Eureka: Eureka Seven: Hi - Evolution is the third film in an incredibly odd trilogy. The first is basically an abridged remaster of a random story arc mid-way through the TV series (with some new footage set before the series began). The second film is set in an alternate reality similar to our own with the first film being re-contextualized as a dream world Eureka has created in an attempt to bring her true love, Renton, back to life. The third film tries to tie both films and the original TV series—along with a completely new, original plot—together into one final climax. What comes out of this is a mixed bag of a film. When it's good, it's great. When it's not, it's a total mess.

It's clear that this film takes some serious inspiration from The Terminator. Eureka and Iris spend the majority of the movie on the run across Europe, trying to stay under the radar. However, every time they make any sort of slip up, Dewey appears, trying to kill Eureka and kidnap Iris. Dewey, as a side-effect of being trapped between worlds in the previous film, can Astral Project into a form that has telekinetic powers and is immune to all but the most extreme forms of damage—and even should he die, he simply reappears in his real body.

Eureka, on the other hand, no longer has any powers to speak of. What she does have is 10 years of military experience, a body she has honed into a weapon, and an indomitable will. Iris, while having the same powers as Eureka originally had, has no control over them. The film's best action scenes involve a completely under-powered Eureka using quick thinking to fight a superpowered opponent while protecting a defenseless child.

Eureka in this film is an emotionally broken, yet still highly-driven, person. She is haunted not only by the loss of Renton but the damage she caused to both her own world and this one as well. She is responsible for the deaths of thousands, if not millions, which she'll never be able to atone for. Her days are filled with weight training, piloting a mecha suit for Anemone, and hard drinking.

Anemone is her only friend, keeping her promise from the last film to never let Eureka be alone with her grief. Now matter how bleak things get, Eureka can turn to Anemone for support—making their relationship an incredibly healthy and positive one. Sadly, while Anemone can help Eureka through the tough times and get her to focus on what is truly important, she can't heal her broken friend. That's where Iris comes in.

Iris is basically what Eureka would have been if she had been raised like a normal human child. She has a loving mother and father and her own hobby (drawing on her smartphone). Like young Eureka, she also has a power she doesn't understand—one that she comes to fear as time goes on.

While the two start off in a rather antagonistic relationship, they slowly grow closer over the course of the film. Eureka learns to understand Iris' all-too-human emotions, wants, and needs while Iris comes to understand that Eureka is truly the only person who knows what she is going through with her world-altering powers. It's a believable relationship that transforms both Iris and Eureka into the best versions of themselves—with Eureka finding the new reason to live she's been looking for.

Unfortunately, aside from the relationship between Eureka and Iris (and Eureka and Anemone), everything else in the film falls apart. There is simply way too much going on for a single film—especially when it comes to the final act. There are far too many characters. While it's easy enough to understand the goals and motivations of those from the two previous films (i.e., Anemone's team and Renton's adoptive parents), the same cannot be said for the characters from the TV series.

Since being pulled out of the dream world, the members of Gekkōstate have had a decade of off-screen character development. There's just not enough time in the film to catch us up on their actions and reintroduce us to who they are now—especially since they are all on Dewey's side instead of Eureka's.

This ties into the film's major problem: focus. The film starts off well enough, setting up Eureka, Iris, and their attempt to escape from Dewey. However, in the final act of the film, the stakes jump suddenly to a world-threatening level and things speed up considerably. Once this happens, the film no longer focuses on Eureka and Iris, but jumps from one side character to the next—seemingly for no other reason than to give each character a final scene before the film comes to an end. This even includes six characters briefly seen in the previous film who we know next to nothing about. It's a mess, pure and simple. It's hard to care about the myriad of “heroic sacrifices” in the film when we have no emotional connection to the characters. (You'll also wonder why no one bothers to use their ejection seats/escape pods.)

Meanwhile, on a visual level, the film looks great. The action scenes, especially the fights between Eureka and Dewey, are smooth, exciting, and easy to follow. The mecha scenes are equally fun to look at, once again playing with the sky-surfing aesthetic that made the original series so distinct. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is largely forgettable. It does its job well enough—making the actions scenes exciting and the somber scenes emotional—but there are no memorable tunes you'll be humming on your way out.

All in all, Eureka: Eureka Seven: Hi - Evolution left me feeling confused wondering who this movie is for exactly. Everything is resolved in a way that's likely to leave no one satisfied. Now don't get me wrong: there is the core of a fun, exciting film here, but the attempt to make a climatic ending to everyone's stories instead of continuing the focused narrative about Eureka and Iris is where it goes off the rails. If you like Eureka as a character and are interested in seeing her develop in a way unlike we have seen before—or if you're interested in seeing how the overall story we began in the previous film comes to an end—this film is still worth a watch. If not, I can't really say I'd recommend it.