Evangelion 3.0+1.0 - Cruel angel's premiere

[WisteriaHysteria]

Episodes 25 & 26, EoE, and 3+1 all have the same hopeful message at their core. But EoE's delivery of that message is fundamentally unconvincing. EoE reads like someone who has just completely hit rock bottom. They know what to do to get out of their rut, and they want to get better, but they're just still in the thick of it and still going through the worst moments of their life. And the 'hopeful message' feels more like someone desperately telling themselves platitudes to keep themselves together but they aren't fully convinced in the value of said platitudes. And that message gets lost among the intense wallowing they're still in the middle of.

3+1 on the other hand, feels like it was crafted by someone well after having been on the road of recovery. Of someone who has moved on in their life. Things have gotten better, they know for certainty that things do get better because they're living it, and they've got the strength to tell others in a convincing manner, after having had plenty of time to think about how to say it. It's a much more focused and believable message this time around, and a generally very fulfilling ending to go out on.

 

[Adrenaline]

I watched all of the Rebuild movies when they came out in the West, and I haven't revisited them. I also rewatched the original series and movies when they were added to Netflix. So it took a little while to get back up to speed watching 3+1. I liked it a lot, though. I really didn't expect it to feel so cathartic. The climax of the movie (which is Shinji giving everybody therapy) was amazing. I know Anno has lived with depression for a long time, and that is large part of the series. With this movie it seems like he's found a way to live healthily, and I know depression is something that people never really fully put behind them, but it felt really uplifting to have this kind of ending, which feels higher because of how low it had gotten in the past. I don't know. Eva has always been messy and weird, and those elements are still here. I don't think I would want those elements to go away. It's the strange edges in things that make them unique and impossible to replace.

 

[Sprite]

3.0+1.0 definitely adds a lot to the series re:depression. Like you said, you don’t ever put it behind you, sometimes you manage it in a healthy way, and sometimes it ruins your life.

 

[MikeDinosaur]

EoE is a more powerful film than this, and better executed. There's no filler. It moves relentlessly forward, and it's filled with iconic images and movement. It follows its internal logic in a way that is repulsive in many ways, but also convincing. I also feel for the characters in it--Misato, Shinji, Asuka, Gendo, even if what they do is wrong. EoE is so committed to its singular vision that it feels irresponsible. But the flip side of that irresponsibility is that it feels dangerous and unpredictable, which is key for a horror film. Although I agree that it is ultimately a hopeful film, it is primarily a horror film throughout its runtime. Even the metatextual insertion of Anno's rejections by women plays as a horror reveal--"Wow, some girls turned him down, so his reaction was to make this thing."

Every moment in EoE hits for me, to the extent I'm still in awe that something that ambitious could truly be pulled off that effectively. It's a fully immersive exploration of adolescent misery, horniness, and anger; it's no wonder so many people feel that it's an uncritical expression of those emotions.

My feeling is that during the back half of the EVA TV show and EoE, Anno was working by instinct and was acting as much more of an artist than he is here. The Rebuilds' biggest sacrifice, especially in the first two movies, is pacing. The compression of the story robs it of its texture and rhythm. The extra CG acts as noise that's totally unnecessary when the original fights were already "cool" enough, but also had weight behind them. In the first two rebuilds, it feels like Anno is being too responsible--he's making sure people get what they want from Eva, that there are plenty of new toys that can get sold, that Shinji isn't quite as much of a sad sack, and they can make the next movie in the series with a minimum of trouble.

That sense of responsibility definitely extends to this film, though in a different way. It doesn't feel like Anno is cashing a check here or in the third film, though there are still lots of unnecessary bells and whistles added into the action that detract from their power. However, I agree with WH--Anno here really seems to be taking his time to talk to his audience and heal his characters. Therapy, recovery, work, life, aren't necessarily good fits for a streamlined narrative, and in some way they've outgrown the shell constructed for them by the world of Evangelion. I agree that the strongest part of the movie is the scene in the village, and in many ways it's really the only "new" element of the movie. It feels fresh and it's a lovely place to visit.

Overall, I thought this movie worked well enough, and there were occasional moments of true originality and invention. 3.0+1.0 was touching, and it is good to see that something I've grown up with has grown up with me, too. In that sense, it's the opposite of the remake/sequel purgatory/time loop that we're trapped in.

It would be fine with me if these movies didn't exist, but this was a nice appendix. ***/4