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It's a bit similar to the duology, where Beginnings ended with horrible revelations and Eternal tried to fix anything, only that there is no fourth movie to fix Rebellion's ending. But the series and duology are also so beloved because their final message is so utterly positive, and the one of Rebellion just isn't. Turning clichés around is one of the most beloved and major themes of Madoka Magica, so I suppose it fits the modus operandi. They did not want to conclude their movie trilogy with a clichéd, super sappy, overly perfect ending. All in all I find the final choice the maker's did to be a questionable one. I don't love what they did to Homura at the end. Similarly, I love how all our favourite characters are there, and I love how the writers managed to unify their tragic fates with the positive premise (particularly Sayaka). I don't love what happens after the conclusion of the premise. I love the premise, I love how it is revealed, I love how it is concluded. The biggest flaw, however, is the plot, or rather its conclusion. IMHO the pacing is one if this movie's biggest flaws I was never quite bored but I certainly came close occasionally. Similarly, there were two quite long fight scenes that just dragged on where nothing really mattered. A runtime of almost two hours certainly isn't short, so I wonder if it was truly necessary to spend five minutes on a fairly silly 'magical transformation' sequence that is meant to be partially satirical.
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But as fantastic as it looked, it could not hide some problems with the pacing I feel this movie has. What surprised me even more was the imagery: Where I found the abstract depiction of the Witches odd and jarring in the series (and to a lesser extent also in the duology), I found it absolutely beautiful in Rebellion. The soundtrack is lovely, and the visuals are gorgeous.
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doesn't? From a technical standpoint, the movie is fabulous. Rebellion seeks to rectify that and just. The original series and the movie duology that retold it ended with a finale that was heart-rendingly bittersweet yet incredibly positive, but also had a slight note of dissatisfaction.
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