The movie ending was
way more depressing and dark, but it was also
way better. The series ending was cheap & corny, and it didn't tie up any loose ends. The End of Evangelion was definitely final, and if you pay close attention, not everyone "died". Quite the contrary, the ending hints that eventually people will return. So if you stopped watching EoE half-way through it (maybe you stopped when Asuka was mauled in her Eva, or when Misato was shot to death, I almost stopped watching when those to things happened
) go back and watch the whole thing. It's worth it if you can stomach a few parts.