God Almighty what a movie. There's so much I could say about this film, but I can't possibly fit it all in here.
I've seen this movie many times over the course of my life, with the first time being all the way back when I was in high school and Netflix wasn't even streaming yet. So you can probably guess that I like this movie, but what continues to surprise me is I like it more and more each time I see it. And having seen it in an actual theater a little under a month ago, I can safely say now that I love this movie. It's a truly unique work of art, simultaneously apocalyptic in its stakes and yet the scale of the cast and its drama is small and personal. It's the capstone of a saga while being somewhat removed from it and looking unlike anything else in the franchise until then. Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack is one of a kind and I love it.
Taking place in the future year 0093 of the Universal Century, thirteen years have passed since the end of the devastating One Year War between the Earth Federation and the space colonies that made up the Principality of Zeon. That war wiped out half of humanity in its opening months and devastated the Earth's environment, and in the years since there have been sporadic conflicts and political turmoil. A new conflict has broken out as a new Neo Zeon movement, led by the titular Char Aznable, has declared war on the Earth itself, intending to bombard it with asteroids to create a nuclear winter and force humanity into space. There, Char hopes, all of mankind will evolve into Newtypes, essentially psychic individuals with radical empathy, and conflict will cease. That this will also be a genocide of the people still on Earth is an acceptable price to Char. Opposing him is the Earth Federation's elite Londo Bell military unit, led by Bright Noa and Char's arch-rival, one-time ally, and hero of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Amuro Ray, now older and wiser, and very much Char's opposite.
Despite this... not at all being the place to start if you want to get into the Gundam franchise, and having some rather unique pacing, it still somehow manages to come together into a spectacular fever dream of cinema. The film starts slow, but the pacing gradually ramps up and up, until the entire back-half of the film is an apocalyptic war between Londo Bell and Neo Zeon as they try desperately to stop them from dropping the final meteor onto Earth. The sound design is phemonimal, and I really didn't appreciate it until seeing it in a theater, which really enhances the experience. There's moments that just work so much better on a big screen, like Char's speech to the assembled forces of Neo Zeon. Even on the small screen the scene is very good at showing how Char has built a cult of personality around himself, but in the theater the horrifying nature of so many people cheering for genocide hits much, much harder. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, with all manner of little details that they didn't have the time or budget to put into the television series that proceed it. The mechs are sensational to look at, with plenty of little details. And the action is spectacular. The action has a flow and fluidity to it that sets it apart from the action in the television shows.
Giant robot action isn't what makes a show compelling though, it's the characters that do that. And the characters here are fascinating, particularly the title character. Amuro might be the hero (and we'll talk about him), but Char is the one driving the plot. He instigates the conflict, drives mutliple characters within the conflict, and even until the very end of the movie he's still being explored as a character. Char has changed a lot from his last appearance in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, and not for the better (morally). He has emerged in this film as the absolute worst version of himself, manipulating and using people to further his own ends. Characters within the film even call into question whether he actually cares about the movement he's leading, and if he really wants to evolve humanity or he's using this as a pretense to have one final, glorious battle with Amuro.
Amuro, for his part, has also changed a lot, and for the better. The Amuro we see in this film is not the conflicted young man burdened by past trauma that we saw in Zeta Gundam. He's older, wiser, more mature, and gives off the vibe that he's largely managed to deal with his trauma. It's still there and part of him, but it doesn't consume him the way Char's own trauma has consumed him. The very fact that Amuro seems like a relatively healthy, put-together adult means he's not as fascinating to examine as the absolute mess of complexes and contradictions that Char Aznable is, but it has made the dichotomy between the two a major cornerstone of the movie.
The Earth might be at stake, but it's the conflict between these two men that the film is really about. As much as the internet likes to portray as Amuro and Char being obsessed with one another, it's largely one-sided on Char's part. Amuro gives off the impression that if Char had never turned back up, he'd be perfectly fine with his life. It's just one aspect of how these men have become so different, and why the conflict between them is so compelling. Amuro has done his best to grow and move on, Char is stuck in the past. Char desires a spectacular final battle, to the point of leaking technology so Amuro fights him on an even playingfield, whereas Amuro is perfectly willing to unceremoniously gun down Char when given the chance. Amuro has an understanding relationship with his girlfriend, Chan Agi, that's based on mutual respect. There's good chemistry between them, and a relaxed, affectionate physicality between them when we briefly see them in a casual scene. When the very troubled teenage girl, Quess Paraya, begins making emotional overtures towards Amuro, he immediately understands what she wants, knows he can't fulfill it, and when Quess tries to start a catfight with Chan, Chan also immediately figures out what's going on and doesn't at all worry that Amuro might be interested in this girl. Char, on the other hand, is incredibly manipulative and unhealthy in his relationships with women. He fails utterly to understand what Quess is looking for in him, even as he uses her feelings to manipulate her and turn her into a tool for his agenda. His ostensible girlfriend, Nanai Miguel, is just as much a tool to him and actually considers Quess a threat to their relationship. When Chan telepathically warns Amuro, he's grateful and accepting of the help. When Nanai tries the same with Char, he tells her to butt out. The dichotomy between these two is a huge part of the film as Char self-destructs and becomes his most pathetic self, while Amuro is at his most powerful and confident, utterly unstoppable once he enters the fray.
The film's runtime means that the rest of the cast can't quite be explored as much as Amuro and Char, but they're still good. Bright Noa, mentioned earlier, is back, the only character in the film to have been in every installment of the franchise before this one. Now Captain of the Ra Cailum and the commanding officer of Londo Bell, for the first time in the franchise he has all the resources he needs and makes damn good use of them. Amuro's girlfriend Chan is a cute, nerdy engineer girl who, as was said before, has good chemistry with Amuro. In the short time we see her, she shows that she gets Amuro. She understands his personality and quirks, and accepts they're part of him. Bright's teenage son Hathaway finds himself caught up in the conflict, and he's a good-natured lad trying his best to save his female counterpart, Quess Paraya. Quess is probably the third most central character in the film after Amuro and Char. The daughter of a high-ranking Earth Federation politician, she's a burgeoning, powerful Newtype who is incredibly frustrated with her father. Her issues with her father make it easy for Char to manipulate her and turn her into yet another tool. She's... not exactly likeable. But the gradual wearing down of her psyche as a result of Char's manipulations makes her a pitiable figure. There's some other characters who round out the cast but don't have much focus at all, but everyone feels like, in a television show, that they'd have recognizable personalities and quirks. Not just the named characters, but even people showing up on the Ra Cailum's bridge.
The characters, in both the English dub and the original Japanese, are all wonderfully performed by their actors. The casts are very good, and the minor characters are served very well by their actors, who help to elevate them beyond the little bit of writing they get. Amuro and Char are of course the highlights, as their actors in both languages put a lot of emotion behind their interactions. Everyone brought their A-game for the movie, and you can hear it.
All of these characters are caught up in the whirlwind of the apocalyptic battle, the cast and conflict ground down more and more until all that's left is Amuro and Char, slugging it out in their mobile suits. Despite the explosive action, the film ends on an emotional note as the potential of humanity causes a miracle, and the film ends right then and there, leaving you to sit and process it all. I love this film. But you need to have at the very least seen the original series or its compilation movie trilogy to watch this. And if you've seen those, you need to see Char's Counterattack.
