Everybody loves robots, and we like giant robots even more. Maybe it’s the mentality of big being better, but the spectacle of two or more colossal beings waging war against one another is a profound nerdy pleasure that is universally appealing. So given the instant gratification that super beings deliver whilst engaged in mortal combat, why is it that so many motion pictures get it all wrong? Well it has a lot to do with scale.
Look at “Transformers” the movie, sure the Autobots and Decepticons are big, and sure they cause mass destruction with a single foot step, but it’s all a bit too fluid. Some might argue that their movements are the result of alien engineering that far surpasses our understanding or maybe they are composed of some kind of metal alloy that is ultra light. Either way, the illusion that they are gargantuan beasts of destruction is ruined when you see them performing feats of hyper movement and acrobatics. This isn’t an isolated problem with the “Transformers” movies though, even the “Transformers” cartoon and almost every Japanese Giant Robot animation suffers from this very same ignorance. I think most would argue that the reason they detach themselves from the realism of physics is because a slow pace would bore audiences and that it’s not always important to be a purist. You know what? I agree. However, I have seen it work before.
Breaking the continuity of the show a bit, “End of Evangelion” removed the model of smooth movement which was present for 26 episodes in favor of a more heavy experience. In the fight between Asuka and the complete EVA series we see exactly how one realizes the larger than life slow battle scene I was speaking of.
During this moment in the film we watch as these juggernauts of strength grapple and throw down in ways which are rarely presented on film. Each of their movements is laborious; the simple act of throwing a punch requires a tremendous amount of energy and time just to set the action into motion. Once the punch/kick/head butt makes contact, both parties recoil back as their gravity knocks them away from the point of impact. This is a fight of weight, where the ground beneath them crumbles and shakes and the earth itself comes undone with even the slightest motions. Never has size played so well in a fight and it hits home that these are not merely humans locked in combat, but titans.
To punctuate the slow pace and delicate detail that has been shaped in each lumbering movement, the film decides to play Bach’s “Air”. The subtle cello performance accentuates the calculated movements and delivers an unsurpassed emotional counterweight to the barbaric rage and determination of Asuka.
The one thing that some might complain about is the one sidedness of the fight. Asuka literally decimates each of the EVA units, dismantling them one by one without even the slightest hesitation. There’s a strange sort of satisfaction in seeing such raw power going unopposed. This could prove boring, but pay off occurs in the end when things shift in favor of the complete EVA series, making Asuka’s final defeat all the more painful and emotionally rewarding.
If you’re looking for a fight between creatures the size of gods and somewhere along the same level of epic gratification, you can’t go wrong with this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment