The pacing hits like someone mainlining the series through a fire hose, but that speed is the point, this isn't a recap for people who forgot, it's a condensed strike for people who remember exactly why Lelouch's god complex matters. Every scene stripped down to the moment it breaks something in him. The animation upgrade reminds you why you loved this show, even as the movie refuses to slow down and let you breathe the way the original series did.

The Holy Britannian Empire expands its reach through military might, and Japan is one of its conquests. Defeated in the Second Pacific War of 2010, the country lies in ruins and has been renamed Area 11. Lelouch Lamperouge, a student who despises the Empire, resolves to free Japan and bring Britannia down. His plans move faster after he meets C.C., a mysterious woman who gives him Geass, a power that leaves anyone he commands unable to resist his orders. Taking on the identity of Zero, a revolutionary who becomes a symbol for the oppressed, he sets out to restore Japan and punish Britannia. The film is the first of a three-part theatrical remake of the original Code Geass series and its sequel, R2, told as a mecha thriller.