No complaints about the acting really. All the actors did well at portraying fear and desperation throughout the movie. My shallow side also appreciated how good both Miura Haruma and the Levi stand in Hasegawa Hiroki looked in the film.
The background music drove me crazy! It was to loud in quiet scenes and never seemed to fit with the action on screen. Very distracting overall and detracted from my enjoyment of the movie. This might be partially because of the source but still very annoying.
I might rewatch in the future but only because the source I used was very grainy so I wouldn't mind a better quality source. If you are looking for a faithful adaptation of Attack on Titan don't bother. If you want to see a fast paced kind of gory action movie this might be for you.
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To sum up: A lot of "action" scenes, no story line and I got a feeling that a movie director must be a BIG fan of Quentin Tarantino. I don´t recommend eating anything before watching and during the movie I advise you just switch off your brain, otherwise you will just get a 2-hours-lasting headache from all the wtf moments in the movie (and trust me, there are many of them...like many many). Even people who can´t speak a word japanese wouldn´t have a problem understanding it. Actually you don´t even need the sound (OST doesn´t match the scenes very well), just watching is enough. I recognize 3 main actors from other dramas (Miura being one of my favourite actors), so I thought than even if the storyline won´t be that much interesting, they are going to contribute with their acting skills, but unfortunately their performance just made the movie worse (and that´s mostly script writer´s fault).
HOWEVER, if you think of it as a comedy-parody, you can laugh a lot during the movie (like me and my friend did) :D
P.S. Many of my friends who know original anime + manga and watched the movie, complained about one important character, who was completely left out of the movie. And after coming back from the cinema, I googled a bit and found that Mikasa is supposed to be the last Asian on the Earth, but actually in the movie you don´t get to see any other race besides Japanese.
Also, please be aware that my rating for story doesn´t have anything to do with original manga/anime story.
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The original series = unique post-apocalyptic world where people of all races end up caged in a set of walls, and characters are deep and intriguing as they choose to fight the impossible odds.
This film = monster feature movie with a bunch of puny humans running around horrified.
The BEST parts of this movie are the naked titans. They were the real stars of the show--the sound effects, gore, and tears were wonderful. The actual plot, on the other hand, is somewhat ... unresolved and scattered. The actors were great, but the characters they portrayed were stripped of their original values and importance. Instead, they were mainly the background for the real focus of this film: HORROR. This movie is a bit like Godzilla in that the main character is not the humans, but the monsters being featured.
I didn't like this as much as i liked the anime/manga series, but I recognize the amount of work put into this film. The special effects make up department deserves a round of applause, and the actors were good too. BUT I'D LIKE TO MURDER THE SCRIPT WRITER, wherever he may be.
Basically, as the directors of this film have previously stated, treat this movie as a horror film featuring giant naked people.
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First of all, the acting was okay-ish. I like Miura Haruma but this role was not for him. A lot of his expressions felt really forced and awkward. I feel like some actors would have been a better fit. Kanata Hongo was brilliant, in my opinion. He suited Armin's role and even though his character was not used to his full potential in this part, I think he did a great job. The actress who played Mikasa seemed to fit the role and she did okay but for some reason I could not force myself to like her, something about the actress was kinda irritating.
There is barely any character development and basically no background information is provided, which was a shame. They also turned Mikasa into someone she's not. She's weak and dependant on Eren in the beginning but turns into a cold person who would even abandon her friends later on, she's badass but it feels wrong for some reason. I did not like that at all since that's not what she's supposed to be like but then again, it's a different story.
It's difficult to rate the story because it's only part one and as I said before it's completely different. Some of the scenes seemed unnecessary but overall the story is interesting. The intro scene was painful to watch though, it was too melodramatic and the acting was kinda bad.
What made this film good for me was the titans. They were incredibly creepy, I got the chills when the first one appeared. The graphics were done very well and the titans looked very real. It's also quite gory but if you have seen the anime or read the manga it should not come as a surprise.
The music was also good, I especially loved the ending song by Sekai no Owari, it suited the ending.
Overall, it's very Japanese if that makes sense. Some scenes are very weird, kinda artistic, the kind you would see in an independent film but it's quite common in Japanese cinema. it's a good film but not everyone is going to like it. Just see it with an open mind and don't compare too much.
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The story has way too many stupid moments. The start of the film (the first 30 minutos or so) was quite good, but it just got worse after that. The characters do a lot of stupid things, and the visual effects look quite ridiculous. I understand that they had a rather small budget, but it's just that he film looked ugly. The best part of the film were the titans. They were so creepy, and I loved that.
The acting was pretty bad all around. I've never thought of Miura Haruma as a good actor, and he's very over the top in this film, even if he's somewhat charismatic. Mizuhara Kiko is beautiful, but she's not a good actress. She shows almost no emotion. I was also surprised by how bad Hasegawa Hiroki was. I've always thought he was quite good, but he's awful here. The best acting came from Isihara Satomi, who clearly haves a lot of fun playing her character.
