i watched the rebuild continuum (1.0, 2.22, 3.0, and 3.0+1.0) with a friend all over a period of ~3 days. this my initial take. the focus of the review will be on 3.0+1.0, but i will evaluate elements from all movies, and provide an overall score for the continuum
(edited 2021-08-27 lightly for grammar, spelling and to expand a bit)
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first, some disclosures and biases:
i found the original anime series to be excellent, and end of evangelion to be a masterwork. i have also found myself not enjoying remakes/reworks that take the form of film adaptations/continuances for reasons which i will expand upon in the ensuing review. there is likely also a component of autism here though in disliking change from what i believe to already be ideal, sufficient or complete.
im recovering from covid, and am currently experiencing post-viral impairments to my cognition. this has also made me emotionally volatile; discontented, quick to anger, uncharitable, impatient, and all kinds of other qualities i find distasteful. take this review with a grain of salt, and with that in mind. my mind is likely to change and i may edit this as i have further ponderances throughout the next week.
oh, and if u care about such things: SPOILERS AHEAD!!
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the start was good. the artwork was breathtakingly gorgeous. the vibe was what i'd expected thematically moving on from 3.0! i sincerely enjoyed being such detail put into the landscapes, some familiar and others foreign. the motif of angelic blood spreading across the planet was A+ aesthetically in a disharmonic way that preserved some of the occult feels from NGE. (gallery)
the ending was good decent. the 5 hours leading up to it was mostly bad/unimpactful because "14 years have passed and oh, here's all these new characters u dont care about. no, we aren't going to spend any of those hours doing proper character development." this is in part due to the film length restriction, but not entirely. the frenetic pacing of the preceding film (2.22, 3.0) contributed, and were that, i think was aptly chosen. it fit with what run time was available and also into the iconic themes of the franchise; dystopia, accelerationism, survivalism. this is understandable, but it didn't capture me like the series did with its comparatively slower and more measured pacing. it didn't make me pay close attention and give it the depth of thought i'd have liked to be able to. it didn't compel me to make sense and tease apart the unknowns. . . because i wasn't meant to, i realised later.
the final spear (gallery) of instrumentality being terminated) seemingly being created out of nowhere. thats fine. seele has crafted spears too. the way it was presented though? awful. just utterly miserable, low-effort writing i'd expect from a product with a focus on delivering feel good entertainment: humanity's will manifesting salvation. this breaks away from the occult mystery. it's opaque, but in a way that makes me groan. yes, it gave me shivers. the tactic works. it's powerful. it's also formulaic, rote, and cringe.
the ending was succinct. at first i thought well, they could have just made EoE2 and cut all the build up out, but that wouldnt make sense. out of all of the ludicrousy, there was growth on shinji's part as a result. it's questionable whether that growth was well founded, and is something i'm still dwelling on, but it was growth nonetheless. the events which transpired weren't failures at progressing the story as a mouvement through a linear timeline. it was all was essential to construction of the finale, or at least, it makes sense within the context of the desired finale. shinji's further torment in this was a reflection of gendou's revealed personhood; his fears, failings, and overall personality. shinji's growth beyond suffering to connect with and understand others was critical to reaching out to his father and overpowering him during Another Instrumentality. as the film's proposal aptly states: eva is a story about repetition. they played this motif exceptionally well, and indeed, repetition of pain, failure and loss is a very human need for growth. for transcendence.
the thematic expression, repeated and expanded, was evocative and appreciable at times. and yet, even they became rote too.. with what little character development was had, when one of the Wunder's crew (i don't even remember her name or function. seriously the characters were this forgettable) having a catchphrase that made me roll my eyes.. this held true even when it was reversed in a time of crisis, showing the turn of events and hope laid therein. it could have been impactful, but i felt nothing but B-movie comedic effect because i had no attachment for here. were these elements of otherwise thoughtfulness and beauty i've come to know and love better executed consistently, i'd have liked the film even more. i want to like the film, and that is why i'm trying to give it such a measured and charitable review. there were good parts. but this was, as is right in the title, a mix of what we remember (1.0), and what the overarching media industry has become (3.0); that sewed discord in my heart.
i will never respect remakes/adaptations that pander to the lowest common denominator, even if it's in line with what a broader audience, or fans themselves at large want(ed). i saw this the most in 2.22 but it was present in the subsequent films too. to draw from another iconic and loved franchise, this is what happened with the GiTS remakes, but with a vaneer of faithfulness layered on only to be quickly eroded to reveal the truth of intent. i do understand and grant that again, the format isn't condusive to giving the works the time they need to develope as they did historically, but this was an intentional decision that wasn't forced on anyone.
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3.0+1.0 film rating: 3/5, better than i expected leading up to this, but barely above average for what type of media i've classified it as.
overall rating of the rebuild continuum: 4/10, don't like it!!
initially, i gave the overall rating a 6, but...
the raw pain i expereinced and leading to me thinking so much of it was hilariously bad, uninteresting and downright a disgusting mockery shifted it down
i rage quit in 2.22 over this, but my score isn't lower because of it being able to, despite all of that, invoke enough curiosity in me not to drop it right then and there. this isn't a highly esteemed redemption
i was falling asleep during le epic battle scene in 3.0+1.0; i stopped reading or caring about trying to determine what was going on because it was all so dumb/boring
the musical score completely ruined several scene recreations and novel additions that would have otherwise been immensely impactful
it was insightful and satisfying enough (albeit those moments were few and far between) for me not to completely detest its entire existence
there was a mere one occult concept to do with eva mechanics that was intuitive to grasp (beast mode/inversion). i fucking loved it.. but much else mentioned was given little to no opportunity to understand
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