Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

Name: Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Drama, Animation
Released: January 21, 2011
Duration: 112 min
Rating: 46

2011

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 96 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 96 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Eleven Arts | Release Date: January 21, 2011 | Unrated

Summary: In the earliest battles against the monstrous Angels, young Eva pilots Shinji and Rei were forced to carry humanity’s hopes on their shoulders. Now, with the deadly onslaught of the Angels escalating and the apocalyptic Third Impact looming, Shinji and Rei find their burden shared by two new Eva pilots, the fiery Asuka and the mysteriousIn the earliest battles against the monstrous Angels, young Eva pilots Shinji and Rei were forced to carry humanity’s hopes on their shoulders. Now, with the deadly onslaught of the Angels escalating and the apocalyptic Third Impact looming, Shinji and Rei find their burden shared by two new Eva pilots, the fiery Asuka and the mysterious Mari. Maneuvering their enormous Eva machines into combat, the four young souls fight desperately to save mankind from the heavens — but will they be able to save themselves? (FUNimation Entertainment) … Expand

Director: Hideaki Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki

Genre(s): Action, Sci-Fi, Drama, Animation

Rating: Unrated

Runtime: 112 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Simon Abrams

Oct 4, 2021

Evangelion 2.0 evolves the original show’s central conceit of being alone together with other people in leaps and bounds. The problem with that is: Neon Genesis Evangelion was never a leaps-and-bounds kind of show. Read full review

Brian Miller

Jan 24, 2023

Viewers who haven’t studied their Neon Genesis DVD box sets in advance will find the plot incomprehensible—Old Testament gibberish mixed with political intrigue at the global defense agency headed by Shinji’s aloof father. But the sentiments are clear: “I guess I want Dad to praise me,” says our wavering hero. And his courtship of Asuka is downright charming. Read full review

Robert Abele

Jan 20, 2011

For the most part, this is the kind of immersive fanboy experience that doesn't suffer wandering attention spans. Read full review

Ethan Gilsdorf

Oct 4, 2021

Like a surly teen pilot, you, too, might find yourself bored and muttering, “Honestly, maybe the fate of humanity and the world isn’t important to me, either.’’ Read full review

Mike Hale

Jan 20, 2011

It's strictly for the fans, who will furiously parse the changes in the narrative (including a new female pilot) and the nonsensical stew of philosophical and religious symbolism. Read full review

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User Reviews

julespitt

Jul 25, 2012

When Hideaki Anno first made the original series I was mesmerised by the deepness and psychology behind the anime. Unlike many, the under budgeted end to the show pulled me even further into the world of Evangelion, and hungry for more I started reading Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's mangaWhen Hideaki Anno first made the original series I was mesmerised by the deepness and psychology behind the anime. Unlike many, the under budgeted end to the show pulled me even further into the world of Evangelion, and hungry for more I started reading Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's manga interpretation. We now find ourselves face to face with another remake that flirts with the possibility of being a sequel and all I can say is that Anno is doing the only thing that can be done with the storyline, and that is to reinterpret it. Evangelion needs no prequel, midquel or sequel because it's a perfectly closed story that needs no further add ons. Hideaki Anno is the father of the Evangelion Universe and is taking on a remake with his own hands; not selling out to produce an unfamiliar vision of his work, not selling the rights to western producers, and investing in making his previous work, if not better, certainly refreshing and different.

For keeping Evangelion alive in the best way possible, I give this movie and the first one, the ultimate grade.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

Professor_x

Jun 21, 2017

Everything i could possibly ask for in a movie: Amazing soundtrack, Great story, Mystery, Action, and Amazing Visuals. You can tell the critics dont know what they're talking about if you've actually seen its original show, lol after all its the new York times not a very legitimate site

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Oliver007

Jan 28, 2021

Es muy buena película, y los cambios a la historia original son explendidos, y end of evangelion está sobre añorada uwu

