Before watching this movie, I had not seen any of the "Haruhi Suzumiya" anime. I just watched this movie because I thought it looked interesting. Keep that in mind, I went into this film completely blind. So, how does this film hold up as an outsider looking in? It was a pretty good time.
The story begins of Dec 17th, and the SOS club are planning a big Christmas Eve party. The next day Kyon wakes up to find that things have all changed. No one in the school knows who Haruhi Suzumiya is. Kyon seems to be the only one in the world with memories of the way things used to be. It is kind of like an "it's a Wonderful Life", "Yesterday", or a variety of "Twilight Zone" episodes. The big difference with this one is that, where "It's a Wonderful Life" doesn't jump to the other reality until ~1 hr. 40 mins in the story, this movie has it happen at about the 12-minute mark.
This is where the movie is really funny for those people like me who had never watched the series. Up to this point, nothing strange had happened in the story. But as Kyon goes around explaining to people that some of them are robots, time travelers, aliens and espers, suddenly the audience is in the same POV as the rest of the school. Oh, and aparantly the cat can talk. Nothing in the first 12 minutes establishing this world prepare the auidence for how bizarre the world is. For some, that will be a major discouragment, they'll want to see the series before watching the film. And that is definitely the way it was intended to be viewed. But I think it is hilarious if you start with this film and have context whatsoever.
The movie could use its time better. At 2hr 30+ mins, this is a long animated movie, and some of that time could have been trimmed no problem. Kyon has a nasty habit of narrating everything. Sometimes it's helpful, but other times he is just stating the obvious. There is a time where he narrates something in his inner monologue, just to repeat it out loud right after. Stuff like that could be cut, and nothing would have been lost, and my bladder would be grateful.
The ending is also underwhelming. After going through so much hardship, you want a satisfying conclusion, but one is not given here. I won't go into spoilers, but just know that I thought the ending was dull.
The movie has a confusing beginning for those unfamiliar with the source material. It is overly long and has an ending that lacks payoff. But if you were to stand on my head and ask me "was it fun?". I would have to enthusiastically say "Of course it was, don't ask stupid questions with obvious answers."
The story begins of Dec 17th, and the SOS club are planning a big Christmas Eve party. The next day Kyon wakes up to find that things have all changed. No one in the school knows who Haruhi Suzumiya is. Kyon seems to be the only one in the world with memories of the way things used to be. It is kind of like an "it's a Wonderful Life", "Yesterday", or a variety of "Twilight Zone" episodes. The big difference with this one is that, where "It's a Wonderful Life" doesn't jump to the other reality until ~1 hr. 40 mins in the story, this movie has it happen at about the 12-minute mark.
This is where the movie is really funny for those people like me who had never watched the series. Up to this point, nothing strange had happened in the story. But as Kyon goes around explaining to people that some of them are robots, time travelers, aliens and espers, suddenly the audience is in the same POV as the rest of the school. Oh, and aparantly the cat can talk. Nothing in the first 12 minutes establishing this world prepare the auidence for how bizarre the world is. For some, that will be a major discouragment, they'll want to see the series before watching the film. And that is definitely the way it was intended to be viewed. But I think it is hilarious if you start with this film and have context whatsoever.
The movie could use its time better. At 2hr 30+ mins, this is a long animated movie, and some of that time could have been trimmed no problem. Kyon has a nasty habit of narrating everything. Sometimes it's helpful, but other times he is just stating the obvious. There is a time where he narrates something in his inner monologue, just to repeat it out loud right after. Stuff like that could be cut, and nothing would have been lost, and my bladder would be grateful.
The ending is also underwhelming. After going through so much hardship, you want a satisfying conclusion, but one is not given here. I won't go into spoilers, but just know that I thought the ending was dull.
The movie has a confusing beginning for those unfamiliar with the source material. It is overly long and has an ending that lacks payoff. But if you were to stand on my head and ask me "was it fun?". I would have to enthusiastically say "Of course it was, don't ask stupid questions with obvious answers."