Am I crazy for entertaining the concept of reinventing the "Star Wars" trilogy? Trekkies gave into J.J. Abrams's concept and ended up embracing it, and the flaws of Lucas's scripts are quite prevalent.
Blasphemy. Well, we would all like to reboot the "Saga". No one can deny that, but when it comes to near perfection (with the exception of "Return of the Jedi"), why bother?
It is because we are starved for greatness and we will take our chances. That is why Hideaki Anno's reboot of "Evangelion" captured the world of anime's attention.
Shinji Ikari has been called to Tokyo-3 by his neglectful father Gendo. When he arrives, the city is under a military state of emergency and a battle with a giant monster ensues. After he is rescued by his chaperone, Lt. Col. Misato Katsuragi, he his escorted to Nerv's headquarters to find out his father's expectations. The primary one of these is for this 14 year-old to pilot a giant robot called Evangelion Unit 01 to defeat the monster.
Should he fail, humanity is lost. But not being able to appreciate his own existence, why should Shinji care about the fate of mankind?
"Evangelion 1.01" is nearly identical in character design to the original television show, but it is far more than just a special edition of the first six episodes. This is a more concise version of the "Evangelion" story with an atmosphere that is more fitting of the dark conclusions of the initial series.
All of the mecha and kaiju have been visually upgraded and the theatrical budge is evident. Since budget held back the production quality of the first series, fans should definitely appreciate the upgrades. That is provided that they can get past the first two acts of the story being exactly like the first four episodes.
It can be frustrating that the "Rebuild of Evangelion's" story does not begin until act three, especially since the comic interactions between Shinji and the supporting cast are all but eliminated. The charm and optimism are removed, so those who did not appreciate the previous two endings that Anno had provided us, they may be left upset.
Those frustrations are worth enduring for the brilliant third act. The new vision and hints of what is coming up left me salivating for the film's sequel. On top of that, the action and drama sequences are greater than anything presented in the first half of the television series.
"Evangelion 1.01" is a great experience that promises even more to come. It provides incite into Anno's true vision that was confined to the restraints of 90's television. It is a darker journey, but well worth enduring for the reward of a new future for the franchise.
No comments:
Post a Comment