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All rights reserved.Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2006, UMD)
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Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Digital Musings "The Great Geek W/O"Review created: 05/06/06
by: elvisdo-- a member of Epinions and Advisor in Movies
Pros:
Beautiful animation, flawless movement, thought-provoking message
Beautiful animation, flawless movement, thought-provoking message
Cons:
Slow pacing, can be very confusing the first couple times of viewing
Slow pacing, can be very confusing the first couple times of viewing
When looking at the Final Fantasy series, or any anime production, one has to immerse oneself into the cultural aspect from where it originates. This was my problem when I first saw Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in the theatre when it first came out. Despite the amazing animation and renderings, I thought it fell flat and had no soul throughout the entire film. Looking back now and hopefully being a bit wiser I may have been a bit harsh because I didn't embrace the entire scope of the film. I may been Asian but I grew up with a North America mentality, and it was this realization that led me to view Final Fantasy: Advent Children in a different light.
FF VII: Advent Children has an advantage over FF: The Spirits Within it continues the storyline from the hit 1997 Playstation game Final Fantasy VII. The fan base has already been established with the game and fans have been patiently awaiting a sequel to it. Director Tetsuya Nomura finally does so but with a twist instead of another game he decided to make a feature film. But the biggest question on everyone's mind is this: does one need to know the game in order to enjoy this movie? The answer is no, but it doesn't hurt if you already know the game.
Wanted: One Despondent Hero
Two years have passed since the Final Fantasy VII game, and a disease called "Geostigma" has started infecting the people around the planet. This disease is the result of the body trying to overcompensate in fighting off this foreign material that infected everyone two years ago.
Cloud Strife is infected with Geostigma and has lost all hope in life. There is no known cure and he's decided to let the disease take its course rather than fight back. He is guilt-ridden by past events that still haunt him and has decided to live a life of seclusion away from his friends, even though he still maintains Strife s Delivery Service located in Tifa Lockheart s bar.
But trouble always seems to find Cloud as a trio of brothers Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo come looking for him. They are looking for their mother and seem to think Cloud knows where she is. They also claim to have a cure for the plague, but really hide a more sinister plan: to revive Sephiroth and bring about the destruction of the planet. It s up to Cloud, Tifa, and the rest of the characters from the game to stop this plan. But in order to that they all need to work together to get past the behemoth dragon known as Bahamut. Can even they survive an experience like that, and if they do, will they even be ready Sephiroth s second coming?
And even if they survive all of that, will they ever find a cure for Geostigma?
Looking at Life Through a Different Pair of Lens
I ve always enjoyed the Final Fantasy series and was there from the start. The attraction to the whole thing comes from the fantasy aspect of the title. If one can suspend disbelief for this world, then things will start making much more sense. I had to remind myself of this when watching the incredible action sequences.
Everybody in this world seems to have Spider-Man-like agility and has the uncanny knack of always landing on their feet. The fighting sequences whether it by on motorcycles or on top of very tall buildings or even fighting a dragon are choreographed spectacularly with camera movements and angles unlike I ve ever seen before. It s quick-paced and action-filled, something that was sorely missing from FF: The Spirits Within. This is what the fans of Final Fantasy want to see and I don t think disappointment is a word that will be uttered from their mouths when referring to this subject.
But as much as the pacing of the fight scenes are on par with excellence, the rest of the movie tends to move much more slowly, so much so that it can drag on for no apparent reason. And this is where my realization started to kick in. Despite its glorious and outlandish renditions on an exterior level, it has always had an introspective look on life and how it affects the human core.
The themes of self-doubt, discovery of one s self, rising to overcome human frailties, and redemption have always been at the heart of the matter. It s no different with this movie, and it resonates brightly. The Eastern culture has always looked inward for answers and tries to present it with different symbols that sometimes befuddle the Western world s thinking of things. I had to remind myself of this and try to look at this movie from another point of view. I had to learn to be patient again, something I ve noticed that has been slipping away from me.
