As a film, Solo leveling: Reawakening is more than a little chaotic. That’s because it’s not really built that way. With a running time of two hours, the first hour and fifteen minutes is a recap of the first season. The remaining 45 minutes? The first two episodes of the upcoming second season. This as a whole causes all sorts of problems.

The most obvious of these is pacing. The summary portion of the film is so truncated that it pretty much only contains fight scenes and little else. The only character discussions and world-building shown are the bare minimum to get from one fight to the next, leaving a distorted version of the story to say the least.

This is most evident in Jinwoo himself. The film mostly skips over the first four episodes, basically the entire origin story of Jinwoo as he grows from a weak but serious guy to the only person in the world capable of gaining strength. What is little shown are the moments in which he is angry at the world, his fate and his weakness. This changes his character a lot. Instead of being a kind soul beaten down by (and adjusting to) the cruel realities of his existence, he comes across more like a petulant child who rages at the world, even when he has been given the most amazing powers.

In order to tie the two halves of the film together, a significant portion of the synopsis’ running time is devoted to it Dungeon & Lizards Arc and the Sheet for changing jobs– the two parts of the story that have the most to do with the new season. This works somewhat, as it gives us the basis for S-Rang Hwang Gongsoo hunting Jinwoo to avenge his murdered brother, as well as the origin of Jinwoo’s new shadow powers. However, with major storylines and even entire characters left on the cutting room floor, the first half of the film doesn’t fit into the second half as much as it manages to.

The back half of the film – the first two episodes of the second season – assumes that you have seen the first season. You are expected to know how the world works: the concepts of gates, dungeons, and hunters, as well as the politics surrounding hunter guilds in South Korea. Unfortunately, the summary will not prepare you for this, as significant past and present events are narrated by characters who were never properly introduced, even in the first moments of the new part of the film.

Overall, for someone who has watched and enjoyed the television series, the two new episodes are fantastic. In a series of great fight scenes, not only do we get to see Jinwoo’s new powers in all their glory, but we are also reminded that Jinwoo is still a big fish in a small pond. While he may be overpowered compared to many others, there are quite a few who could still kill him without much effort, such as Hwang Gongsoo, who camps outside the dungeon portal waiting for Jinwoo to show up.

This adds a real sense of danger to the proceedings. Even if Jinwoo and his companions overcome the life-or-death struggle they are embroiled in, their escape would only put Jinwoo in an even worse situation. Added to this is the looming fear that Jinwoo’s time for keeping his ascension powers secret is almost over. Time and time again, where it would be wise for him to keep to himself (or even kill those who saw his powers), he still protects those around him, even if it exposes him.

In the end, Solo leveling: Reawakening is a film with a very specific shelf life. If you have watched the first season of the TV series and the second season has not yet premiered, you should definitely watch this film, especially if you have the opportunity to see it on the big screen. While the recap fight scenes are great in their own right, the new fights in this film take things to a new level. It’s pure visual feast, enhanced by the equally prominent ear feast of the ever-fantastic Hiroyuki Sawano.

However, if you’ve never seen this before Solo leveling TV series – or have read this after the second season has started airing (i.e. in January 2025), it is better to skip this season. The story is simply told better in the TV series.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa group of companies.