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For the newbie, Hideaki Anno’s apocalyptic mecha anime may be a bit confusing. It’s based on his hugely popular 1990s Japanese TV series (Neon Genesis Evangelion), and this film is part one of four. Thus, it’s a bit open-ended at beginning and end, but most of the plot is straightforward enough to engage fans of the genre. Some time in the future, a mostly destroyed Tokyo is under attack from huge aliens known as “angels,” and an underground cabal of scientists is left to deploy its last-chance weapon — a huge humanoid robot fighter controlled by a reluctant teen-age pilot. Naturally, there are bombastic action sequences, but also developing subplots and discussions about identity, technology, loyalty, sacrifice, child labor and daddy issues. Visually, Anno’s film is a mix of classic anime animation and computer-generated special effects that offer a few “wow” scenes. Dubbed in English. Fri., Oct. 23, through Sun., Oct. 25. Melwood
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2009.