The story can be a bit baffling at times especially when leading up to the climatic scenes. Actually, therein lies the problem to the film it s hard to tell when the build up occurs, and the climax of the scene seems somewhat anticlimactic.
Just like its predecessor FF: The Spirits Within, the CGI animation is out of this world. Everything looked realistic, but not to the point that you actually believed that this was shot live. The producers realized that the rules of making this movie had to be thrown out the door, and they had to make their own rules that worked for their film. Again, the word fantasy was it the core of this undertaking and so there was a fine line between reality and fantasy. I still believe that if a super hero movie was done in this format, it would be beyond anything that has been seen before.
The music is beautiful. I have always loved and enjoyed the musical arrangements by composer Nobuo Uematsu. His themes of love, friendship and redemption are always evident whether it is through a classical orchestra or rock and roll accompaniment. The soundtrack alone makes this movie worthwhile.
The feature film is presented both in Japanese and dubbed in English. The English version has known actors as Steve Burton (Cloud Strife), Rachael Leigh Cook (Tifa Lockheart), Mena Suvari (Aerith Gainsborough), and George Newburn (Sephiroth). (I find it amusing that Newburn who voices the ultimate good guy on Justice League as Superman is the ultimate bad guy in FF VII)
The DVD extras are plentiful and very helpful. Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Story Digest is a great recap for those not familiar or forgot the storyline from the game. The Distance featurette is a 30-minute documentation by those involved and a total eye-opener to the thinking behind the themes and work that went into this movie. There is also the 25-minute edited version of the movie that was presented at the Venice Film Festival. A few deleted scenes and sneak peeks to the upcoming Final Fantasy VII games round up the extras.
Final Fantasy: Advent Children is going to have a mixed reaction by those who watch it. I m sure the hardcore fans will find no fault with it. Others will look at the mind-numbing dialogue and wonder where this diatribe originated. But if you can get past all of that it just might be an enjoyable action-packed adventure. I think I enjoyed it more than I expected after having reservations from the last CGI movie.
I think it brought back a smile to my face and a healthy does of geekiness back into my life.
This review is part of "The Great Geek Write Off" hosted by Freak369. It's time to release your inner geek.
______________________________
Disc One:
Feature Film
Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Story Digest
Disc Two:
The Distance : Making of Featurette
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Venice Film Festival Footage
Sneak Peek of Upcoming Final Fantasy VII Games
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Related Reviews
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
FF VII: Advent Children has an advantage over FF: The Spirits Within it continues the storyline from the hit 1997 Playstation game Final Fantasy VII. The fan base has already been established with the game and fans have been patiently awaiting a sequel to it. Director Tetsuya Nomura finally does so but with a twist instead of another game he decided to make a feature film. But the biggest question on everyone's mind is this: does one need to know the game in order to enjoy this movie? The answer is no, but it doesn't hurt if you already know the game.
Wanted: One Despondent Hero
Two years have passed since the Final Fantasy VII game, and a disease called "Geostigma" has started infecting the people around the planet. This disease is the result of the body trying to overcompensate in fighting off this foreign material that infected everyone two years ago.
Cloud Strife is infected with Geostigma and has lost all hope in life. There is no known cure and he's decided to let the disease take its course rather than fight back. He is guilt-ridden by past events that still haunt him and has decided to live a life of seclusion away from his friends, even though he still maintains Strife s Delivery Service located in Tifa Lockheart s bar.
But trouble always seems to find Cloud as a trio of brothers Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo come looking for him. They are looking for their mother and seem to think Cloud knows where she is. They also claim to have a cure for the plague, but really hide a more sinister plan: to revive Sephiroth and bring about the destruction of the planet. It s up to Cloud, Tifa, and the rest of the characters from the game to stop this plan. But in order to that they all need to work together to get past the behemoth dragon known as Bahamut. Can even they survive an experience like that, and if they do, will they even be ready Sephiroth s second coming?