The soundtrack was OK, even if there were times where it didn't fit too well with the film. The credits song by Sekai no Owari was not too good, though.
Despite all the negative aspects, the movie was pretty fun and entertaining, thanks to the titans, so I don't think it's a complete waste of time.
To sum up, Attack On Titan is disappointing in almost every aspect, but it's also fun so I recommend it to those who are looking for something fun to pass time.
P.S. There's quite a lot of blood and gore, so if you don't like that this film is not for you.
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I'm gonna say this straight away, I'm not a die-hard fan of Mikasa Ackerman on canon as most snk fans are, but even I can see how what this movie did to her character is a disrespect to canon as much as a missed opportunity for such a talented actress as Kiko Mizuhara. I didn't understand the full extent of the value the friendship between Eren, Armin and Mikasa has until I saw it butchered in this movie. It's not just that they replace Eren's mother deal with Mikasa, they turn Mikasa's undying loyalty to Eren for the exact opposite. Without Armin's grounding and Mikasa's strenght, Eren is half the character, because most of his development is linked to these two. Furthermore, Mikasa's choice to follow Eren in canon is bound by loyalty and emotion, something Eren wouldn't pruposefully take advantage of, and Mikasa's choice is genuine, based on what it meant to her that Eren was there when she lost everything. This Mikasa is reduced to an order-following totally-subdued henchwoman (that apple scene made me cringe) for a guy whose role in the story is not-quite-Levi and not-quite-Erwin and a-whole-lot creep.
I'm not impressed with the fact that the storyline was watered down with such a strong focus in shock value without balancing it enough with character development and plot reveals (the blood I get, I mean, this is SnK, there's gonna be a lot of blood; but I was not expecting the scene with the non-explicit but very clear sexual situations going on there, I mean, I'm not sure there was a reason for that).
Ishihara Satomi is probably the saving grace here, and I'm glad Hange is getting a drama with Satomi starring because yes please. But the rest of the actors aren't at all at fault, I feel they did what they could with what they had but the adaptation and the script didn't work at all on their side.
I really wanted to love this. What a missed opportunity.
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My review is just based on the movie and I did not watch the manga nor the anime.
The story is quite unique and that is the only reason I rated it so high for my liking. Because there is no other movie like this in the world! But when it comes to the movie I miss information, I think the main lead's decisions were not logical. On the other hand I loved the special effects on the titans! They did an amazing job on that and I somehow loved the gory parts in them.
The acting was also very good, I wasn't convinced at all times or found the reaction 'realistic'. I do think they did a great job and it must have been not easy to film that all in green screen.
There is music there sometimes is does fit the scenes and in other times I found the music a bit out of place.
I would not rewatch this movie. I've seen it once and that is enough for me. But I will watch the next two parts just because I want to know if the movie will progress and becomes better.
As you see I am in a struggle here I have a hard time liking this movie, but I also can't dislike it!
Watch this if you like gore and supernatural movies.
Skip this if you want a well paced story with realistic decisions.
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The positives:
The CGI was way beyond amazing for Japanese standard! You can tell the budget was HUGE on this!
Replacement Levi - he isn't the Levi we want but he's close and I like his twisted mind xD
The ending song is amazing <3
The blood and violence - holy crap the sound of bones crushing and barrels of blood everywhere!!! <3 a couple of times I had to think if I felt sick or not! So that was awesome <3
The overall changes - while I much much much prefer the original story, I quite liked the changes they made in this and (besides the romances) found no change that would infuriate me.
Negatives:
Slow - this film could've easily cut out the first 20 minutes or so. The film makers know all we wanna see is the giants so why you spending AGES setting everything up. I highly doubt people who've never heard or know anything about the anime are gunna watch this so just cut to the chase!
Too short - it felt like we were only JUST getting development and BAM credits - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? GIVE ME MORE!!! Could've EASILY gotten 30 minutes or more into that movie!
The added romance couples they added - there's 4 'couples' and romances in this that aren't in the anime and by god I hated everyone of them bar one.
Shake camera during fighting scenes
Miura Haruma - he can't act and was especially cringe worthy to watch when he was doing his screaming scenes -_-
Overall: It was better than I expected and cannot wait for the second installment where it looks like it really is gunna be 180 degrees different to the anime! o_O
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About all the latter parts, I am pretty content. The graphics of the titans are great and were my personal highlights of the movie. The makers have also stayed loyal to the original fighting gear in the anime and manga, which I was grateful for. Just for these two factors alone I would watch the movie again.
