Movie Monday - Attack on Titan: Part 2
After viewing part one in the front row alongside Beck, I sat down for part two of the live action adaptation of Attack on Titan in a room full of fans. I was expecting more of what I got the first time around, but experienced a few differences with part two. The movie starts out with a quick recap of the first film, which is great for anyone that missed part one. One of my biggest pet peeves about films is when they throw the viewer into the world of the film without explaining anything, leaving the viewer lost.
Toho Pictures
Part 2 picks up where the first film left off and trouble is brewing as Titan-battling protagonist Eren has, just like in the manga and anime, mysteriously regrown his arm and leg. The plot thickens as Eren is interrogated with the immediate threat of death, which I thoroughly enjoyed since I have always felt that Eren seemed to get away without being caught by anyone too many times in the source material. While the elder characters in the military definitely let on more than they know, not all of the scouting troop characters catch on to what the adults in power are talking about. There is a great flashback scene to Eren’s childhood home with his dad - a great departure from the source material, adding a fantastic plot twist that brings characters you thought were unconnected together in quite a shocking way.
The visual effects in Part 2 match those in Part 1. The Titans brought nearly all of the death and gore, most of which was from the recap. Luckily this time the number of creepy, unintelligent Titans to stare at you while eating humans was significantly less, in fact you can add up how many are mentioned during their travels. The real main stars of Part 2 were the three special Titans: Eren's Titan, the Colossal Titan, and a new hybrid Titan with armor. I call it a hybrid, because this Titan looks nothing like the Reiner Braun Armored Titan beyond some armor plating on the outer extremities. These Titans are once again the awesome latex suits, ala Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Power Rangers) Villain monsters we saw in the 90s. The steamy fog of regrowth is done just as I imagined it would be, and the lack of blood helps you keep your eyes on the screen during all of the awesome Titan-on-Titan combat. The fights are satisfying and visceral just as any fight with Eren’s intelligent Titan should be. I‘ll leave the spoilers out, but both of the unknown Titans identities are revealed, and it’s pretty obvious to the plot which humans they had to be.
Toho Pictures
There are no new characters, and the ones that were previously established became more concentrated versions of themselves, getting more screen time in order to bludgeon the viewer over the head with exactly what their individual personalities are, in case you hadn’t noticed. Hange is my favorite as the liveliest and with the introduction of "pre-Titan war weapons", she is once again happy as a clam exclaiming about all of the new toys she has to play with. She is, yet again, an absolute treat to watch get excited about everything in the room she has never seen with her own eyes.
The main part of the interactions revolving around human drama develops just as abruptly as the Titan fights. The movie is primarily combinations of high octane Titan action, mixed in with reaction shots from nearby humans. The rest of the scouts continue to struggle with their choices in life, those who have made up their minds have very definitively decided so and they spend much of the movie explosively trying to incite the much quieter others to make up their minds. Although a break from the calamaty and wreckage is nice, this loud/quiet/loud pacing of the movie sits oddly with me as the quiet scenes contain almost no dialogue or movement, just eye contact.
Toho Pictures
Just like in the manga and anime, as soon as Eren is in trouble, something always happens to save his bacon. For instance, while being interrogated, suddenly Eren is whisked away and wakes alone with Shikishima in a sterile room, with nice white clothes. Young Skikishima has all the answers from the last 100 years of human history that has remained a mystery until now, and he lays it all out for Eren. This Deus ex Machina plot development nods to the fact that the writers may not have known where to go next in the story after the intense interrogation scene. Still the movie keeps on moving, and the final scenes involving what remains of the scouting Legion and the Titans is very satisfying, much like part one, and I enjoyed the resolution of the film as an ending point. It could definitely be developed into a longer movie series, but to me it is a great Japanese tale ending where things do not just end, life continues on. All in all, I enjoyed the movie series as a whole, and if you go into it just as I did, as a stand-alone film adaptation of the series, it’s a great and exciting way to spend 3 hours.