Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete

Most people probably remember back in the day when the original Final Fantasy Advent Children (FFAC) movie came out and they watched it. Animation was superb but it just didn't piece together like it should have. Heaps of holes throughout the movie made it hard for non-die-hard fans to enjoy the movie.

Final Fantasy Advent Children Complete (FFACC) is like its title says: "Complete". This movie is what the original should have been.

-STORY- 8/10
Well the story is pretty much the same as the original. However is it by far superior as most major holes have finally been filled. Instead of characters just appearing somewhere, the movie ... actually shows them getting there (or planning to). Vague events that were hard to understand are given more detail and are better explained. Instead of random characters appearing out of the blue and becoming main characters, we get to see their background. Denzel's background for example is now explained and he's not just some random kid who lives with Tifa for no reason.

There are now enough explanations in the movie for a person who has never played Final Fantasy 7 to actually understand what is going on. Although having played the game would still be highly recommended.

Only major flaw that remains in plot now is that Cid, Barret, Yuffie and the rest of the gang were once again very abruptly introduced. (Also a minus on characters)

-ART- 10/10
Not only was all of FFACC animation remastered to look spectacular in HD, but with the addition of many new scenes which were made with current-day technology, the movie is once again the top of the top in the animation industry. Anyone who doesn't watch this movie in HD has no idea what they are missing out on.

-SOUND- 10/10
The music score is done by Nobuo Uematsu who also does the music for the games. Perfect as always.
The sounds of swords clashing, guns firing and explosions during intense action scenes were very satisfying.

-CHARACTER- 8/10
Denzel is no longer some random kid who teleported into the world of Final Fantasy. All the characters have more screentime now. Zack now plays a larger role which should satisfy Crisis Core fans.

Major flaw in characters is that the three "baddies" seemed to have had a very vaguely explained entry into the movie. Still was an improvement over the original movie however.

-ENJOYMENT- 10/10
Being the big Final Fantasy fan that I am, I very much enjoyed this movie. Especially with all the epic action and fight scenes that barrage the viewer nonstop after a certain point. Anyone who isn't particularly interested in Final Fantasy would likely find this movie enjoyable for the action alone.

-OVERALL- 9/10
This movie was what the original movie should have been. Most flaws have been erased and there is plenty of new material to satisfy anyone who has already seen the original movie. Highly recommended to all Final Fantasy fans.

Notes:
-FFACC has roughly 30 minutes of additional content compared to the original movie. The location of the new content is not all bunched up but rather spread throughout the entire movie.
-All scenes have been remastered to look great in HD. However, the newly added scenes seem look sharper than the remastered scenes from the old movie.
-Denzel actually helps out now and isn't a waste of pixels.

Ok, thins movie doesn't get as much credit as it should due to the first one. This is a must see for anyone not just Final Fantasy fans.

STORY

If you've seen the first one, you know it has alot of fan service by having all their favorite characters in the movie. It still has that and more, it fills all the plot holes and unanswered questions and other things that made you think "wtf?" All in all the story is well told.

ART

CGI graphics have never looked better than they do in Advent Children Complete. Let me just say that Blue-Ray DOES make a difference.

... SOUND

Is situational, I have a surround sound system that made it seem life like, but as I said before it's all situational.

CHARACTER

In Advent Children Complete, the characters are more developed then they were in the original. Take Denzel for example, in the first one he is a completely new character with no background. In Complete they bridge that gap by explaining how and why he's living with Cloud and Tifa.

ENJOYMENT

The fight scenes are amazing! They're extended a little more than in the original. The story is easier to follow and the graphics will keep you in awe the entire movie.

