Over-rated

I'm going to have to question whether you know much about Evangelion at all?

Disclaimer: I'm an old Evangelion fan who saw NGE in the 90s. NGE has always been one of my favourite anime series and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I rewatch it every few years because with stuff like that, you just gotta.

First of all, due to time constraints and budget issues, NGE was never produced how its creator wanted it produced. They had to cut corners absolutely everywhere and it really shows in the animation quality and lack of a proper ending to the series (episode 11 was even made by a different animation company, and not GIANAX, so the animation quality is uneven for NGE at best.) The creator of NGE probably always wanted to do it over because he absolutely did not feel that "whatever that could be made has already been made over 10 years ago." This leads into my second point:

Secondly, if you weren't ware, 2.22 is on the cutting edge of CG and animation. Many non-anime fans have commented that the blu-ray for 2.22 looks better than every other blu-ray put out before (one guy said that this is the movie that'll make you go out and buy a blu-ray player.) You saw it free (no idea what "tudou" is,) so you probably didn't get to see the full impact of the quality of this movie. Other commenters have pointed out that the CG blends seamlessly with the traditional animation and the character movements are the best out of any animated movie ever made.

Third, do you often watch NGE by skipping the first six episodes? I think that before you start passing judgment on 2.22 you should go back and watch 1.11. I just saw the blu-ray of it, and while it is not as technically impressive as 2.22 it is still beautiful. It'll help ease you back into the Evangelion universe as an old fan. It's worth watching for the last angel fight alone, it gives me the shivers every time I see it.

Fourth, you have to remember that this is only the second part of a four episode arc. You skipped the first part, and you went straight to the middle, and no one has seen the last two parts yet. As a stand alone movie, I think it's really good (it's an action flick though, really fast paced,) and as part of the "Rebuild of Evangelion" arc it's even better.

Fifth, while NGE was super fun because you spend the series trying to figure out exactly what is going on, this movie series is fun to watch because of the hints that it could be a sequel with a reset timeline rather than a remake. Looking for all those little hints is almost as fun as trying to figure out what's going on in NGE.

Sixth, "the guy Shinji is real dumb coward and Asuka talks too much." Whhhhaaaat? Have you even seen NGE? In NGE Asuka and Shinji have those exact same qualities, except amplified about ten billion times greater than what their characters are like in these movies. A lot of people prefer these movies to NGE because Shinji is such an extreme coward and Asuka is such an extreme loud-mouth in NGE, especially when compared to these movies.

And finally, if you're an old NGE fan, and you're just going to hate this movie because it's not "your" NGE, then there is no hope for you. You should really look at these movies not as replacements of NGE, but continuations. Try to just enjoy the groundbreaking visuals, the divergent plot, the hints and make a space beside your NGE boxed set on your bookshelf for the Rebuild movie series.

I must disagree here. My personal opinion is that the new version took the great concept and atmosphere of the old one and added what that one was missing:
- Identifiable characters
- Character DEVELOPMENT
- Human drama that is not just there because, well, they say so
and then of course the general production values increased, but I never cared much about those.

You mention liking Rei in this iteration. Well, proof in fact - so do I. She has become a much, MUCH more three-dimensional character, with the entire story about her inviting Shinji and Gendo for dinner especially.

I know, isn't it annoying when a lot of people like something that you don't?!

I thought the animation was flawless but that writing...oh God it was so cringe inducingly bad.
It's a real shame since I love this concept and the ideas behind a deconstruction of typical mecha anime with psychedelic elements and crazy religious symbolism is really cool and original.

But the writing was just juvenile. Way too much exposition and cheesy one-liners. The music should really have been updated as well, it was out of place at many points during the film.
So I have to agree, it really is overrated. Ghost in the Shell 1+2, Millenium Actress, Spirited Away, Perfect Blue...they are miles and miles ahead of this. I'll never understand how people can rank Eva among them.

Other than that I did enjoy the films. I'm looking forward to seeing the 3rd one.

It's a melodramatic teenage piece of crap.