Zach Snyder When I first heard that they were making a rebuild of this series, I was excited, but I was skeptical that they would do a good job. And then they did. 2.0 Is example of changing the source material in a good way.2.0 centers around more characters this time, including Auska and Mari as new characters. As a fan of Auska in the past, I was glad to see her return to the screen and kick some angel ass. Mari was also an okay character, providing one of the best scenes in the movie. The best character in this movie, hands-down, is Shinji. Near the end, I paused the movie and went: "WHY IS SHINJI NOT ACTING LIKE HIMSELF???!!!" because he was showing courage and ability to stay in one place. This is an insane improvement for Shinji, because in NGE, he is always having anxiety attacks and running away. He provided us with one hell of a climax and the want to pick up the next movie right away to see what happens.The action is a lot better this time around, because there are people who can actually fight angels cough*Auska*cough which makes the movie fast paced and interesting. There is this one scene with the dummy system later in the movie, who goes to town on a angel, and shows that while useful, only humans can pilot EVA's or TOO much damage will be done. IN conclusion: I like this movie a lot. It has good characters, great action, and a ending you will never forget. Plus, Shinji isn't a pussy.

Ucare 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.

shukigk Evangelion 1.11 followed the original TV series ep1-6 with hardly any changes, 2.22 roughly follows ep8-19, but there are so many changes that it would be difficult to list them all! Here are just a few of those: Shinji has way less self-hatred, Asuka is more introverted instead of being that loud-mouthed b****(whom I loved...), and Rei actually seems human and is more than able to start a conversation! There's also a new sexy female pilot who at the moment seems to serve no purpose except to increase the sale of Eva merchandise...That said, the best thing about 2.22 is the awe-inspiring visuals and the incredible new soundtrack by Shiro Sagisu, the combination make up for some of the most incredible battle scenes in any movie ever, you have to see and hear it to believe it.The film ends in such a way that your guess is as good as mine as to what's going to happen in the next installment, actually there's a teaser trailer showing Asuka in space... Evangelion 3.33 is scheduled for release in Japan this fall, which means it will be a lonnnnnggggg wait before we can purchase the DVD in the states.Suggested rating: R for intense violence, nudity, and language (dub)

otaking241 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.