I have to say from the beginning, that I do truly hate the original Attack On Titan anime. But I do happen to love Japanese cinema, and was willing to give it a try, as many live-action adaptations take a very original take on their source material (like Death Note, Mushi-shi, Gantz and Rurouni Kenshin). I'm so glad that I did it. For starters, the story is now set in Japan (instead of Central Europe), the origin is told in less than 60 seconds, the focus of the story is now placed into another character (therefore the metaphysical/ideological/romance non-sense from the series was dropped altogether, along with the German names) and his main motivation was introduced in a way that it's totally credible. The Titans themselves are quite plausible as they come. There are clear objectives, set goals in the plot, without missing a beat. The movie doesn't even try to explain anything beyond the scope of the plot, and that's a blessing. Suddenly, the whole thing made sense, and ATOT became a stylish, visceral sci-fi horror movie, with plenty of action and very decent CGI (something that isn't common in Japanese live action adaptations, that are usually low-budget fare). What I like the most is the portrayal of the Titans, as they are surreal, menacing, but with a hint of sadness. I'll recommend you to enjoy this movie with an open mind, and embrace the visual chaos from the action scenes with a wicked grin. This movie rocks and kicks ass, for sure. I do respect that it dares itself to take a huge risk and create an original film and piss off the fans in the process. Now, I'm waiting for the second part (and the mini-series Attack On Titan: Beacon For Counterattack), something that I couldn't even fathom when I pressed the "play" button one hour and a half ago.

As a kaiju monster movie from the studio themselves, Toho Productions, it's a freaking blast.

As an adaptation of the original manga, it's complete bullshit.

With that out of the way, it's a guilty pleasure for me. Since I'm such a geek for monster films, I loved that the titans in this movie were all portrayed with puppets and men in suits. It was like watching a silly Godzilla movie from the 60's, with Eren as a titan jumping in the air and drop-kicking another titan in the face. It's super ridiculous and over-the-top, but it can be really enjoyable if you like that sort of thing.

The story does crawl a bit during the middle, but enough twists are presented to keep you interested. This is not a well-done adaptation. Hell, this isn't really a great story on it's own right. It's a cheesy silly monster movie with barely fleshed out characters.

The music by Shiro Sagisu is also just as a great as he always is. It sounds a little derivative of Evangelion 3.0 at times, but 'Temper The Wind' is easily the best track on the whole album. I'd argue the score is better than the movie.

I was pretty disappointed in this.
It was really only loosely based on the anime, and that probably spoiled it for me (and a lot of others).
- The back story was hugely different. [spoiler] The basement, the "for 100 years the wall stood" - but then it turns out the virus was a couple of years ago, etc [/spoiler]
- The characters were different (I was particularly [spoiler] disappointed with Mikasa - how could you ruin her! She was incredible! And what about the leaders of the army? Where as Pixis? These guys were just creepy...[/spoiler]). Although I did like the manic brains of Hanji.
- The settings were different. [spoiler] Armin had a toy with a battery, Hanji driving a truck - where were the horses? I almost thought that the had to use a truck because these actors probably couldn't ride horses - it really is that kind of movie. [/spoiler]. I've always wondered how they managed to make their aerial maneuver gear (including refill their gas cylinders) in such a primitive environment.

It might have been better to call the movie, and the characters something different to reinforce that it is not the Attack on Titan we were expecting.

I was always a little disappointed by the anime (especially the first couple of season) - afaik, they never lived up to their potential. And then this movie. If you are familiar with Titan, this is disappointing. If you are not familiar, this will be confusing.

But I will continue to watch. AOT is a brilliant concept - just badly executed.