Final Fantasy

[Shanamir Duntak]

Do you plan to see it? If yes, i'd like a review.
Anyway, i'm going to see it thuesday. I'll tell you about it.

[Mathron]

I saw it the other night, and have to highly recommend it.
The graphics were simply astonishing - many points you would not be able to tell that it was not a live action movie. Visually speaking, it is the best movie I have ever seen (graphics wise, as opposed to style.)
Plotwise, it was a standard Apocolyptic Computer RPG storyline. It was solid, though, and the characters did have feel and depth enough to make it real. It was an enjoyable action movie with decent plot and acting - however, the visual effects made it utterly incredible. Go see it, now.

[IronParrot]

My review follows:


SUMMARY

It is 2065, and Earth has been overrun by alien phantoms that came with a meteor that struck. Biologist Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) searches for the final "spirit waves" that she hopes will permit her to defeat the aliens, as well as cure an infestation in her body.


RECOMMENDED FOR:

Sci-fi and animation buffs who love visual spectacle, and can tolerate bad dialogue. On the same token, also recommended for kids.


REVIEW

First of all, if you are looking for a movie with any remote correlation to the video games on which it is based, look somewhere else. Even a layman non-fan of the Final Fantasy series like myself can tell that The Spirits Within is simply another sci-fi treatment of a post-apocalyptic Earth.

The good news is that Final Fantasy finally breaks the barrier that prohibits movies based on video games from being legitimate works of cinematic art. The bad news is that when judged on the same level as original live-action science fiction films, a category of which it tries so hard to be a member and actually succeeds, this movie is only mediocre.

Visually, it is the most strikingly beautiful animated film ever, and the first feature-length work of animation that succeeds as an action movie. The meticulous detail to which the world presented by this movie is rendered serves it well. The action sequences are representative of the best in explosive live-action scenarios loaded with FX. Aki's dream sequences are surreal at a level almost comparable to those in the masterpiece Brazil. Additionally, the sound effects live up to the scope set by the flat-out amazing visual palette, and round out the film as a landmark achievement from a technical perspective.

The sci-fi concepts that underscore the movie, such as the expansion on the founding concepts of the Gaia Hypothesis of a "living planet" and a post-apocalyptic view of New York City that is thankfully not too similar to the one in A.I., serve the movie very well. This environment is readily presented without taking over the narrative, and is unintrusively immersive. The orchestral musical score matches the tone of the movie well, and does not make the mistake of using contemporary popular music in an incompatible future environment, as was the case in Titan A.E.

In spirit, Final Fantasy had the potential to be a classic.

However, like last year's appreciable but forgettable Dinosaur, it ended up being a case of a fantastic visual thrill that is shot down by a weak screenplay with uninteresting characters, yet another tacked-on attempt at a romance, and dialogue restricted by limited vocabulary that is ironically complemented by unnecessary jargon straight out of the worse episodes of Star Trek. The cardboard heroes and villains may look as close to realistic as today's technology can make them, but are bad actors at best. Some of the best in voice-acting talent is behind this film, but because of the limitations of the screenplay not a drop of it shows, and it comes off as a wasted resource. And let's face it: most voice-over narration sucks, and the bits of it in Final Fantasy are not among the rare exceptions.

Judging by its pros and cons, this film actually makes for a very entertaining romp for younger audiences; but in that respect, the lighter and faster-paced Atlantis is superior. All in all, Final Fantasy is the best special effect of the year; it's a shame that it could have been so much more.

[webwizard333]

A lot of movies nowadays have great special effects, but mediocre plot. When our storylines catch up to our special effects, well, I'll that to your imagination.

[Shanamir Duntak]

I just went back from seeing it....
PAY THE TICKET!
It's WAY worth it.

You really gotta see this movie on the big screen.
Sure, the plot isn't that great, but hey, it's really like wouldl final fantasy-38 be. The plot really is final fantesque :p
The incredible details show lots of cafeine ingestion and numerous long night working.

Pay the price, you need to see this, would it be just for the incredible graphix.