Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th January 2022

IV - Rebuild
I can't recall the last time I sat down and watched Evangelion - clearly End of Evangelion left a bad taste in the mouth. But what i do know is that I spent a fair chunk of my twenties and thirties sorting myself out and overcoming the demon that is self-loathing - and much like Shinji it was down through a lot of self-analysis. Of course, the only difference is when i overcame my self-loathing I didn't get a round of applause accompanied by "Congratulations!" (would've liked to though).

 So when i found out a new Evangelion reboot, Rebuild, came about it was a case of "You Again"
Which now brings us here: Facing down the fourth and final movie in this rebuild, therefore the endpoint of this journey taken over this pat month - and also the endpoint of a longer journey that started back in late 1998.

Firstly this movie is long, at two and half hours. Granted this nothing new for movies in general but to see an animated film at such a length is indeed an anomaly. With such a length it wouldn't be that much a of a stretch to draw comparisons to Avengers Endgame. So can this movie pull off the same trick?

Well...kinda.....

A number of things of note: I like the quiet moments - that may sound odd but thy work. And considering that Evangelion has a reputation for bombast when it decides to be quiet it does so superbly.
I like the revelation of Gendo's history. It has indeed been along time coming - and who would've guessed that one of fictions most reviled characters could command empathy?
And I I like that this is effectively the big farewell that Anno wanted: There are indeed surprises throughout and we finally FINALLY get to see Shinji grow up and take control of his life. And yes, I do feel happy for him.
Of course, there are a lot of things that don't work: The action is fast and aggressive to the point of being difficult to keep up, certain characters are sidelined and, once again, the mysteries of Evangelion are never resolved to the point of aggressive.
Still, this movie does what it set out to do: Conclude Evangelion as a franchise for good so I give it that much. Furthermore, I will forever maintain that End of Evangelion was Anno urging us the audience to move on. And here i do believe he is saying the same thing - just in a far less passive-aggressive manner.

Well this month-long odyssey has now come to an end and what a heavy one it has been. So next week, i think I'll watch something a bit more fun.
And that s a guarantee.