Originally Posted by The Batlord

It's not a standalone movie in any sense. It's basically a replacement ending for the last two episodes of the series, so it would be like jumping into the show itself at the climax, and Evangelion is such a dense series that you would be completely lost if you did so. And considering just how central character development is to the series, then coming in at the very end of all of the characters' arcs would rob you of the vast majority of what you're supposed to be getting from the movie.

Just go watch the TV series. It's only one season long, and if I would recommend one anime to someone who doesn't watch or even like anime, it would be this series, battling seizure robots or not.