7.75/10
As a big fan of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, here are my thoughts (spoilers ahead for those not familiar with this movie or the original series):
-I liked the new cimenatography, although some of it was too close to the original in many ways. I guess it's a similar situation as we had in America with the Special Editions of the Star Wars Trilogy; in one way it was a chance to redo the special FX in a more modern style, but also a chance for younger people to see the movies in theaters.
-The battle with Sachiel (the first Angel shown in the story) is done as a whole, like it was in the manga. Personally, I preferred how the anime split the battle in two, first cutting when Unit-01 is crippled to Shinji in the hospital with no recollection of what just happened until he flashes back to it later in the second episode. I guess Hideaki Anno felt that it would work better as a whole for a film, although I miss the mindfuck-ness of having it cut from intense action to the protagist lying in bed. The audience is given just as little info about what happened as the character himself, until he remembers it. It draws you more into his frame of mind that way.
-It was nice of them to leave in the lighter moments in Misato's apartment. One of the (admittedly few) things I didn't like about End of Evangelion was its lack of humor. One could argue that it wouldn't fit the apocalyptic tone of the film, but one of the things I liked about the series was how it could blend dark, depressing moments for the characters with laugh out loud humor. Things seem more three-dimensional that way, and closer to real life.
-Ramiel (the diamond Angel) changes shape during its battle, and while it certainly looks cool, there was an elegance in the simplicity of its original design that is lost. However, I did like how drawing out the battle more than the anime or manga did originally upped the action content, and gave it a more climatic feel.
-It seems the only original dub VAs that returned were Spike Spencer (Shinji) and Allison Keith (Misato). I got very attached to the original voices (yes, even Tiffany Grant as Asuka), so that was a bit of a disappointment. Not only that, but the new VAs don't seem as fitting to me; in fact, I swear the new VA for Ritsuko is the one who did her mother in the original dub. I guess from a symbolic point of view it's trying to say that for as much as Ritsuko wanted to get away from being like her mother, she ended up like her from following Gendo. Speaking of Gendo, the VA from the Director's Cuts of Episodes 21-24 seems to be doing him, and he has none of the intensity of whomever did Gendo originally (although supposed he's disappeared somehow, so I guess they didn't have any choice). Rei's new VA makes her character seem less distant and etheral and more downright cold (for someone who's supposed to be a human vessel for the soul of the matriach of all life on Earth, you'd think she'd have a bit more compassion). Now, I will say I have not and probably won't ever watch the subbed version of NGE, so I don't know if the characters were portrayed differently than they were in the dub. Before we get into the dub vs. sub arguement, my stance is that it's easier for me to pay attention to everything that's going on if I don't have to read the dialogue. I've watch subtitled movies before, and I've found that I've missed stuff.
-Lilith and Kaworu in the
1st chapter?! I'm sorry, but that's WAY too early to be introducing those elements. Not only that, but it changes the whole nature of NERV for Misato to know about Lilith from the beginning. How is Kaji supposed to be investigating NERV if their biggest secret is relatively out in the open? Not only that, but I'm a bit ambivalent on SEELE appearing from the beginning only as holographic monoliths rather than a council of elders. On one hand, newcomers to the story could be like, "Hmm, now who are these mysterious SEELE guys?" For veterans like myself though, it's almost like letting the cat out of the bag. Anno said that his hope for the series was that the world and its characters would have changed by the end. And they did; it went from a simple giant robot vs. giant monster story to an existentialist parable about how your frame of mind defines how you view the world and interact with the people in it. But for the more esoteric elements of the story to be revealed so quickly...I'm not sure how well that will work.
Overall, it was an enjoyable movie and interesting "second opinion" of sorts on how the story should go, but I think I'll need to see all of the movies before I can judge whether or not I'll hold this version as close to my heart as the original. If and when ADV and Weta finally get around to making their live action Evangelion movie series, I'm hoping they'll look at this one as well as the original anime and manga for inspiration.
EDIT: I learned today that ADV don't exist anymore, but the producer of the live action film has gone on record to say that the project is still somehow alive, and may even begin production next year...where have I heard this before...