Oh Final Fantasy VII... how you fill me with despair. You know, I really do like Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core was my first taste of Final Fantasy in general and I still adore it to this day, I had a lot of fun playing through the original PS1 game and I still enjoy playing it every now and then, I loved watching Advent Children with my buddies back in middle school, scouring the Final Fantasy wikia for plot information on all these obscure OVAs and games I could never watch or play because I was too stupid to look them up online, and all ... that shit. If only I could've stayed a stupid 12-year-old fanboy with no taste for just a little while longer. Unfortunately, tastes change over time and then you realise there's more stuff out there than you gave credit for.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children by and large is nothing but fan service. If you've never even played through the PS1 game (let alone looked up the plot details on the Final Fantasy wikia if you can't be fucked to play through a 3-disc game from 1997), you're not gonna understand a lick of what's going on and chances are you'll probably hate it. What I fail to understand is how the blokes at Square Enix thought it would be a good idea to make a FILM sequel to a VIDEO GAME. Did Final Fantasy VII become the .hack// franchise overnight or am I missing something here? Why couldn't we get a video game sequel in the first place? Oh well, what's done is done and there's no changing that now is there?

My biggest gripe with Advent Children is that it feels like Square Enix just hastily slapped this together and threw it out to the fans because they knew that Final Fantasy VII fanboys and fangirls will buy it and eat it up without a second thought. Say what you will about the PS1 game but there was a lot of thought and effort put into making it and for the time, it was revolutionary. You'd think that such a game would get a fitting sequel, right? Well no, it's just a sequel for the sake of being sequel. The story feels like fan fiction to such a large degree that it's not even funny. Sephiroth has a fanclub consisting of three "brothers" who want to revive him with the remains of JENOVA, they travel on motorbikes, and get into a swordfight with Cloud because why the fuck not? It looks cool, right? That's just one example, by the way.

Honestly, I could forgive this were it not for the fact that Square Enix in their infinite wisdom decided to omit around ~30 minutes worth of footage from the original DVD release of the movie and only decided to include it in the "complete" release on Blu-ray. Way to screw fans out of their money, guys. What's next? Are you guys gonna slap together a clip show made entirely out of clips from the original video game in a vain hope to get people who didn't play it to understand the story? Wait... they actually DID do that. Come on! Why couldn't you guys just make a 30 minute summary of the game with updated animation that matches the rest of the film's?! That's just a gigantic middle finger to anyone who actually bought the movie, especially given how Square Enix went all out with the rest of the movie's budget.

If there's one redeeming quality that Advent Children has, it's the production values. Seriously, this movie came out 10 years ago and it's still unmatched in terms of production values. Not even the third Berserk movie can come anywhere close. The English dub of the movie's also quite lovely to say the least, but it does have one nasty little problem: a REALLY bad case of lip-lock. Remember how Akira had the voices pre-recorded before Katsuhiro Otomo et al began animating the film? Well, Square Enix in their infinite wisdom decided to do that. Whilst the ADR crew did their best to make the performances feel natural, you can kinda tell that they slipped up every now and then. Aside from the fact that some lines don't quite match up with the mouth movements, there's also a few rather odd translations thrown into the mix. If you want to know what I'm talking about, the Japanese onomatopoeia for a zipper is translated to "dilly-dally, shilly-shally" (which never ceases to make me cringe when I hear it). I don't think I need to go any further than that, really.

Now where does this leave Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children? Honestly, it's mediocre entertainment for the sake of being mediocre entertainment. If you're in the mood for a senseless action movie with great production values, this certainly fits the bill but then again, movies like Akira, all three films in the Berserk: The Golden Age Arc trilogy, and Ninja Scroll already fit the bill there and then some. Plus, you don't have to play through a ridiculously long PS1 game to properly understand what goes on in those movies either. Fans of Final Fantasy VII have been voicing their thoughts on this movie for years. The bulk of them enjoy it, but there are people like me who don't particularly care much for it anymore. Whether or not you'll enjoy it is a matter for you and you alone to decide. Anyway, that's all for now. Feedback is always welcome, and with that I'm out. Peace :)

I'm not one to say much. So here I go.

So very long, but soooo worth it. I have been sitting infront of the television for hours and couldn't rip my eyes away the entire time.

And now my eyes are in squinty-stinging agony. Crap.

Nothing much to say, except if you loved the original Final Fantasy with good 'ol blockyness flyin everywhere, this will officially blow...your...MIND. Watch it and discover its amazingness-ness yourself. . do it. Now. Yes, now. ...
Yes. That is all.

