Freak Show : Attack On Titan (2015) Movie Review

Attack On Titan is good, but could have been better

Director: Shinji Higuchi
Starring: Haruma Miura, Kiko Mizuhara, Kanata Hongō
Studios: Toho
Release Dates: August 1, 2015 (part 1)

Plot: A massive wall has been created to protect the citizens of Japan from giant man-eating monsters called Titans. Years after their last attack, they terrorize the remaining residents of the city.

進撃の巨人 Shingeki no Kyojin. Right after seeing the trailers for this film a few months ago, I was already pumped up to watch it in theatres. I mean, c'mon. Giants eating humans? That's just something that you couldn't miss, right? So when the film was released here in the Philippines, I immediately took the chance to watch it.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't really hold up to it's promise. It was good. But it could have been better.

The film opens at the present time, at the peaceful city of the remaining survivors of the last attack of Titans. The three main protagonists are pondering what lies beyond the walls arounbd the city: Haruma Miura as Eren, Kiko Mizuhara as Mikasa, and Kanata Hongō as Armin. They are contemplating on leaving the city and wants to go outside the walls. But then, they are interrupted after a gigantic Titan that is way taller than the wall tries to enter, causing a portion of the wall to collapse and allowing other Titans to enter. The Titans wreck havoc in the city, gnawing and ripping people's body in half. Here, Eren and Mikasa are separated, with Eren thinking that the only girl he loves died in the tragedy.

The film jumps around two year later where Eren, Mikasa and other survivors of the Titan invasion are preparing to go on a mission to close the open part of the wall to stop the hordes of Titans from coming in and destroy the remaining ones with the help of the OmniDirectional Gear.

It Starts Out With A Bang

Honestly, I love the first half of the film. It works like a pure horror film. It was just so terrifying. The Titans themselves looked really scary because they looked so real (the film uses real-life actors for the Titans instead of pure CGI). The chaotic opening is probably the best part of the film. There's a lot of destruction going on, lots of people getting ripped in half. One of my favorite scenes include a church packed with people who gets trapped as the Titans gather around the church and opens it like it was a box of presents.

The Film Promises Gore and Blood

I mean, you can't have a movie like this blood, right? Attack On Titan will give you what it promises. Prepare to see a lot of people geing picked up by these giants and ripping their bodies in half like it was just some tempura or something. You are sure to get buckets of blood everywhere.
But aside from this, you'll aslo get to see some really bad-ass action as the remaining survivors fight with these Titans. they fly around them and kill them by severing the giant's nape. So you will most likely catch them slashing and breaking these Titan's nape. And I must say that it was really fun to see them go around with their OmniDirectional Gears and kill these freaks.

Really Cool Visuals

The film utilizes some pretty cool visuals all over it. From the
setting of the story to the Titans themselves, everything looked so cool. Even though a lot of critics pointed out that the film's graphics were below par with Hollywood's blockbuster films, I don't think this was something that made the film weak. This actually made the whole movie experience as if you're watching an anime featuring real actors. It gives the film some cartoonish feel and look on it, adding some nice touch. This helps the film stray away from being too serious and staying on the lighter, fun tone.

Some Improvements Maybe?

Yes, I agree that the film does have it's faults. The film shift gears after the first half of the film and the whole tone changes. From a dark fantasy action horror film, it suddenly turns into a comedy adventure. That's when the whole film starts losing it's appeal. The characters are just basically stuck in one place and plays a cat and mouse chase with the Titans. Some characters gets eaten and killed, and yet we don't care since they weren't given enough time to get some background. The Titans that followed the first ones earlier in the film are no longer scary-looking. The action mostly becomes slapstick comedy.
But then, there's still room for improvement with the film being just one of the two-part movie series. So I hope that everything that went awry in the first movie will get fixed in the second one.

Final Verdict:
Despite some major changes from the manga/anime to the movie (the setting changed from Germany to Japan; characters being removed, changed name) the film will sure to please everyone who loved the original manga/ anime series. And with its violence, blood and gore, it will also win the hearts of many horror and genre fans out there.