Personal Movie Review: Attack on Titan (Live-Action Movie)

This is my first ever movie review so I'm pretty sure it'll be informal. Haha! Well, it started out just by expressing my random thoughts about the movie on Facebook since I just watched it few hours ago at the cinema. Surprisingly, some people are asking for a movie review from me and since I got things to say, here it is. Haha!

I've been waiting for this day for so long. August 12, 2015 (Wednesday), the release date of Attack on Titan (Live-Action Movie) here in the Philippines. I bought a movie ticket 3 hours before my desired screening time and I was actually the first person to secure a seat. Of course, I chose the best seat, the eye level.

The movie trailer looked really promising and I got batshit crazy over it. I was so excited to see it. There were times that I got a bit skeptical though; no Levi and a kissing scene? I was not sure how I'd feel about that. The showing date was fast approaching and here comes the early movie reviews. I did not see any positive movie review, not a single one. Be that as it may, I still wanted to see it for myself. I don't decide not to watch a movie just because I read a couple of bad reviews about it.

So eto na! =)

Wilonah Chan's Personal Movie Review for Attack on Titan (Live-Action Movie)

Special Effects
Ano pa nga ba ang pinaka-unang gusto nating makita? Syempre, yung special effects lalo na kung anong magiging itchura ng mga TITAN. Well, let's admit it. The usual video effects of Japanese films are not really the best. We don't even know how much budget they had for this element. Don't expect a Pixar-like quality but it was decent. It was mostly good and the titans looked realistic to me naman. I do believe na ganun nga magiging itchura nila sa totoong buhay. Medyo sablay lang siguro ng konti when they "fly" or switch from one place to another using their 3D Maneuver Gear which is mukhang hindi naman talaga madaling i-edit. Minsan din halatang fake yung background but maybe it's just me, most people won't notice that anymore. Haha!

No Levi Ackerman
Syempre pangalawa talaga sa concern ko yung pagkawala ni Levi sa cast of characters. I mean, c'mon, who does not love him? Haha! I mean, c'mon, who the hell is Shikishima? Haha! Pero ganito kasi yan.. sabi ko nga sa Facebook.. 

Bakit nga ba? Ano nga ba sa tingin ko ang dahilan? Well, it's a simple protagonist alignment. Habang pinapanood ko yung pelikula, na-realize ko na baka hindi masyadong magmukhang bida sila Eren kapag dinagdagan mo pa ng napaka-astig na character tulad ni Levi. At basta, yung naiibang twist sa movie would not be possible if Levi was there instead of Shikishima. It has something to do with Mikasa.

Romance
Pangatlo talaga sa duda ko nung una is baka naman maging love story nalang ang focus. May kissing scene ba naman kasi sa movie trailer diba? But I was proven wrong, ni wala ngang eksenang papasa as romance or kahit borderline romance man lang. Ayoko maging spoiler pero para sa mga curious talaga, ang masasabi ko lang ay.. oo, may kissing scene pero not between Eren and Mikasa. Kung meron mang naganap na ganun sa trailer, malamang sa Part 2 pa natin makikita yon. So wag kayong mangamba, hindi cheesy yung movie.

Cinematography
It was actually good! Ayos naman ang videography at mahusay naman ang video editing. Siguro ang pinaka-paborito kong parte ay yung unti-unti nang naipapakilala yung iba pang mga characters. In a way naibigay nila yung mga main idea tungkol sa mga buhay ng bawat isa sa kanila sa isang mabilis na pasada lang. Basta mapapansin niyo yun kapag pinapanood niyo na. Haha! Matalino yung naging konsepto at hindi naman ako nabigo sa mga technical decisions nung cinematographer.

Look & Feel
If there's one thing na nanibago ako kaagad? Yung WALL. Yung PADER. At naaliw ako ng slight dun. Kasi hindi ko akalain na ganun pala ka-komplikado ang itchura nun kung mag-eexist nga yung pagka-taas-taas na pader na yun sa totoong buhay. Haha! Tapos ang dudungis pala talaga nung characters dun and it actually makes sense na madungis sila at sadyang napaka-dugyot ng paligid. For me it was realistic enough.

Action Scene : Daldalan Scene
Maaksyon naman siya but don't expect it to be as heavy as Mad Max or something. Syempre Part 1 palang yung movie so palagay ko sa Part 2 talaga babaha ng mas maraming action scene. For me the ratio is balanced and reasonable.

***

Siguro ito lang muna ang masasabi ko ngayon dahil yung iba kong naiisip ay maaaring maging spoiler na. Before I put an end to this movie review, I just have few reminders for you.

Open your mind and don't compare the live-action movie to the anime or manga.
I'm telling you maraming new twists na wala naman sa anime or manga. Marami-rami rin silang binago sa mga pangyayari at sa pagkaka-sunod-sunod ng mga ito. Even in the characters, visible ang naging changes sa iba sa kanila. And this is not a bad thing. It's actually a new way to look at Shingeki No Kyojin. A new POV for Attack on Titan. Of course, hindi talaga natin maiwasan maging attached sa anime or manga pero let's not use them to pitch down the live-action movie. Ayos nga eh, we can differentiate the live-action movie from the anime or manga. It's like the tweaks gave the movie its own personality.

If you have no idea about Shingeki No Kyojin a.k.a. Attack on Titan, you might not understand its live-action movie at all.
For me medyo hindi nga lang siya ganun kadaling sakyan when it comes to those who haven't watched the anime / read the manga. It might seem a bit fast, complicated, and accelerated to them. It could be highly entertaining for them though, as long as they won't care too much about why and how things happened.

It's R-16.
Alam niyo na kung bakit. Ang titans kumakain ng tao, therefore, medyo may blood and gore na maraming daplis ng violence. At basta, Japan will always be Japan. Haha!

Bitin ang ending.
And you should not complain since it's only fair to end that way kasi nga Part 1 palang naman. Kelan darating dito sa Pinas ang Part 2? September 2015. No worries, they won't prolong our agony. Haha!

***

OVERALL RATING: 7/10

STARMOMETER: 3 out of 5 stars

Feel free to share your thoughts on the movie too! 

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