Story-9
... Art-10
Sound-10
Character-9
Enjoyment-10
Overall-10

The Lifestream is the name we call the living flow of energy that courses throughout the planet. It flows through every living thing, from the tiniest ant to the tallest tree, and even through people like you and me. When a person is born, they come from the Lifestream... And when people die, their souls return to it. Unfortunately, as it turns out, the Lifestream can also be harvested. The Shinra Company, the people who first discovered this, found a way to convert it into Mako energy. It powered our technology, lit our lights, and made our lives comfortable, ... but at a heinous price... The planet only had a finite amount of Lifestream to offer, and we were draining it dry, slowly killing it for our own benefit. Fearing for the future of humanity, a small group of heroes banded together to stand up to Shinra, which inadvertently drew them into a much larger conflict involving Shinra’s shadier practices... A former soldier, Sephiroth, the unholy result of an infusion of both Mako and the cells of an ancient alien, soon entered the conflict.

The battles they waged, the journey they endured, and the consequences they faced would become the material of legend... But in the end, it was the planet itself that saved us from extinction, stopping the advance of a giant meteor mere inches before it could make contact with the ground. Maybe it was their failure that angered it... Maybe it was our arrogance. Maybe it was the fact that our so-called heroes actually stopped Shinra from trying to destroy the meteor to save us. Whatever the reason, a new disease was born shortly after their story ended... It’s called Geostigma, and while it’s exact nature is unclear, it’s related in some genetic way to the ancient alien, Jenova. It’s claimed many lives so far... Men, women, and children have been wasting away while this strange flesh consuming disease spread across their bodies faster than any illness ever known to us. The future of our species, once believed to be saved, is more uncertain than it ever has been. With new threats coming seemingly out of nowhere, will our heroes, now scattered to the wind, be able to unite in time to stop the revival of Sephiroth and cure Geostigma? Or is the time of man truly coming to an end?

Unlike most anime, this movie wasn’t actually made by any known anime production company... It was animated by Square Enix, the owners of the Final Fantasy games,which of course get more and more visually impressive with each release(over-all quality notwithstanding). It’s also probably the best looking CG anime I’ve ever seen, which wouldn’t be saying much if it wasn’t for the fact that it was animated in 2005, and even the most recent CG anime releases... such as Oblivion Island and Knights of Sidonia... Look like creepy, frozen-faced marionette garbage. It’s really easy to attribute visual quality in animation to budget, but then you have to look at films like the Berserk Golden Age Trilogy, which had gobs of money to spare, but was so poorly directed that they almost appeared to be over-animated. I don’t know off-hand whether or not Advent Children had a budget that was comparable to the Berserk movies, but it looks infinitely better. It’s insane to think this movie is eleven years old, with just how wonderfully articulate and expressive the character’s faces are. They even look believably Japanese, a surprising rarity in the anime medium.

The film’s visual quality gets even more impressive when you remove the comparison to the anime medium, however, because I’m not even kidding when I say that it’s animation and artwork put Pixar to shame. Remember Wall-E, the movie where a little robot roams all alone through a deserted planet full of garbage and debris? The ruins of Midgar alone take this idea to an extreme, as you can make out each and every piece of garbage and twisted scrap metal in stunning detail, sometimes even in shots that only last a few seconds. Every single piece of fabric moves accurately in regard to it’s make-up, from wool to leather, the framing is nothing short of professional, and this is probably the only animated entity I’ve ever seen where everybody’s hair looks and moves like actual hair. Considering how the popular company Rooster Teeth has huge problems with character’s hair clipping into them, and even Disney has to simplify hair design just to make ends meet, this is one aspect of animation where Advent Children is ahead of a time that hasn’t even happened yet. The backgrounds and depth of field are breath taking, the combat is fast and easy to follow(at least in the Complete edition), and the characters move so fluidly that it’s not hard to forget you’re watching motion capture and not real people.

