As a film, Solo Leveling: ReAwakening is more than a bit of a mess. This is because it's not really built like one. With a runtime of two hours, the first hour and fifteen minutes are a recap of the first season. The remaining 45 minutes? The first two episodes of the upcoming second season. This causes all kinds of problems when viewed as a whole.

The most obvious of these is pacing. The recap portion of the film is abridged to the point where it's practically all fight scenes and very little else. The only character beats and world-building on display 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 clearly seen in Jinwoo himself. The film largely skips over the first four episodes, basically Jinwoo's entire origin story of going from weak-yet-earnest guy to the one person in the world able to grow in strength. What little is shown are the moments where he rages at the world, his fate, and his weakness. This changes his character greatly. Rather than a kind soul at heart being beaten down by (and adjusting to) the cruel realities of his existence, he comes off more like a petulant child, raging at the world even when he has been granted the most amazing of powers.

In an attempt to make the two halves of the film connect, a sizable amount of the recap's runtime is spent on the Dungeon & Lizards Arc and the Job Change Arc—i.e., the two parts of the story that have the most to do with the new season. This does work somewhat, as it gives us the basis for S-Rank Hwang Gongsoo hunting down Jinwoo to avenge his murdered brother, as well as the origin for Jinwoo's new shadow powers. However, with major plot points and even entire characters left on the cutting room floor, the first half of the film fails to mesh with the second half as much as it succeeds.

The back half of the film—i.e., the first two episodes of the second season—assumes you have watched the first season. You are expected to know how the world works: the concepts of gates, dungeons, and hunters on top of the politics surrounding the hunter guilds in South Korea. Sadly, the recap will not leave you prepared for this, as meaningful past and present events are spoken about by characters that have never been properly introduced, even mere moments into the new part of the film.

All that said, as a person who has watched and enjoyed the TV series, the two new episodes are fantastic. Not only do we get to see Jinwoo's new powers in all their glory in a series of awesome fight scenes, but we get a reminder that Jinwoo is still very much a big fish in a small pond as well. While he may be overpowered compared to many, there are more than a few who could still kill him without much effort like, say, Hwang Gongsoo who is camping outside the dungeon portal, waiting for Jinwoo to emerge.

This adds a real sense of danger to what is going on. Even should Jinwoo and his companions overcome the life-or-death struggle they are involved in, their escape would only bring Jinwoo into an even more dire situation. On top of this, there is also the looming dread that Jinwoo's time keeping his leveling-up powers a secret is all but over. Time and again, where the smart play would be for him to keep to himself (or even kill those who have seen his powers), he still protects those around him even as it exposes him.

In the end, Solo Leveling: ReAwakening is a film with a very specific shelf life. If you have seen the first season of the TV series and the second season has not yet premiered, you should absolutely see this film, especially if you have the chance 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 eye-candy, bolstered by the equally prominent ear-candy of the always-fantastic Hiroyuki Sawano.

If, however, you have never seen the Solo Leveling TV series—or have but are reading this after the second season has started airing (i.e., January 2025)—you're better off skipping this one. The story is told better in the TV series, plain and simple.