Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes!
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Of course!
Secret ending? Sort of, for the sequel.
Running time: 98 minutes (~1.5 hours)
“Attackon Titan” is a Japanese live action adaptation of the franchise of the same name. It features a group of teenage soldiers who have to battle giant Titans that are hell bent on destroying humanity. It stars Haruma Miura (Eren Jaegar), Kiko Mizuhara (Mikasa Ackerman), Kanata Hongo (Armin Arlert), and Hiroki Hasegawa (Shikishima). It is rated NC-16.
“Attack on Titan” is a marvelous adaptation of the anime. I must confess that I’m a casual fan of the anime, and I didn’t have high hopes for the film, what with the rumours about its lacklustre budget and ostensibly major changes to the plot and characters. Fortunately, the movie came through in the end, and delighted the audience at the fan screening to no end.
Highlights
Good (violent) action
One of the hallmarks of “Attack on Titan,” be it the anime or manga, is the intense brutality of the fights. Titans and humans hardly trade blows – one swipe from a Titan is enough to wipe out any human. Consequently, this raises the stakes by showing just how fragile and weak our protagonists are, and the immense odds that the face. The movie delivers on the gory fights and painful demises, creating a sense of desperation and fatalism for all our heroes.
High tension and conflict
Even without the Titans, there’s always tension between the characters. They may all be on the same side, but that doesn’t mean the characters always agree with each other. Add the constant danger of a silent, lurking Titan to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for excitement and fear for the heroes. And then of course, there are the actual battles with the Titans itself, where the characters are clearly the underdogs in the clash.
The crazed expressions of the Titans
The insane but gleeful expressions on the Titans are well juxtaposed with the horrific atrocities they commit. This adds to the already unnatural look of the Titans, further establishing them as human but not quite so. In a way, the Titans are a twisted reflection of humanity given power, and they are the perfect literal and metaphysical antagonists for our heroes.
Anger and frustration of the heroes
“Attack on Titan” is frequently quoted as representing “the hopelessness felt by young people in today’s society.” And the film does well to capture this feel, by draining hope from our protagonists right from the start. The introduction already sees Eren plunged into despair at the sight of the Titan’s attack and his subsequent loss. In fact, all of the characters espouse some sort of futility, knowing that they wage a battle they cannot win.
Letdowns
City backgrounds look dated
Why do all those buildings look so familiar? In fact, don’t they look like the same sort of effects used in old Super Sentai shows, namely Power Rangers? Perhaps they might have been believable 20 years back, but now the backdrop where the action takes place looks artificial and cheap. If not for the fact that the action and storyline distract you from the setting, you might very well have lost your suspension of disbelief.
“Attack on Titan” is an amazing film that manages to capture the spirit of the manga and anime, while still managing to conform and make use of the film medium. It’s a good example of how movie adaptations can be done right by changing the facts but keeping the tone, so that it satisfies fans and casual moviegoers alike.
“Attack on Titan” opens 13 August, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo.
Leave a Reply