As for the music, do I even have to say anything? Advent Children’s music was composed by the same man who’s name was attached to every Final Fantasy game so far save for Thirteen, with many of the tracks from the original seventh game brought back, some of which have been given kick-ass theatrical enhancements. Yeah, Nobuo Uematsu accomplish do a lot under the heavy limits of video game soundtracks at the time FF7 came out, but with a full orchestra at his disposal, I can’t help but imagine that the tunes in this movie were what was going through his mind when he was composing the original, simpler versions. If nothing else, this movie is worth watching just for the new and enhanced versions of One Winged Angel and J-E-N-O-V-A. Several older tunes like the Main Theme, Tifa’s Theme and the immortal Aerith’s theme have been brought back in a more respectful manner, which they deserve, with their only real changes being in pace and instrumentation. Several new tracks have also been created, and while pretty much all of it is awesome enough to listen to both in and out of context, a few stand-outs include For the Reunion, Divinity II, Those Who Fight Further, and Black Water.

As for the English dub... Ho boy, I may have to dilly dally on this one. See what I did there? Sorry. Well, I guess I should start on a positive note, Reno’s interpretation outstanding. They hired Quentin Flynn for the role, which was probably a spot of type casting thanks to his previous ginger character, Axl from Kingdom Hearts. He plays the star of the Turks as a cocky goofball, a well-meaning screw-up with ironic charm to spare. I’m not sure if this counts as a spoiler, because everybody knows going in that this character was going to show up sooner or later, but Sephiroth is also really well done, as George Newbern plays him from the perspective of the only character he ever interacts with, Cloud... This calls for him to be calm and condescending, with a flow of diabolic intent that’s just barely contained by his assured demeanor, and George nails it, while Lance Bass sits in a corner somewhere feeling lonely and unloved. I wish I could say anything as positive about Crispin Freeman, but the undisputed God of deep voices goes wasted in the role of Rude, whose knack for saying very little has carried over from the game.

There are a couple of other performances that are decent, such as Steve Blum as Vincent and Steve Staley as Kadaj, and the child actors are surprisingly okay, but everyone else is crap. I really wanna be nice to Steve Burton and Rachel Leigh Cook and say that they could have been good if their roles as the main characters Cloud and tifa hadn’t been written so terribly, and it should have taken far, far better actors to play them as more than just a whiny emo and a nagging fishwife, but even taking those circumstances into account, it just doesn’t sound like either of them brought their A-Game. Cook just sounds confused by the incoherent lines of love interest dialogue she was given, which is kind of fair considering how badly translated a lot of her material was, and Burton just sounds like he found one particular pitch to speak from and started holding onto it as a safe place that he never strayed too far from. Also, I’m probably the only person who actually liked Mandy Moore’s performance as Aerith in Kingdom Hearts 1, and the woman they replaced her with... Mena Suvari... Is just as terrible here as she was in Kingdom Hearts 2. It’s not like she had a difficult role, either.

I’m not sure whether to blame writing or acting for the rest of the problems, like Beau Billingslea quoting Mr. T in the role of Barret, Greg Ellis playing Cait Sith with a Scottish accent, or Wally Wingert playing Rufus Shinra like he just got a fresh enema, but holy crap, Christy Carlson Romano is horrible as Yuffie. What happened there? She was outstanding as Kim Possible, and was even impressive playing this same character in the Kingdom Hearts games. I’m going to have to call out the writing and translation team once again, because the way this dub is written is just bafflingly terrible. It sounds like human speech for the most part, but the awkward pauses the characters make when delivering their lines to try and match the lip flaps look nowhere near natural. Several lines were changed from the original DVD release in the complete edition, but being the geniuses that they are, they didn’t change the three... Count them, three... Utterances of the phrase “Dilly-Dally, Shilly-Shally,” which is a phrase so widely maligned that people won’t even make a meme out of it, even though pretty much anyone who hears it instantly remembers exactly where it came from. I’d recommend the sub over the dub, but if i’m being completely honest, only the original release had the original Japanese dialogue included in a subtitle track, and the tracks in the complete edition are just word for word transcriptions of the dub. Well, at least the Japanese version isn’t as bad with the lip-synching.

There are spoilers beyond this point, for both the game and the movie.

