Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket price? If you’re an “Attack on Titan” fan.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.
Running time: 87 minutes (~1.5 hours)
Secret ending? Yes.
“Attack on Titan 2: End of the World” is the sequel to August’s “Attack on Titan” and is the second instalment in the “Attack on Titan” film franchise. It features a group of teenage soldiers who face giant, man-eating Titans who have hunted humanity to extinction. It stars Haruma Miura (Eren Jaeger), Kiko Mizuhara (Mikasa Ackerman), Kanata Hongo (Armin Arlert), Hiroki Hasegawa (Shikishima), and Jun Kunimura (Kubal). It is rated NC-16.
“Attack on Titan 2: End of the World” had some lofty expectations to meet. After all, every other rendition of the tale has met with resounding success – the manga, the anime and the first movie. However, this version of the story doesn’t feel properly developed, even with all the action and plot twists, There isn’t enough set up or build up for the epic confrontations that follow, leading to a lot of noise and sound but little emotional resonance. And sadly, that’s what the movie needs – a little less action, and a lot more character development.
Highlights
Clash of the Titans
If you loved the Titan vs Titan fights in the first film, this one ups the ante and presents even more spectacular battles. The Titan battles are on a completely different scale from the human fights, which is echoed by the fact that the human characters are unable to do anything but watch in the wake of their conflicts. The brutal smack downs result in vast collateral damage – thank goodness they’re batting amongst the ruins of a city!
Numerous plot twists
If there’s one thing that the plot has going for it, it’s the numerous cliffhangers and plot twists that keep the tension high. You honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next, at least not until the final Act of the movie (where the same techniques are used a little too frequently). It also tells that the film doesn’t quite follow the plot of the anime and manga, and it has a movie-only character, Shikisima, to help keep things fresh and unpredictable.
Gory and violent
In keeping to its NC-16 rating, the fights are bloody and intense. Characters don’t have long, drawn-out death scenes – they die suddenly and in the most painful ways when fighting Titans. The fatality rate also means that the cast becomes smaller and more focused towards the end, just in time to keep pace with the escalating stakes.
Letdowns
Resolution feels incomplete
Perhaps it’s due to the fact that the plot forgoes build-up in lieu of shocking twists, that the conclusion of the movie feels like there’s something missing. There’s little denouement to explain the questions raised throughout the film, although it does include a heartwarming callback to the opening of the previous movie. But other than that, the lack of explanations means that you’ll be wondering about the fate and origin of other characters long after you’ve left the cinema.
Villains come out of nowhere
The problem with the number of twists is that the antagonists appear for no reason at times. It seems like that they’re introduced whenever the action is lagging, to allow for another massive brawl. While the fights themselves are impressive, they lack impact in the story and character department. And that’s what makes the villains more hollow than hateable.
Not enough Titan vs human battles
So much time and effort is spent on describing the specialised Titan-fighting gear that the protagonists carry, that it almost seems like a waste that they don’t get to fight Titans much in the film. They can’t take part in the Titan vs Titan fights because of the sheer difference in power level, but how about giving us some moments of awesome by letting them take down some regular Titans?
“Attack on Titan 2: End of the World” had some big shoes to fill which it didn’t quite manage to. It’s not a bad movie by any stretch, and it certainly delivers on the action and fights that you’ve come to expect from the franchise.
“Attack on Titan 2: End of the World” opens in cinemas 24 September, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo.
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