What the writers did with the story and the characters, I am personally a lot less happy. The basis of the story was kept: humanity locked up behind the walls to protect themselves from titans until a particular one ruins everything and brings chaos everywhere. A new generation steps up and tries to fight for humanity's sake. And there it should have stopped. Instead unnecessary romance plots that didn't seem to fit in were added. Maybe the scriptwriters thought it was needed to make the movie more universal and more mature since the characters in the movie seem older, but a story like Attack On Titan honestly does not need it. Instead they could have put more focus on character development. Something this movie severely lagged. The ending felt rather abrupt too, even though we got our expected climax. Story wise, the move felt like a prologue to another one (which maybe could happen in the future). Of course I didn't expect that the movie would just blindly copy the story of the manga or anime but the newly created plot left me wishing they actually had done just that. If I do have to point out a good point, it's that the darkness of the manga and anime are wonderfully portrayed. The feeling of dystopia is one of the key points of the original story and was brought really well unto the golden screen.
If I may formulate another pet peeve of mine, then it is the music. As someone who feels being spoiled by the wonderful music of the anime, the music in the movie paled greatly in comparison. Sometimes it felt too loud, like it took over the whole scene and otherwise I just did not like the sound of it. It wasn't bad but as I said before, I felt already spoiled by the music I was used to hear in the anime.
My review may sound quite negative but let it please not discourage you to check out the movie. The fighting scenes and graphics of the titans are absolutely great. Let me warn you, they aren't without a bit of blood. A whole lot of blood. So if you are into some mindless action which includes a lot of gore and you do not care much about plot, this movie might be right up your alley. Enjoy.
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Sad truth is that the final product shows some signs that the staff involved at least tried to do something plausible. (When you have a story so impossible to portray you change it, okay. I get that.) But the way they tried to do it is just - laughable, or to say it simply it is like someone said - hey, let's just strip the story of everything that makes it genuine, put a few new characters, and take away all of the personality the few original characters have. The result - yet another love triangle story that just so happens to take place in a world full of man-eating creatures. (Yeah. This sentence basically summaries the whole movie. I am not kidding.)
And yeah, the staff really did try to create something plausible, because the movie is beautiful. The special effects are well done. The titans are almost believable, but to be honest the impact they could have made was totally lost because the characters in the story were the exact opposite. I could talk about how emotionless and blank-faced all of the cast is for hours, but I will limit myself only to Miura Haruma, who by the way I absolutely love, but even he (and how good he looks in the uniform) can't save this movie. In fact I think this is his worst role ever. Most of the time his Eren is just standing there looking hurt or blank-faced without any apparent reason for that. Not to mention that he spent almost the whole movie running from the titans, not fighting them. When we include the fact that everyone around him did almost the same, I think you get the picture.
I gave it a chance. I tried to think of something good to say , but what is there to like in a movie that made me laugh almost hysterically because of how ridiculous it was. I am rating it with 4.0, because as I said the movie is beautifully filmed and some of the scenes are well choreographed, but when you take it as whole the beauty is just not enough. So, yeah. I tried to expect basically nothing, but if I say that this movie is even worse than my lowest expectations I will not be lying. In fact, Haruma or not, this is just one of the worst live-action adaptations I have ever seen. And not because it doesn't follow the original story. But because it takes on original, out-of-the-box concept and replaces it with something stereotypical. Which is sad in a way, because they could have done so much better.
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Note: This is from a manga/anime fan's perspective, but I'm going to try to present an overall view ( comparisons alert )
[STORY]
Obviously 1 hour and 38 minutes is not enough time to develop the story the way the anime & the manga did but they surely did a great job to present the plot as it is. Living inside the walls yet striving for freedom and all the hatred against the titans was achieved beautifully I would say.
Changing partly the plot and the characters' past was kind of a disappointment to me, since a cut short version of the original would be so much more interesting (in my opinion). Therefore I could not 'feel' the development, if the was any, of the characters throughout the movie.
The effects were nice, titans were designed scary but the killing scenes were not so creepy so I had no space to feel that adrenaline everytime a titan attacked. I did not expect something different though, because an anime to become a live action film, especially this one, is a bit hard.
I was suprised that it ended like this. Questions unanswered especially to the ones who do not know how Eren became a titan ( though it'd be a lot easier if they presented it at the start like the anime ). A lot of gaps as well, which I excuse because of the limited time.
[ACTING/CAST]
Okay, the acting was really good. I loved how they showed fear, you could even see it in their eyes & I must say that even if the story was kind of lacking the acting was like trying to fill in the emptiness. I liked the cast as well. Especially at the start where people were terrified, man the chaos caused me them chills, it was really good.
[MUSIC]
I admit sometimes the music ticked me off and it's the first time happening?. Sometimes it just didn't give the feel to it but the sound effects were great.
I loved the titan's cryings and shoutings and the gas sound and all that, that one was really good.
[REWATCH VALUE]
I wouldn't sit alone to watch it once again but I would watch it with a group of friends if the chance was given. Other than that it was a good movie. High expecations? Yes a lot, since the original owned a special place.
I do recommend it for the fun of it, so if you want to give it a try do give it one. It's a good one if you're for the adventure kind.
Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger !
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