Now, before I start talking about whether or not this film works, I’m going to have to discuss what it was about the original game that worked so well, because in the end, the game is what this movie was trying to be... It was trying to capture lightning in a bottle all over again with a retread of one of the most successful game in history. A lot of people call Final Fantasy 7 needlessly complicated, incoherent and full of emo pandering, but you know what? I call bullshit on all charges. Sure, if you’re looking at the big picture all at once, final Fantasy 7 can appear to be uninviting and poorly thought out, but when you’re actually playing it, experiencing it beat for beat with patience and a lot of time to spare, this game had a surprisingly simple story that never piled on too much information once and never really needed to give you time to catch up with it. Sure, there were a few things that didn’t make sense until too far in, and understanding the history of Jenova and the Cetra takes way too much outside studying and Al Bhed usage, but the information you WERE given was smartly executed.

The story and plot were also very generously paced, particularly in regard to the world-building, the nature of the planet Gaia, and Cloud’s character arc. Yeah, I know he has a reputation for being emo, but that was actually a very small part of his journey. He started out the game as kind of a cocky asshole, but over time... Especially after meeting Aerith... He grew and opened up, connecting with his new friends and finding a strength he didn’t know he had. He eventually spiraled into depression when he realized that the very memories that gave him confidence were all lies, but he came out of it, replacing the false strength that pushed people away with a new strength that drew them closer, turning him into a true leader and, ironically, a true Soldier. You didn’t need to know very much about Sephiroth’s origins, Jenova’s origins or the Cetra to know exactly where you were supposed to be or what your next objective was, which was all you, Cloud, needed to know at any given time.

I haven’t experienced all of the different sequels, prequels and spin-offs of this game, but one thing the ones I have been through all have in common is that they break away from Cloud’s story, expanding on details that never needed to be expanded upon, like Zack’s backstory and the history of Jenova, elements that had originally stayed peacefully in the background, but now with more attention on them, they expose more and more inconsistencies and incoherent details that probably should have stayed buried under the story of the silent protagonist. This game never needed a lore, and now that it has one, it’s just become over-complicated. Advent Children focuses on the story of Cloud, which is generally the right way too go, but their version of what made the game work so well seems to be “Emo hero fighting white-haired bishie villain over top of an environmental message.” They delivered on that premise, which is unfortunate, because the game ended in such a way that none of that really sounds viable for a sequel. And I’m sorry, but it really isn’t.

So how did they start the movie with an emo Cloud, after all the development that he went through in the game? They decided to focus on an aspect of cloud’s character that the game never did; They made him feel guilty about letting Aerith die. Yes, when we meet Cloud, he’s retreated from human most contact, taken a job as a delivery boy, and refuses to help anyone because he failed to do so... Once. There are several reasons this doesn’t work, the first one being that newcomers to the franchise have no idea who Aerith even is, let alone what she means to Cloud and how she died. Even veterans will likely not care, as Aerith’s death is one of the most relentlessly over-exposed moments in Final Fantasy history, and oh yeah, there’s one other thing... Cloud never blamed himself for her death. In the game, he blamed Sephiroth, and he understood what her sacrifice was. Any regret he had over it was defined by the reveal that he wasn’t a real soldier, and that he’s not as capable as he thought he was. So the first selling point of this movie falls flat, because a brooding self-hating Cloud is a false Cloud who can only exist by retconning all of his upwards development.

But what about Sephiroth? You can’t make a Final Fantasy 7 movie without the most iconic villain in video game history, can you? But bringing him back abruptly would just feel like a cheap ass-pull. Advent children decides to have it’s cake and eat it too by saving Sephiroth’s revival for the climax of the movie, giving it the necessary build-up, but satiating the fans by giving Cloud three NEW androgynous white-haired villains to fight... Sephiroth’s clones, Huey, Dewey and Louis. Yes, I know that’s not their real names, but I refuse to spend this entire review typing out the name “Yazoo.” There’s some depth to these characters, as they respectively represent Sephiroth’s ambition, strength and charm, and they’re pretty cool in a fight, but everything else about them is confusing and convoluted. Where did they come from? Did Hojo create them? Were they ordinary babies splashed with Mako, like the ooze and the Ninja Turtles? How do they know about Cloud? How do they even know about Sephiroth? And then you have their plan... Give me a minute.

