei, with Asuka's one-sided affections filling out a rudimentary triangle (her character in the new film is such a 180 that it's difficult to accept). While much easier to understand and certainly less angst-ridden, I do find this resort to a familiar trope to be a bit of a disappointment, especially when compared with the original storyline. In spite of these minor quibbles, this is a film that really must be seen by anyone who has even a passing interest in Japanese animation or film in general, and if possible you should try and catch it during its US theatrical run in January. Just don't take this as the 'definitive' Eva.

There have probably been a million jokes about this film's title, and unfortunately, they are largely justified. "Evangelion 2.0" (or "Evangelion 2.22") is, like the first film in the supposed tetralogy, largely a retelling of the original series, only differing significantly in its final act. Unlike its predecessor, however, this film doesn't seem to grasp what made "Evangelion" such a beloved property in the first place. The opening does not bode well. The action is hard to follow because of its audio-visual overload, even besides the overused CGI, lens flairs and horrible guitar music, and the pacing is even more breathless than in the first film. Within 15 minutes, two angels have been defeated and three major characters introduced. This is a logical complication of condensing a series into films, but one wonders whether that is desirable in the first place. The rest of the film fares better in terms of pacing. Besides the climax, the story differs in some slight ways from the series. There is a picnic scene in a marine laboratory that is largely redundant but a nice interlude, some redesigned angels, and a new Eva pilot in the person of Mari Makinami, who wears fetishist glasses but is for the rest without personality. Far more significant are the changes to Asuka. An attempt has been made to somewhat stabilise the series' emotional turmoil, and her character is notably affected by it. Some critics have praised the increased consistency, but "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was never a success because of its steady character relationships. The series' greatness is derived from its emotional intensity, because it pulled its characters more thoroughly through the wringer than anything else and was not afraid to hurt its audience at the same time, but here, more than a few rough edges have been smoothed over. Instead of bratty, her initial attitude is now downright antisocial. In the series this is revealed only much later as a hidden shadow side, together with the trauma it stems from. Unbelievably, this trauma is completely absent in all three released films, so instead of one of the story's best characters, Asuka is now merely a big-mouthed lust object; not so much streamlined as a severely downgraded. The bonding between her and Shinji has been watered down too, so strongly it is virtually non-existent but for their sexual tension. Considering that their relation in the third film has diverged significantly from the series, this choice could have been defended, had Asuka not been the very reason for Shinji to trigger this film's climax (she takes on Toji's in a certain incident.) And so, the lack of development she undergoes undermines the plot itself. This detrimental smoothing is indicative of all writing. In an attempt to be slightly less impenetrable, more exposition is thrown in, which will go over the head of those who don't know the story, and slap those who do in the face with its obviousness. Shinji mentioning that his Eva's smell reminds him of his mother, or Rei merging with the form of said mother in Gendo's imagination are good examples of this. It is a relief that "Evangelion: 2.0" finally begins to diverge from the series, but I cannot say whether I appreciate the film itself. By simplifying some of the deepest writing in anime, Hideaki Anno has created a serviceable action anime, but seems oblivious to what made his creation great in the first place. It is a film not recommendable for its own accomplishments, but merely as the set-up of something that is hopefully more interesting. A final note: Don't make the climax of your story a post-credits scene. I had to watch this film twice to find out that it even had and ending.

I did not watch the original 26 episodes series but I watched in these days all Evangelion films, because of the high ratings: Death and Rebirth (a recompilation of the original series), The End (a rewriting of the End of the series, still considered one of the best Anime ever), and then the last three, 1 and 2 which reboot the series apparently without mayor changes, and 3 which goes in new territories. At first I will write about Evangelion in general, and then about this specific movie here. In all Evangelion the writer touched any possible demagogic stereotype and cliché on earth: father/son relationship, Oedipus complex, a bit of the typical Manga Style sexuality, cheap psychology, and a huge amount of very cheap esoterism with symbolisms of all kind. My opinion? A big omelet of everything, which finally means absolutely nothing. Wiki says that after the failure of his previous works (which he judged as childish) he wanted to make something "deeper". My impression is that he did not even try to BE deeper, rather just to SEEM deeper in order to impress the audience. And I am afraid that only the Naive could be impressed by such a confused mess. I can still see why this show had success: Evas are cool, fights too, and there is enough mix of drama, action, teenage nerd sexuality in the typical Japanese style, and some sort of epic. I suppose that if you are younger than me and without any knowledge of psychology or esoterism, and a bit nerd, you may enjoy this works pretty much more than I did. About this film: like the number 1, it is almost a copy and paste of the series, but this time with some more changes, which, as another reviewer said, I also find good, giving more action and some more credible psychology, and less of the biblical potpourri which the author should make eternal amend for (being really stupid and pretentious). If you enjoyed the series and/or the recompilation and/or the number one, you will surely enjoy this movie. I loved the end, being myself a terrible romantic. Even if then the number 3 completely ruined everything.

This 1st movie was a lot better than the 2nd because they stuck to the original series and changed few things but this movie changed too much. The movie is a continuation of the second and we are greeted to Asuka and Ms. Fanservice as the 3rd and 4th Eva pilots. The movie is very confusing, like the original series but you don't care enough to try to understand what is happening. Most of the characters are underdeveloped and are bland and boring. The show is much less psychological and has much more action in it. Just watch the original series.