In Hiddeaki Anno’s second installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion saga (a remake of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series), the citizens of Tokyo III continue their fight against an onslaught of spectral, Dementor–cum–Eye of Sauron super-creatures called Angels. Giant humanoid robots — “Evangelions” — are humanity’s only line of defense, and the film centers on three adolescents who have been selected to pilot these machines. Aside from some bizarre philosophical jargon about Logos and Energy Condensates (seriously), the straightforward plot is punctuated by epic battle scenes rendered with deliriously trippy visuals. The kids all have communication issues: Shinji strives to impress his emotionally distant father, Asuka learns how to stop kicking people in the face when they disagree with her, and Rei discovers that there’s more to life than being a teacher’s pet. Most of that stuff feels secondary to the visual ingenuity, meaning that it’s not hard to forget about what’s going on and simply enjoy the kaleidoscopic bombardment of colors and explosions.
READ:Review: Evangelion 1.0: You Are Not Alone
