Summary
A decade after the conclusion to the anime series, this continuation movie digs deeper into the mythology and points the way towards the future.
Following a series of recap movies over the last few years, beginning with Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion – Awakening and concluding with Emperor – the modern fan favourite is finally read to move forward. CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE RE;SURRECTION (コードギアス 復活のルルーシュ) not only continues the strange use of punctuation in anime titling – we’re all (not) looking at you, Evangelion – but also furthers a story that otherwise ended back in 2009.
Picking up two years or so after the events of the ‘Zero Requiem’ arc, the world has been at peace following Lelouch’s sacrifice. Yet that tranquillity is broken when siblings Shamna and Sahlio kidnap Nunnally vi Britannia. Meanwhile, C.C. and a not-quite-soul-restored Lelouch search for a gate to C’s World when they are drawn back into the conflict, reuniting them with former friends and allies and opening a new era of Knightmare fights and brinkmanship.
Despite having the Akito the Exiled OVA films to keep us going over the last decade, set between the first and second seasons of the original show, RE;SURRECTION represents the first step forward for the franchise. In Shamna we have something of a classic villain, a powerful Geass wielder who wants to get to the very source of humanity’s consciousness. Points for ambition if nothing else.
The Geass v Geass plot is an excuse to get the band back together, reuniting viewers with favourite characters. A brief party scene at the start gives us a sense of how far they’ve come over the last few years, and the more opulent animation style reflects a renewed post-colonial Nippon. Similarly, the Middle Eastern influence of the Kingdom of Zilkhistan, where most of the film takes place, gives director Gorō Taniguichi a new stylistic palette to play with.
Some of the issues that plagued the compilation films carry over here. Without the comfort of a serial cliff-hanger, Ichirō Ōkouchi’s screenplay tends to feel like it is jumping around. Exacerbating this is the nature of the villain’s Geass that (without giving too much away) necessarily lends itself to a certain amount of repetition. (Think: Happy Death Day).
Where the film gets really interesting is when it explores the notion of ‘Zero’ as a symbol and Lelouch as a person divorced of his arrogant will. Visually translated as a series of otherworldly mindscapes, it makes good on the promise of all those Geass CG brain synapse sequences from the series. Of course, RE;SURRECTION is on its most comfortable ground when Lelouch is behind a console directing his crew, and it is not so much fanservice as adhering to the formula.
The film’s final moments, and the obligatory post-credits sequence, hint at a new direction for the franchise. If this was a finale, it still leaves the series on a positive note but it may be tough to walk away from the story possibilities of the coda. If they do continue, they’ve just given themselves an ongoing series worth of adventures to recap.
2019 | Japan | DIRECTOR: Gorō Taniguichi | WRITERS: Ichirō Ōkouchi | CAST: Jun Fukuyama, Yukana, Takahiro Sakurai, Ayumu Murase, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Wataru Takagi, Keiko Toda | DISTRIBUTOR: Showgate (JPN), Madman (AUS)| RUNNING TIME: 114 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 16 May 2019 (AUS)