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DrYellowJacket

Dec 13, 2017

This movie was great and my favorite of the trilogy, there isn't much that I have to say that hasn't been said in other reviews but I have to say that I enjoyed the changes to the story and Asuka's reveal in this movie was way cooler than in the original anime. If I had to be nit-picky andThis movie was great and my favorite of the trilogy, there isn't much that I have to say that hasn't been said in other reviews but I have to say that I enjoyed the changes to the story and Asuka's reveal in this movie was way cooler than in the original anime. If I had to be nit-picky and choose something I didn't like it would be the change in Asuka's name from Asuka Langley Sohru to Asuka Langley Shikinami, maybe due to the name Sohru being burned into my mind after watching the anime and having the name jammed into my brain due to the last 2 episodes, but that's just a personal thing. Something not mentioned much in reviews is the soundtrack, which I have to say, is my favorite out of all iterations of Evangelion, my personal favorite track being "In My Spirit". As a little side note, I want to complain a bit about the critic reviews on this movie (only 2 so far), both of them seem to think that this movie is complex, with deep philosophical themes that only fanboys who have seen the original would understand, I saw this movie BEFORE I saw the original series and had no problem at all understanding it's themes. If you want something complicated, go watch the original Neon Genesis Evangelion. For anybody who got worried that this movie would be too complex for them due to the reviews, don't worry, it really isn't too complex.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Robot-Dude

Jul 22, 2012

As a long time fan of this series I was super excited that they remade this, for anyone who has seen the series and got stumped on the ending episodes this is for you. Most of the original cast is back, which I think was the second best English dubbed anime behind Cowboy Bebop. Most of theAs a long time fan of this series I was super excited that they remade this, for anyone who has seen the series and got stumped on the ending episodes this is for you. Most of the original cast is back, which I think was the second best English dubbed anime behind Cowboy Bebop. Most of the more memorable scenes have been re-animated, while some small plots have changed things up a little which is nice for people looking for something more than just an updated Evangelion anime. There is a new character introduced in 2.0 which I'm not overly crazy about, obviously included as a sex symbol like Yoko was for Gurren Lagann. Overall this is a must see for any hardcore fan of the series, or someone into Mech/sci-fi shows. And I am eagerly awaiting Evangelion 3.0.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

wordy_actions

Aug 6, 2011

The second of the Evangelion remake movies. The visuals, characters, and pacing continues to impress. This movie roughly follows the later episodes of the anime, but with many significant changes (far more than the first movie), most notably the inclusion of a new pilot. Being a remake, it'sThe second of the Evangelion remake movies. The visuals, characters, and pacing continues to impress. This movie roughly follows the later episodes of the anime, but with many significant changes (far more than the first movie), most notably the inclusion of a new pilot. Being a remake, it's not as ground-breaking as the anime was nor as original, but I still found the movie vastly entertaining. So far the first two movies have been unfortunately formulaic in certain aspects though. Angel attack, Angel is defeated against all odds, character development, character development is interrupted by Angel attack, repeat. This highlights the main problem of taking an entire series and putting them into 4 movies. While both movies have satisfying emotional endings, nothing in the story is wrapped up. These complaints don't detract much from the movie though. So far these movies are shaping up to be a very good remake of a classic series. The animation is amazing, the voice acting for the most part is very good (especially that of the new character), and the action is jaw-dropping. If you were a fan of the series, check it out.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

RandUm801eee

Sep 26, 2022

A significant step up from the first Rebuild. Rather than simply remaking the story of the TV show, You Can (Not) Advance instead decides to branch off and forge its own path. In this iteration of Eva, the characters have been subtly de-edged, and the movie spends more time exploring theA significant step up from the first Rebuild. Rather than simply remaking the story of the TV show, You Can (Not) Advance instead decides to branch off and forge its own path. In this iteration of Eva, the characters have been subtly de-edged, and the movie spends more time exploring the characters interactions with one another than the show did. It also puts it's movie budget to good use, creating a vision of sci-fi Tokyo that feels more fleshed out than the show could ever depict.

With that said, the film still has a lot of issues. Important characters from the show are either heavily-reduced or non-existent. The gross fanservice from the show is even more prominent in the movie, which feels inexcusable for a 2009 release. There is a new character named Mari who has no discernable function. And although the film does find new angles to explore the characters, it still feels rushed in favor of the overarching sci-fi plot, as well as setting up threads for the future movies to pay off. Overall, 2.0 is an enjoyable enough sit, but it doesn't quite manage to justify the Rebuilds existence. I'm of the contrarian opinion that 3.0 is a significant step up.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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