And even if they survive all of that, will they ever find a cure for Geostigma?
Looking at Life Through a Different Pair of Lens
I ve always enjoyed the Final Fantasy series and was there from the start. The attraction to the whole thing comes from the fantasy aspect of the title. If one can suspend disbelief for this world, then things will start making much more sense. I had to remind myself of this when watching the incredible action sequences.
Everybody in this world seems to have Spider-Man-like agility and has the uncanny knack of always landing on their feet. The fighting sequences whether it by on motorcycles or on top of very tall buildings or even fighting a dragon are choreographed spectacularly with camera movements and angles unlike I ve ever seen before. It s quick-paced and action-filled, something that was sorely missing from FF: The Spirits Within. This is what the fans of Final Fantasy want to see and I don t think disappointment is a word that will be uttered from their mouths when referring to this subject.
But as much as the pacing of the fight scenes are on par with excellence, the rest of the movie tends to move much more slowly, so much so that it can drag on for no apparent reason. And this is where my realization started to kick in. Despite its glorious and outlandish renditions on an exterior level, it has always had an introspective look on life and how it affects the human core.
The themes of self-doubt, discovery of one s self, rising to overcome human frailties, and redemption have always been at the heart of the matter. It s no different with this movie, and it resonates brightly. The Eastern culture has always looked inward for answers and tries to present it with different symbols that sometimes befuddle the Western world s thinking of things. I had to remind myself of this and try to look at this movie from another point of view. I had to learn to be patient again, something I ve noticed that has been slipping away from me.
The story can be a bit baffling at times especially when leading up to the climatic scenes. Actually, therein lies the problem to the film it s hard to tell when the build up occurs, and the climax of the scene seems somewhat anticlimactic.
Just like its predecessor FF: The Spirits Within, the CGI animation is out of this world. Everything looked realistic, but not to the point that you actually believed that this was shot live. The producers realized that the rules of making this movie had to be thrown out the door, and they had to make their own rules that worked for their film. Again, the word fantasy was it the core of this undertaking and so there was a fine line between reality and fantasy. I still believe that if a super hero movie was done in this format, it would be beyond anything that has been seen before.
The music is beautiful. I have always loved and enjoyed the musical arrangements by composer Nobuo Uematsu. His themes of love, friendship and redemption are always evident whether it is through a classical orchestra or rock and roll accompaniment. The soundtrack alone makes this movie worthwhile.
The feature film is presented both in Japanese and dubbed in English. The English version has known actors as Steve Burton (Cloud Strife), Rachael Leigh Cook (Tifa Lockheart), Mena Suvari (Aerith Gainsborough), and George Newburn (Sephiroth). (I find it amusing that Newburn who voices the ultimate good guy on Justice League as Superman is the ultimate bad guy in FF VII)
The DVD extras are plentiful and very helpful. Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Story Digest is a great recap for those not familiar or forgot the storyline from the game. The Distance featurette is a 30-minute documentation by those involved and a total eye-opener to the thinking behind the themes and work that went into this movie. There is also the 25-minute edited version of the movie that was presented at the Venice Film Festival. A few deleted scenes and sneak peeks to the upcoming Final Fantasy VII games round up the extras.
Final Fantasy: Advent Children is going to have a mixed reaction by those who watch it. I m sure the hardcore fans will find no fault with it. Others will look at the mind-numbing dialogue and wonder where this diatribe originated. But if you can get past all of that it just might be an enjoyable action-packed adventure. I think I enjoyed it more than I expected after having reservations from the last CGI movie.
I think it brought back a smile to my face and a healthy does of geekiness back into my life.
This review is part of "The Great Geek Write Off" hosted by Freak369. It's time to release your inner geek.
______________________________
Disc One:
Feature Film
Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Story Digest
Disc Two:
The Distance : Making of Featurette
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Venice Film Festival Footage
Sneak Peek of Upcoming Final Fantasy VII Games
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Related Reviews
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Review ID: 10000000000924170
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