Watch Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance For Free

Touches You

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

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.

This review is based on the Blu-Ray release version 2.22Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance (or 2.22 depending on the version you saw) is the most successful interpretation of Evangelion thus far. While the first remake film 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone felt much like a mere recap of the first six episodes of the series, the second film takes a different approach and reaches a remarkable level of success. Everything is smoother, more refined and simply better.The animation is gorgeous. The plot is more understandable. The characters are actually all likable this time. Many elements of the story are different, and the pretentious biblical gibberish seems to have taken a back seat. There is also warmth that was largely missing in the series: the characters seem to be genuinely content with their lives. Shinji isn't constantly mumbling about hating himself. Rei isn't a completely emotionless robot. Even Gendo seems more human. As a very small, but important detail we see his eyes through his shades far more than in the series, which may not sound like much, but it really makes a difference if you've watched the series.The story remains mostly the same. The events cover mostly what happens in the episodes 7-19 of the series, but with all the filler cut out. Only the most meaningful angel battles are left. Instead of feeling episodic like the first film, 2.0 actually feels like a proper movie with appropriate highs and lows and character development, culminating in a huge climax which is one of the most exciting action sequences ever seen in animation.The animation is top of the class. The level of detail is simply eye- popping, especially when watched in HD. With the help of CGI the angel battles look cooler than ever, and the evas are particularly impressive. The fairly simplistic characters are something of a letdown in comparison, but don't drag the overall presentation down.The sound is also vastly improved from the series. The music this time is appropriately epic, matching the scale and size of the evas and angels. The voice acting is on par with the series with most of the original cast reprising their roles. The ending song, an acoustic version of Utada Hikaru's "Beautiful World" feels perfect for the film, as if letting out a sigh of relief yet still leaving the feeling there's more to come.Yet there are still problems Evangelion can't seem to get rid of. The biblical imagery and names, though downplayed in this film, still feel somewhat goofy and superficial. Though the plot is more coherent, it still is very weird and it can be hard to grasp what exactly the big picture is. There is some weird dialogue and lines like "Do you hate pain?". Still, the rest of the film is good enough that the viewer is willing to overlook most of the flaws.Evangelion 2.0 is the best interpretation of the series thus far, and it left me eagerly waiting for more. I recommend seeing the 2.22 version, as it gives more insight to the characters and story. Highly recommended for both fans of the series and newcomers alike.

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.

Thats just it. Awesome.The first rebuild movie just sort of retold the first six or so episodes of the original series. It looked great, but you could never shake the feeling of been there seen it (except for the improved Angels obviously) This one goes far, far beyond that. It sums up the plot of episode seven up to something around twenty. Thus it seems a little bit rushed, but on the flip side you're never able to catch your breath. The visuals are breathtaking at moments. The Angels are pretty much unrecognizable from their predecessors (which is a good thing in my opinion) and simply gorgeous to behold. The score also knows how to please.Where the movie really shines though is the story department. Instead of a retelling we get a re-imagining. Starting with a completely new character, piloting EVA05 and ending with a quite different... well ending. Its like they mixed the original episodes with End of Evangelion. While many scenes are still recognizable, they are often arranged differently or put into a completely different context. More than that, the movie strays from the source in quite a view key elements and reveals a lot of things far, far earlier than the original series. Also it explains far, far more. At the end of the ride you will have a pretty decent idea what the "Human Instrumentality Plan" is, for example. Something the original series didn't really bother to explain at all. There are completely new parts to the story as well. It's true that Asukas character falls a little short on screen time, but all in all I like her much better here than in the series. Her story ark and thus her development feels rushed but is still solid, and the ending is one of the biggest twists in this movie. And in the end... there are two movies left I think, and the way Asukas story goes in this one, she's fated to take on a much bigger role in future installments. In general the three children show new sides to them that were only hinted at before. Especially Rei gets a whole subplot that will definitely please fans of the character.All of this combined keeps you on the edge the whole time. You simply don't quite know where its headed. At the end of this second (of four) movies we have almost reached the end of the series which really makes me hope for an original very different outcome than before. Besides... the series was almost over at this point, but with the movies, we're only halfway there.In conclusion. If you liked EVA (and you're not a nitpicker), you're gonna love this. It's a hell of a ride. Don't miss it.