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I have to admit I was REALLY disappointed in the acting. I have seen some of the cast in other movies and series before, but their performance as a crew all together, I don't know what went wrong. Maybe I was already in a sour mood from the movie itself or what, but it was really awful, and sadly, in my opinion, they didn't truly portray the original characters personas even remotely, excepted for a second or two scattered thinly throughout the movie. like trying to sprinkle sugar on horse dung and expecting us to eat it because now its sweeter.
What happened for this show and its reputation for it to have slid own the poop drain so badly? these movies. but thats just my opinion.
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1A Misunderstood Adaptation
"The live action version of Attack on Titan has aspects that are different from the original work, like the story and setting, but the youth that is trapped in the walls, longing for freedom, is vividly sung." - Haruma Miura (rest in peace)1. This looks amazing for the budget and time this was made in, it's not an Hollywood blockbuster and they put in a lot of work (hybrid filming, meaning tokusatsu mixed with special effects). The titans are portrayed as they should, creepy and horrifying. That in itself works better in live action, imo, as it does overall if you like the more grounded feel. I understand why people could make fun of them in the trailer but while watching the movie I was not laughing, and if that's how you see it then it's literally the same in the anime, in fact they're even worse. Some of them are meant to look more silly than the others but in live-action it felt more serious. I think they're very well made (the aura of the Colossal Titan was insane, Eren's Titan too) and if it wasn't for TitanGoji's videos I wouldn't know about the history behind this LA, the crew and actors being fans of the source material and the fans defending it. Because beneath all the mockery and low reputation, they also existed.
2. The author himself asked for the differences, he literally worked with them. Of course, he did not dictate to them what to do, it's the opposite, as he rejected (even though he liked) their first proposal, saying that "Please do as you like, Machiyama-san. It doesn't matter if it's an original work that only shares the Titans in common."
3. This is closer to Chapter 0, the author's first trial and there were things that appeared later in the manga.
4. Brilliant details such as the movies being adapted as a novel inspired by Dante's Inferno, the implied bisexuality of Kirishima's character in the white room scene (Matrix reference) with Eren being a parallel to Satan tempting Adam and Eve (White Room Explained: https://youtu.be/5CQ3b8iR6Ag). Even if Levi is the cooler guy, Kirishima is meaningful in the story, because he's useful to Eren's character arc. (Explanation for Levi's removal at 32:20 on the first part of the video mentioned below, basically they needed someone who confronts and stands against the main protagonist (Eren), whether physically or mentally and Levi shouldn't have to carry the burden of that role, but they added a tinge of Levi's presence in him.)
The town, the more advanced technology due to the movie happening in modern Japan, the details of the clothes and locations, the aspect of classism, the tower of Babel mentioned as the very center (government) in the making of the map, the throwbacks to Japanese history and tragedy (discussed in the second video), the oppression and control by the Empire of Japan...
5. The music itself was amazing and the whole movie was artistic with beautiful landscapes and gritty sets. And of course that final shot.
6. While there can be different takes, the characters are essentially the same. While Levi isn't there, you might be shocked because he was considered as the main character until Isayama decided to make them write a different story (20:00). Since at that time the anime was already telling the manga's story, it wouldn't have been a creative choice. More shocking yet, the author suggested to make Jean the protagonist.
7. I want to thank Miura for his brilliant portrayal of Eren. It was really disheartening to find out after I looked up his name when I finished Part 1 because I liked him from the beginning. Miura's words about his love for the director and it being a powerful film literally moved the director to tears. Besides, Eren was a rebellious kid who wanted freedom and saw the terror in front of his eyes, seeking revenge. Is that not somehow similar to the original Eren? Maybe he was more ordinary, more fearful. But I think that's a plus in a live-action.
8. Attack on Titan (itself inspired by tokusatsu like Godzilla) was the first tokusatsu film production of this scale, which marked the history of Japanese cinema and also premiered in Hollywood. Obviously, the majority of the Attack on Titan fandom is constituted of Western fans. (Last part of the video about the reception at 33:30) The Hollywood screenings themselves made it worse with defective subtitles that either got fixed or not which provoked refunds, memes, and a recap on their YouTube channel for the second part.
9. About the melodramatic aspect that can seem over-the-top at times, this is the essence of Japanese cinema and theatre.
10. Part 2 gives you the final reveal about the apocalypse, ending with a meaningful conclusion.
TitanGoji's latest videos on the movie: (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsiDKUgsnosJqpQbtq452u0WjNTt-Tlaq) I sincerely recommend to look them up if you care about Attack on Titan, since they do a wonderful job on talking about the production in-depth and comparing to the source material. "What Happened?" is the first part and "The Live-Action Attack on Titan is Better Than You Remember" is the second part, focusing more on the movie itself, the story, the characters. It honestly made me emotional watching them.
In conclusion, just give it a fair chance. I wasn't convinced myself when I started the movie, but it grew on me by the end of Part 1, and looking back I now love the whole movie even more. I started it with some prejudice and I lacked connection with the characters, but that changed later when I got more attached to Eren, and Part 1 set up Part 2 so well that I changed my mind.
// Details of my earlier points
The official novelizations published by Kodansha are based on the film screenplays by Tomohiro Machiyama and Yusuke Watanabe—they are not adaptations of the manga.
What's particularly interesting is the chapter structure.
The first novel (Attack on Titan) contains chapter titles such as:
辺獄 (Limbo)
地獄の門 (The Gate of Hell)
ディーテの市 (City of Dis)
遅悔者 (Late Repentant)
コキュートス (Cocytus)
ジュデッカ (Judecca)
These are all locations or concepts directly associated with Dante's Inferno.
The second novel (End of the World) continues the pattern with chapters including:
ミーノスの審判 (The Judgment of Minos)
エデンの真実 (The Truth of Eden)
アケローン川の畔 (On the Banks of the Acheron)
悪魔と聖女 (The Devil and the Saint)
Again, Minos and the River Acheron are unmistakable references to Inferno.
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Positives:
Once again the CGI!!
Also the soundtrack is great!
The action/choreography!
The Eren x Replacement-Levi gay vibes <3 holy crap they were flying all over the place!
Negatives:
Miura Haruma - I've never liked him so that's just me, he might be decent to other people for some reason xD
Shakey camera during action scenes -_-
The ending! OMG I cannot express my anger at this ending!!! And it definitely feels like they've left it open for a third film -__-
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it gets worst
after watching part 1 i thought maybe the sequel was good, actually i am the stupid one for expecting miracle to happen. full bs plot, loads of plotholes, forget about the anime and manga, let's not even get that involved here, the movie itself is so bad. the ending is also bs. the script writer should find another job. totally not recommended, just end it on part 1 it was better than this. i tried so hard not to hate but i cannot help it. the cinematography and dark vibes are good, even the casts but the way they ruined the characters and kept making original characters is pure ragebait. it had loads of potential but the script writer ruined it. if only the script writer was someone good then maybe this movie wouldn't have been so bad. i hope japan produces some good script writer besides manga and ln authors.totally not recommended. ruined my mood very badly. DON'T WATCH IT.
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Forget plot, characterization, ability of actors/actresses to emote, a kick-arse soundtrack -- none of which exists in the movie, of course. But if you want to see big-budget CGI mega-hulks duke it out (I'm referring to the super-titans, not the regular [smaller] ones), this is your go-to movie. Enough said.
(Btw, the plot is practically the same as Ang Lee's The Hulk [2003])
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