That's more the weakness of the 3rd than the 4th. The third movie felt like there was a whole volume between part 2 and part 3 that was missing - I get the app

That's more the weakness of the 3rd than the 4th. The third movie felt like there was a whole volume between part 2 and part 3 that was missing - I get the appeal of telling the story from Shinji's perspective and starting in media res, but you can't just use terms like "failed infinities" and the "chamber of guf" without a little establishing context. The 4th brings it back somewhat, but ultimately the finale is still the typical Eva "here's a bunch of religious babble half-explaining what happens overlaid with crazy imagery" which imho had its last hurrah in EoE.