The movie, Evangelion 1.11 is a re-adaptation of the popular anime series, Neon genesis Evangelion. The movie compounds the first 6 episodes into a single feature length movie.

The original series is marked similarly to how watchmen was marked as a graphic novel series, rather then approaching characters who embrace their role, the lead character is constantly fighting within himself against what he must do, Shinji isn't the hero type, he's a coward, someone who runs, but he finds himself having to pilot the Eva, as he is one of the few who can.

The animation style is several steps ahead from what it was when the original series was produced, this is one of the reasons the director/producer decided to remake the series, to offer a over all better quality production. The series was also remade so that the story could be re-told in a more clear fashion then the original series, the original series story line became incredibly complete as it neared it's conclusion, to the point that they had to release a separate movie to tie things up/explain things better, but that movie failed to do that.

This movie series plans to explain and expand the plot more, but, it however suffers from a slightly rushed feeling in the first instalment that the original series didn't have. The is mainly noticeable with some of Shinji's character development, a large plot point that I noticed in the early original series was that the lead character was bullied by several other class mates when he began to attend school, this point was glanced over with a basic mention, but, I believe there should have been more time given to this element. Even a 5-10 minuet extension focusing on this, because this element truly shows just how much Shinji doesn't fit his role.

By the end of this first instalment, Shinji begins to reluctantly accept his role, as he begins to partially loose some of his fear, this notable point when he fights the diamond angel, which in its self is massively different in animation quality from its original design in the series.

Standing alone, this is a fairly well put together movie, if somewhat brief on some of the development, the animation quality is top notch, blending 2d and 3d animation elements together in a way that, unlike some other productions, blend together seamlessly. However, some of what's carried in the series, such as the pacing, is lacking here, the pacing in the early Evangelion series worked very well, but lost its self towards the rushed and jumbled end. This movie is a promising start to the adaptations however, coping well with the content it presents.

The music is somewhat sparse array of tracks, but each cutting in at their relevant points, the most notable of which being in the ending section, when Shinji's Eva lies partially dormant after a blast nearly kills him, as he slowly begins to rise, and crawl forwards, the music begins to send chills down your spine, this is the most defining moment of the movie for me, the part where you see the true change in Shinji, he's no longer the coward, he's now the hero, the music shows this, it holds the despair that he feels, the fear, the desperation, the need.

Over all I give this a 8/10, it is a worth while watch with prettier visuals, however it does lack some focus on the character when compared to the series.

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