I must be the dumbest sack of doorknobs out there. Why do I torture myself? I have potentially been chasing this franchise down longer than “Code Geass: Akito”, yet I am not half as whiny about it as I should be. This popped up at AX 17, so I grabbed a showing of “Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo”. What a pile of noise!

This takes place about 14 years after Film 2 (and it feels like 14 years since I saw 2.22) and our ‘hero’, Shinji Ikari (him on the piano bench) awakens from a coma to find the world is still fighting, fighting, fighting. He was rescued from his cocoon by Asuna and Mari (them to the right). He is aboard a new ship, but is treated like a criminal, as he has proven himself an enemy of the world, as there was a caliber of Third Impact. Or something.

This brand new ship, “The Wunder”, is piloted by Ritsuko Akagi, who brooks no questions from Shinji, as he must fight a newer style angel. In the midst of this chaos, Rei Ayanami (far left) frees Shinji and takes him to the now-destroyed NERV HQ, where all is revealed. Among other things, Shinji is to pilot a new EVA unit, along with bestest newest friend Kaworu (right next to him by the bench). He also teaches Shinji how to play the piano before they must go out and do battle again.

I personally felt betrayed. We had such a good conclusion for 2.22 that I was expecting more from this offering, but I got far less. It almost felt like two separate films, jammed together to make a whole. More like a hole.

The battle sequences are, as always, stunning, especially the opening sequence, where you are plunked right into the middle of it. When we get introspective and trying to put it all together is when it gets lethargic and leaden. You should know that I am an absolute kluntz when it comes to symbolism. I know it’s supposed to mean something, but what? Or am I overthinking myself?

The piano is a symbol of something difficult that needs to be mastered, but when you achieve that goal, all kinds of beautiful things happen and you are allowed to reconnect with the humanity that was stripped of you by humanity in these harsh and unforgiving times and……or perhaps it reveals a sense of no purpose, as you can master the piano, yet all you are asked to play is “Chopsticks” or “Heart and Soul” and anything by Mozart is just pointless ivory tickling……or perhaps it means that I DON’T CARE ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!

It’s just that when we get to the end, there is no end. It looks like 4.44 “You Can (Not) End” is lurking out there. I survived the Third Impact and all I got was this lousy sequel.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork           7 (Nothing really outstanding)
Plot                  7 (A tad retrograde)
Pacing              7 (A lot of false starts)
Effectiveness   7 (Missed connections)
Conclusion       7 (It reaches a ‘coupler point’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service      2 (A similar show would be “Okamisan”)

Overall            7 (Far too many loose ends)

2½ stars