For an initial viewing experience, I think Anno succeeded despite the impossible expectations everyone had for this film. Thrice has everything fans of the franchise wanted: faux-military procedural rhythms, space opera antics, slice-of-life reverie, mind-melting abstractions, brutal mech combat, expository introspections, religious symbolism, dials it all up and overdelivers. When the credits rolled, I felt satisfied.
At the same time though, I felt empty. I wanted to feel MESSY, to leave the film thoroughly disturbed and needing to process it…