Attack on Titan: Part 1

💡 Plot Summary: Humanity Under Siege

The plot of the film as told in Manga revolves around colossal man-like monsters called Titans gaining dominance over humans, forcing them to live behind walls in neolithic civilization-like structures. The first part of Attack on Titan revolves around a Titan breaching the outer wall, unleashing smaller Titans resulting in mankind’s utmost chaos as they get devoured alongside their civilization.

Eren Yeager (Haruma Miura) is introduced as the core of the Titan’s chaos due to his vendetta based rooted in personal loss. He alongside his friends Mikasa (Kiko Mizuhara) and Armin (Kanata Hongō) set out on a quest to join the military and push back. With time, secrets unfold regarding the Titans morphing Eren’s fate into something unrecognizable.

🎭 Performances and Adaptation Choices

Intense anger and passion for Titans as well as his trademark rage serves Miura well in portraying Eren’s character. It is quite striking that the live-action version of Eren is much more one-dimensional, deeply hot-headed character compared to Eren’s nuanced animation version. We have Kiko Mizuhara portray Mikasa, who, surprising doesn’t leave her stoic persona rather softened detachment to an empowered role. Fans did not respond well to the changes made to Levi, the character’s omission, and the fundamental shifting of popular traits.

The performances are consistently oscillating from subdued to dramatic, as any attempt to match the raw, existential dread from the source material is absent. Satomi Ishihara as Hange is no exception with her portrayal as she adds dashes of eccentricity and comic energy, which strikingly aligns with the anime version.

🎞 Direction & Visual Style

Visually, director Shinji Higuchi tries to do too much at once with little to no regard for balance. While The Titans—brought to life through a combination of practical effects and CGI—are truly impressive pieces of art, they can range from awkward to horrifying. Many of the sequences, including the close-quarter fights and the first breach, are absolutely terrifying and visceral, but many others are stiff and limited by their budget.

The world-building remains compelling as the iconic architecture is brutalized alongside industrial decay and blood-dabbled battlefields meticulously depicting the war-torn atmosphere, but the film feels truly rushed with most of character development being sacrificed for action due to circumstances beyond the filmmakers’ control.

💡 Themes and Deviations from Source Material

🧱 Power, Fear and the fragility of Humans

As with the rest of the franchise, the primary theme is fear paired with survival, as it shapes one’s morals, and the film lacks greatly in portraying it while integrating core elements of the franchise. In addition to being physically imposing, the looming existential dread of extinction and what people will do to avoid it paints vivid picture of die-hard threats, symbolized through the titans.

🔁 Alterations That Split The Fans

Fulfilling movies in this franchise are always bold with their choices but ‘Attack On Titan’ is especially drastic with its inclusions and omissions. Characters who were well received in the source material in anime and manga formats are nowhere to be seen, or completely rewritten, key plot arcs are rearranged.

⚔️ Domination and Governance

The Titan breach within the walls showcases the military’s stance as, once again, a more timid and bureaucratic authority model. This has been criticized in the past for rather punctually showing how institutions falter under these self imposed existential threats. They make their point, but do not expand on the additional purpose within the narrative.

📝 Reception and Criticism

Both audiences and reviewers were harsh on the first installment, as ‘Attack on Titan: Part 1’ did not live up to the expectations set. Visuals dominated the production with praise, claiming that the efforts put into setting design were commendable and worthy, though the pacing almost completely killed the character development alongside the visual effects, which ended up being riddled with inconsistency.

In contrast to the hate, some regard the adaptation unique, and even welcoming to Isayama’s concepts or envisioning how they would translate on the big screen. The film did not shy away from redefining the world within and transitioned into its second installment, ‘Attack on Titan: End of the World’ aimed to resolve the open story lines dethroned in the first chapter.

🎯 Final Verdict: Should You Watch Attack on Titan: Part 1?

Yes, but only if you are interested in seeing AotT from the perspective of live-action filmmaking and are willing to approach it as a reimagining. For those who do not recognize the source material, it might work as a low-level dystopian horror-action piece.

Watch it if:

✔ You enjoy action-horror set in a post-apocalyptic world mixed with politics.

✔ You want to see a Japanese manga turned into live action.

✔ You are open-minded to a reinterpretation of the original.

Skip it if:

❌ You are obsessed with the original anime/manga and expect it to be faithfully adapted.

❌ You demand reliable CGI and visuals throughout the movie in fantasy films.

❌ You are searching for well developed and emotionally satisfying character journeys.

🔚 Bottom Line

Attack on Titan: Part 1 (2015) is a stunning showcase of ingenuity and creativity that captures every essence of horror and desperation; the human misery interspersed throughout titan terror has been visually encapsulated. While many consider it a flawed attempt and missed opportunity, others are quick to tout it as one of the most captivating half-baked cinematic experiments in modern history.