Fresh and Exciting

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

As a series Ideon always seemed like it had to temper its larger plot and character development for the sake of episodic battling, and while it would have been nice to this movie to be a more cerebral affair, it's ultimately more of the same. Be Invoked is an "expanded" finale to the series, created to fill in the gaps left by its premature demise. It's a more fitting end to the series: we get more information on what the Ideon wants and what it has to do with those dang babies, and there's a giant space battle to end them all that leads to an increasingly desperate situation on board the Solo Ship. It ends in a bizarre climax which is pretty much the same as the original series. Be Invoked clears a few things up, but less than you would think -- most of the movie is composed of space battling that is chaotic and kind of cluttered. Like with the series itself, there were moments of greatness, but on the whole I wanted more. And for a show with such a strong female cast, did we really need to see almost every one of them shot in the head? I would recommend Be Invoked to fans of the series, or for anyone who wants to see (a)everyone in the show naked at the end or (b)where that gif of a toddler getting his head blown off comes from.

**please note, I've marked this with a spoiler warning, although I will not be mentioning exact moments or giving anything away** The Ideon - Be Invoked, the 2nd of 2 films which wrap up the Space Opera 'SpaceRunway Ideon'. Seeing as no one has reviewed this film for IMDb other then using its star rating, I felt compelled to write something so that others would know of this Gem of an anime that sadly has gone unnoticed by western audiences.Be Invoked is the titanic climax of the series Space Runaway Ideon, which was cut short from its initial planned amount of episodes to end abruptly on Ep.39 due to audience ratings. As as result of fan unrest, Tomino made 2 films to conclude the series, 'A Contact', a retelling of the first 38 episodes, and 'Be invoked' concluding the series from Ep.39. Usually to cancel a series would be a bad thing, and it very nearly was the case, but I'm now of the opinion this was a real blessing as it allowed Tomino to make this film. The animation, and remember it was made in 1982, is superb for its age and a clear upgrade of the animation from the rest of the series, the cells are smooth and the action looks all the more fantastic for it.The film picks up (and ultimately replaces) ep.39, with the Solo Ship who having been turned away from Earth are pursued by its enemy, The Buff Clan. With the realisation of just what kind of power the Ideon has to unleash and facing overwhelming odds to survive, the Solo Ship and its crew prepares for its destiny.This is an action film, a 90minute roller-coaster ride with no stop fighting, explosions and loss, showing the struggle of the Solo Ships crew against the pursuing Buff Clan, whose intention is to wipe them out. Its extremely gritty to watch, and has a very dark atmosphere and ultimately bloody with the body count on both sides mounting as it races to its conclusion.Nearly 30years on, Space Runaway Ideon and its films are still unknown to all but Tomino fans or hardcore anime buffs. Its extremely unlikely this series will get the release to Western audiences and that's the biggest crime here. Aside from its now legendary climax, this is a film (and series) about the ever increasingly desperate lives of a band of survivors of an unprovoked attack who find themselves fighting for their very lives against their own kind and an alien enemy. Tomino is excellent at telling a story, and in this series he excels in doing just that.