Rebuild of Evangelion

The Rebuild of Evangelion film series is both a retelling and reimagining of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion animated series. It is spanned over 14 years from the first film released in Japan of 2007, to the final one just a few days ago here in North America. It was created to provide an alternative ending to, as well as be overall more accessible to newcomers of the series. Myself, having only ever seen the original series, finally viewed all four films in succession to have a complete, fresh take on the updated version of the series. I decided to break down each film with my thoughts and provide an overall opinion at the end; here are my thoughts on The Rebuild of Evangelion.

The first film in the series is almost a full one-to-one retelling of the first half of the animated series. It does a fantastic job of explaining the world setting, characters, and overall mood of the series. While taking obvious liberties cutting numerous scenes, it's amazing how it is still able to convey the sense of malaise and the slow-moving pace of the original. Things, appropriately start off with a bang, but then exposition, world-building, and character development take center stage for much of the remainder. The music is also faithfully replicated and/or updated where it needs to be. Overall, it does a great job of setting stage and leave things ready for events to come.

If the first film is the setup, the second film is, appropriately the confrontation. The first portion of the film continues retelling the events from the original series, but little by little, more deviations occur. Until finally the film enters all new territory towards the end. Somethings keep in line with the plot of the original, but the foundations of the new conclusion are beginning to be revealed. The pacing of this film is perhaps my favorite, with tons of bombastic action scenes, interwoven with quiet, melancholic character moments. It truly feels like a roller coaster ride, with an appropriately stellar soundtrack. The final events of this film leave you uneasy and unsure of where the story will go.

In a traditional story structure, the third part would represent the climax, conclusion, and resolution. This is no normal story structure however, with an entire fourth arc to the series yet to come. Where parts 1 and 2 were retellings of the Evangelion storyline with clever cuts, and appropriate changes made, part 3 is best described as deviation. Things take a turn, and then twenty more, introducing and establishing ideas new, but fitting to the series. The stakes are high at the onset, and things only escalate from there. With only a slight reprieve from the chaos in the third act, the pacing of part 3 is all over the place, perhaps purposefully, but it's unnerving all the same. Despite self-proclaimed efforts to make the series more accessible to newcomers, part 3 is easily the most confusing, hard-to-follow portion of the story thus far. The very rules of the world you thought were established are brought into question, right up until the very climax of the film. With one or two different scenes, this could have served as the final film in the series, but clear decisions were made to leave many things open and unanswered in hopes the fourth and final film would provide a fitting conclusion.

Evangelion:3.0+1.0 not only had the difficult job of providing a satisfying conclusion to a convoluted, meta-driven storyline, but also wrap up a beloved series spanning more than three decades in one nice package. Not only did part 4 achieve this, it is also the best stand alone film in the series, telling an almost self-contained story, that simultaneously resolves three films worth of conflict. Visually, it is stunning to witness, utilizing the most CG out of all four films, but providing some truly awe-inspiring animation scenes as well. The soundtrack is also phenomenal, using elements and themes from the past films, mixing in contemporary sounds to classical pieces, and offering wonderful mood-setting tracks as well. Picking up after the chaos of part 3, there is still an element of confusion throughout the film, but for the most part, things move at such a pace that by the time the answers come, the climactic events surrounding them have you even more enthralled then before.

Having finally viewed all four films in the Rebuild of Evangelion series, its clear that lots of care and attention went into its production. For such a beloved series to be remade to such a degree might only be possible with a franchise as already as controversial as Eva. While some fans might prefer the open-ended nature of the original series, the finality of the film adaptation brings many fans the ending they've been wanting all these years. Taking a look at each film individually, I'd say the strongest is without a doubt part 4, followed by part 2, then part 1, and far behind part 3. All are necessary to arrive at the satisfying conclusion of the fourth film, but like I said before, it's also completely acceptable to watch on its own. I'd say regardless whether you're a newcomer, or a long-time fan of the series, the Rebuild of Evangelion film series is the definitive way to enjoy the story of Evangelion.