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28 Mar, 2016
Eva 3.33
1 of 2 found this helpful I can't say exceptionally good or bad things about 3.33. What I will say about it is that if you have watched the original series (and I presume you have already watched 1.11 and 2.22) this is where the new movies jump into an entirely new reality. D&R and End of and Eva were alternate versions of the last 4 episodes of the original series.
Evangelion 3.33 jumps ahead a number of years and the Third Impact has occured. Except the process wasn't completed. From the very opening one gets a traditional Evangelion feel as Asuka and Mari are dealing with a new Angel and also rescuing Shinji, from a 15 year slumber.
From here it is all fresh material with a similar theme of Shinji trying to make make heads or tails of a vastly changed world. It's also here that one could probably write a better story. As I intentionally avoid as much about spoilers as possible, I don't know if 4.44 will address the issues with the story from here.
First NERV is opposed by an organization named WILLE. WILLE is led my familiar faces is bent on defeating NERV before a 4th impact can occur. Obviously watching anime or any sci fi requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief (referred to as SOD from here on out) to make a story plausible. The amount of SOD in this film, with respect to past material, makes it difficult get engrossed in the new story line.
When establishing a new universe and reality there is just a bit to much to try and take care of in the running time of the movie. Considering the involvement of certain characters in the original series and where they are in this movie it is a bit difficult to grasp someone like Ritsuko being in an organization opposing NERV!
There are other nuances that I wasn't necessarily fond of either and they will be very evident to you as they come up in the movie. I won't spoil them, except to say, the items were fitting to anime themes and genre. They just don't really fit in with Evangelion as compared to other anime mecha film or series out there. You will either like them or you won't.
Essentially what it all boils down to for me is that 1.11 and 2.22 seemed to have a pretty decent flow to take you from one movie to another. 3.33 picks up from where the last movie left off, but not very well. The flow is such that you don't feel like you went from one episode to the next, but an entirely different story where you already know much of the context. The next arc throws a lot out there and you are left wondering are they throwing everything out there to see what sticks or did they just figure 'you know how this story goes, fill in your own blanks' for everyone no longer associated with NERV and their motivations (what happened over the last 15 story years!). 4.44 could answer a fair amount of these items, however the preview at the end of the movie doesn't leave the impression that will happen.