Review of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo

When one discusses film franchises, there are always those that are regarded as the black sleep of that series. Whether it be The Godfather Part III, or the first two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, these entries are often looked upon with disdain. This is the reputation that Evangelion 3.33. has garnered, since its release back in 2012. I watched Evangelion: 3.33. You Can (Not) Redo on August 9, on Amazon Prime Video, and it was a really great film. Taking place fourteen years after the events of 2.22., Shinji Ikari wakes up to a world with a much different appearance than the onehe once knew. Practically everyone that he had once known had turned against him. For instance, there’s Asuka, with all her bitterness and boiling anger directly aimed at Shinji. The only person whose character hasn’t quite changed is the joyous and eccentric Mari Makinami Illustrious, who was introduced in the previous film.

Spike Spencer is excellent as Shinji, whose world is beyond fractured at this point, but basically broken.
Allison Keith is fantastic as Misato, Shinji’s guardian, who has experienced and dealt with quite a lot in the past fourteen years, which has drastically changed her, which is quite evident in her voice.
Deneen Melody is also fantastic, reprising Mari in a stellar vocal performance.

As for the direction of this particular entry, Hideaki Anno has crafted another great film. Anno has directed a film that bathes in its nihilism far more than the previous entries in The Rebuilds. He crafts a gorgeously animated opening action sequence (along with the plethora of other people who worked on the animation), featuring an intense space battle with fluid movements from the piloted EVAs, along with great usage of CGI. Anno also introduces interesting and fascinating concepts never before explored in the franchise, such as the Evangelion curse.
The only major issue that I have with the film is that it is kind of rushed at times, such as Kaworu’s storyline.

Evangelion: 3.33., while not my favorite of the Rebuilds, is a film that doesn’t deserve the negative reception that it has received here in the States, as it is quite a great film.