The other night, I had the unique opportunity to attend a showing of
Attack on Titan: the live-action movie, part one. Having
skipped the big-screen event that was Dragon Ball: Resurrection F
due to not being a Dragon Ball fan, and later regretting the
missed opportunity, I was really looking forward to this. Did the
film deliver? Well, as I expected, it turned out to be a mixed bag.
First off, the designs were outstanding. The Titans looked just as
scary/creepy/funny as you'd hope they would, thanks to a combination
of CG and makeup that really worked. I liked how you could recognize
some of the more distinctive Titans from the series, but there were
some original ones that were just as memorable. Likewise, the
Colossal Titan and Eren's transformation put their own distinct flair
on the show's look without feeling out of place.
The setting was less recognizable as Attack on Titan. The
show looked like you could plant any wall or town into any medieval
European setting with no problem; most everything is wood and stone,
with nary a piece of technology in sight save the maneuver gear. The
movie is distinctly post-apocalypse. Everything's gray and
dirty. The walls look like they're pieced together out of scrap
metal, not particularly sturdy at all. Hell, the military uses
vehicles in their mission beyond the wall, which threw me for
a loop. Overall, though, the setting works to fit the movie's dour
mood.
What didn't work so well were the characters. It's unfair to expect
any but a few real-life actors to be as physically and emotionally
appealing as cartoon characters, so I wasn't let down per se. Still,
it's annoying to keep mixing the actors up and be unsure who died.
Character arcs were watered down out of necessity; what can you do in
ninety minutes with a large cast? I could fill in character quirks
and backstories thanks to my familiarity with the anime, but I can't
say if the uninitiated would have been invested.
Pacing was a bigger issue. The very beginning dragged its
introduction of the principle cast more than it needed to. Though
again, I already know their characters, I felt seconds tick by as we
watched them without learning anything new about them. Sometimes
you'll get a neat shot to build anticipation, like an unknown
character gearing up for battle, only to cut back to other characters
doing less exciting things for minutes before the anticipated
cool thing actually happens. And some of the “romance” scenes in
the middle? Awkward. Very awkward.
I wish the music had been better. I knew even before checking that
Shiro Sagisu did the composing, because it sounds almost exactly like
his work in the Rebuild of Evangelion movies; almost all
ominous chanting, with a few scattered piano pieces. A little more
variety would have been nice, especially since ominous chanting isn't
all that effective whenever awesome stuff isn't happening to back it
up. Also, what the hell? A hip-hop song for the ending credits?
No.
The issue of subtitle errors, though I joke about it in the title,
did not occur in my theatre. My sympathies go out to attendees who
had to deal with this, as well as the Funimation employees who
received the blowback.
In spite of these many flaws, I have to admit I had a great time,
thanks to a pumped-up, almost-full house. There's really nothing
like a theatre packed with fans to increase your enjoyment of a film.
To clap when certain characters appear. To laugh at the jokes, and
the Titans. To let out a collective “What?” at aforementioned
action scenes. To cheer the awesomely gorey action scenes, of which
there were plenty. Attack on Titan: Part One may be a flawed
work, but one with a lot of skill and heart behind it that I think
carried through to everyone. That's about as good a summary I can
give of an experience only half complete.
I look forward to fixing that later this month.
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