Movie Monday - Attack on Titan
[Might have some spoilers - ed.]
Most of my friends weren’t surprised to hear that I was going to see the premiere of the live action film. Having extensive knowledge of the manga and the anime, I did not have extremely high expectations. From past experiences I’ve understood that live action adaptations aren’t always going to be as perfect as Gyakuten Saiban (the Ace Attorney movie). I didn’t have much prior knowledge of the film, other than knowing who the main characters were going to be. I, however, was more interested in seeing the action and the gore that would come with it. The time came for me to see the movie, and I was excited and nervous sitting in the front row in my Scouting Legion jacket. Let’s just say I did, and didn’t quite expect what I saw.
Toho Pictures
Going into this movie with knowing the manga/anime story like the back of my hand, it was a bit jarring to see all the things that they got wrong. Instead of a European-esque population and housing style, it was shockingly Japanese, which is to be expected. The movie started mediocre; as a standalone movie, it did a pretty okay job introducing the plot and gave the audience a sense of how frightening the titans were. They were portrayed using live actors, with prosthetics and make up to make them look like titans - unsettling to say the least, especially the Colossal Titan, which looked like the person was wearing a latex suit. I regretted sitting in the front row while simultaneously trying not to soil my jeans. The titans gave that dreaded feeling that nothing was going to be okay.
The actions scenes were fun, and were done as well as they could with their source material. Turning something like the omni-maneuver gear, which is a seemingly impossible thing to recreate, into real life, they did an okay job. It wasn’t perfect, but then again I would be surprised if anybody could make it look like the animation. The great thing about it is it was almost never used. Half the time the trainees were running away or getting eaten. At least one of the trainees was being useful with an axe. Sasha Braus, who was one of the only properly adapted characters, used a bow and arrow which is true to her character.
Toho Pictures
If the trainees weren’t running away, they were apparently getting down and dirty with each other. A series of scenes showing a couple beginning to have sex, and a trainee coming onto poor Eren Jaeger started to really ruin the mood for me. It helped that the entire theater was laughing their ass off, so I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was laughing to get over how uncomfortable it was. With the addition of the new character, Shikishima, seductively wrapping his arms around a puppy dog-like Mikasa while sharing an apple, by this time I was thoroughly ready for more human death. I would be one hundred percent okay with them cutting out most of this part of the movie. It didn’t make much sense, other than to highlight the fact that if you have sex, you’re going to die. Literally.
Toho Pictures
The ending of the movie was honestly my favorite part, and not because it was over. I credit it the fact that the last fifteen minutes was exactly how it happened in the anime and the manga, and if the entire movie was like that I would be the happiest fan in the world. During that last scene, I felt the energy and excitement of when I first read the manga. It felt it was even better to see the great make up work of the Titan that appears in live action. My eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. The addition of Hange Zoe being there, which wasn’t in the anime or manga, made the scene that much better. With Hange hooting and hollering was the highlight of the entire movie. Nothing makes me happier than seeing one of my favorite characters in the spotlight. Hange is the second character who is true to her original adaptation, and it made me so happy.
Toho Pictures
In short, I was satisfied with the movie. It wasn’t great, actually it was borderline terrible. But, the entire movie redeemed itself with the last scene in my eyes; I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. I’ve been known to enjoy terrible movies adapted from my favorite things in geek culture, such as the Daredevil movie from 2003, so it isn’t too surprising that I’m eager to have this in my movie collection. My recommendation to everybody that wants to see the movie, go with an open mind regardless of your knowledge of the series. Fans of the anime and manga could either love it or hate it. Non-fans, I’m not sure what to say other than after this movie, I urge them to simply watch the anime.