Attack on Titan Review

overly dark and depressing, a little humorous, but overall not a good adaptation

My mom and I went to see the live action movie adaptation of Hajime Isayama's hit manga series of the same name earlier today. Early reviews for the much awaited film were mostly negative criticizing the changes made from the source material most notably the exclusion of series favorite Levi Ackerman. Midway through the movie though, maybe not even that far, the missing heichou is just one of the many thorns that ruined the glory of the source material.

don't mind the line art. I was very unoriginal back in high school

In the eyes of a fan of the manga and the anime series calling the movie an adaptation is going too far. The source material is readily available, and they could've watched the anime first and draw inspiration from there. Even series creator Hajime Isayama had some creative input to the live action movie but overall it felt like the production crew borrowed recently excavated scripts from some basement in Germany and use it as their reference material. I understand that the original setting of Attack on Titan probably won't translate well in live action but the major changes they made aren't any better.

The most obvious difference the live action movie has from the original series is that it takes on a futuristic post-apocalyptic setting where humanity has advanced in technology and economy but the sudden appearance of them titans forced the decline of humanity.

They built walls to keep them safe from the threats of the titans and what remains inside of the walls is a dying civilization slowly marching towards their own death. Five minutes into the movie I already knew I wasn't going to enjoy it mainly because it stripped off the dark fantasy lore that made Attack on Titan so interesting. Instead of taking place in its own unique setting in the past it had to happen somewhere in the future where we could all relate in some way (what with the mention of wars, and the use of vehicles).

There were a lot of characters that didn't make it into the big screen and most of those that did were totally revamped. A huge chunk of the main characters' development isn't present in the movie. Eren feels like a newbie congoer lost in the midst of veterans in Comiket. I think he has more screaming and shouting lines than normal speaking. Right after the Colossal Titan's initial onslaught that opened a door (literally) for other titans to follow there's a two year time skip that reintroduces the characters already part of the survey corps. Suddenly Sasha and Jean are part of the cast. Sasha was portrayed on point being the potato girl we all love but Jean starts off more of an AH than how his manga counterpart was introduced. The lack of his best friend, Marco Bott, didn't help at all. But the biggest blow to any of the major characters that I can think of is Mikasa. Mikasa started off too soft, completely unlike her manga counterpart. For the two years that followed after the Colossal Titan opened a hole in the wall Mikasa was presumed dead only to be reintroduced later in the movie as a completely unlikable badass. And what's worse is that she didn't seem to care at all for Eren. Eren Jaeger - the one man she's supposed to draw inspiration and strength from. So where was Mikasa in those two empty years for Eren? She was with Shikishima, apparently the movies answer to the missing Levi Ackerman controversy. Shikishima's character tries too hard to be Levi even spouting some stupid one liners while posing for the camera while the rest of the survey corps run for their lives.

Other than Sasha Blouse the only other saving grace for the cast is Hange Zoe - perhaps the only truly accurate portrayal in the live action movie but there just wasn't enough of her.

So far the story didn't make any significant mention about the mystery regarding the titans or if the three spies even exist in the movie...y'know the three spies: Female, Armored, and Colossal? For the most part the titans were all for action, suspense, and nightmare fuel. While their use of CGI in the last scenes of the movie is a bit clunky, the movie is successful in capturing the horror of the titans. Every time a titan appeared it kept me on edge and I'm actually happy to say that, after watching the devastation of those CGI titans, I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

The events leading to Eren's first transformation were on point as well staying true to the source material. For a movie that's filled with inaccuracies, Eren's transformation is all the more special.

My negativity in the movie is still incomplete but I think I've already made my point: the movie is very different from the manga. But all these are from someone who has read the manga and watched the anime. Why is it so different?  Maybe it's deliberately unique to introduce new people to Attack on Titan. While staying true to the source material would definitely please fans of the original series, condensing all the events that lead to Eren's first transformation or even the capturing of the Female Titan into two 1 hour and 30 minute movies would force the production to take shortcuts and end the story with a cliffhanger. What about those who are only interested in the movies but not the original series? They're left hanging. Pleasing the fanbase while introducing Attack on Titan to a new audience is difficult so maybe that's why the movie ended up so messed up for us but just interesting enough for new audiences.

How would I recommend this now?

The movie is not for Attack on Titan fans. Definitely do not watch it unless you want to see the nightmare fuel titans eat people like chicken wings, and enjoy Spider-man like action with the 3DMG, oh wait, they call it O-DMG (Omni-directional Maneuver Gear) in the movies. Eren's transformation into a titan was epic as well, I'll give it that. But most fans would definitely be disappointed with the setting, characters, their development, interactions and relationships. The plot felt incomplete seeing as it bridges over to the next movie but overall the story jammed into the one and a half hour movie was weak since their main drive for putting themselves in danger was to plug the hole the Colossal titan made - just that. 

For new audiences who want something unique, something different from zombies and the usual monster wreaking havoc flick, I recommend Attack on Titan. While people are dropping like flies in the movie, the way they fight back is reason enough to watch it. It's not just about Davids vs. creepy Goliaths, it's about wanting to get more while still surviving. Watch it for some real intense action, and gore.

Attack on Titan is a manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It's first live action film was released on August 1, 2015. Its sequel, Attack on Titan: End of the World, will be released on September 19, 2015.