So, their plan is to find Jenova’s severed head, but the Turks get to it first. How did either side find it? Nobody knows. They can apparently track her to the middle of nowhere, but can’t tell when she’s three feet in front of them. They follow the Shinra to Midgar, and decide the head must be hidden under a huge monument to the people lost two years ago, even though the timelines aren’t even remotely close. They kidnap children, take them to a mystic land of white trees, and brainwash them to be servants... Why? So they can stand in a very loose circle around the monument while Dewey and Louis search in broad daylight. Hell, the kids attract more attention to them than waiting until night and searching in silence would have, and this wide child-gate doesn’t even keep out Rude and Rino. Would using cloud’s stolen materia to summon Bahamut to search the monument at night been smarter? Yes, yes it would.

They tried to implement depth by exploring the theme of forgiveness, but since Cloud’s quest to have a dead girl and himself both extrend him the olive branch feels untrue and hollow, let’s explore the more important forgiveness-seekers, The Turks. After all, it’s their drive to be forgiven by the world that sets the plot in motion, right? Hell no. First of all, what they’re looking for is vindication, proof that they didn’t cause the geostigma outbreak. What they should be asking forgiveness for is murdering millions of people by collapsing Sector seven, but that horrible, depraved act isn’t actually mentioned in this film outside of a Blu-Ray only look at Denzel’s backstory in a special feature. But speaking of Denzel, and leaving the ‘theme of forgiveness’ crap behind, this is one of the few things about the movie that kind of works... The Geostigma.

In the Complete Edition, you finally get the full lowdown on what this outbreak really is, since it was all cut from the original DVD for time and pacing. I think. After the planet saved humanity from Meteor, the Lifestream somehow became mixed with Jenova cells, thus resulting in the spread of her genetic material to millions of people. It’s a disease that’s killing millions, and it acts very nicely as a ticking time bomb for the movie, as well as an excuse to show Cloud hallucinating about Aerith. Sure, there are a FEW hiccups in the plotline, like the discovery that cloud has been looking for a cure, despite the fact that he really doesn’t seem like the scientific type, and the eventual conclusion to this plot line is so happy and inspirational, you’ll get so many feels that you won’t even realize the disturbing implication that Aerith’s spirit was basically letting millions of people die while she waited for cloud to get his groove back to disperse the cure. Yeah. It’s not set in stone that that’s what happens, but come on, the cure was water hiding under the flower garden in her church, just waiting to get blown up in battle. And Aerith is acknowledged as being attached to the water, probably because she died of drowning after Cloud lowered her subconscious, paralyzed body into a lake(thanks, Game Theory!).

So Advent Children fails at recapturing the magic of the game, it fails at doing it’s main cast justice, it fails at thematic writing, and it fails to put together a flowing narrative. Does it do anything right on the surface? Does it work as a popcorn-munching action movie, or even as pure fanservice? Well, yes, it actually does those things. As I mentioned in the animation portion, the fight scenes throughout this film are outstanding, highly imaginative and beautifully directed clashes that are all memorable in their own way, and have stood the test of time as major inspirations on CG animation. The battle of Bahamut Sin was likely a huge influence on the nevermore fight in the first season of RWBY, which was also the point that convinced a lot of people to not drop the series. And speaking of the Bahamut fight, this movie features appearances from all your favorite Final Fantasy 7 characters, all crowbarred into the movie with about as much purpose and grace as the cast of Street Fighter 2: The Animated movie, so yeah, not a very high bar there. Still, if you’re looking to see your favorite game’s characters in a CG movie that gives them all at least a few seconds to shine(before pissing you off with some stupid Shera flyby scene) then yeah, at least it has that to offer.

Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children Complete Edition is available on Blu-Ray from Sony Pictures home Entertainment for a surprisingly low price. The original DVD, released stateside in 2007, is also available through all the same sources. The soundtrack CD can be purchased through Amazon, along with several other renditions on the home video release. The original game is difficult to find online for an affordable price unless you’re willing to take a chance on a lesser quality used copy on Ebay, so if you don’t mind an alternative recommendation, I would highly suggest Final Fantasy 9, which I consider to be the actual best game in the franchise thus far, and it’s brand new on Amazon for only fifteen dollars. If you’re dead set on a brand new copy of VII, happy hunting.

When I bought the complete edition of this movie, I did so with the expectation that it would present me with a more complete story and a more easy to understand plot. As it turns out, the anime-style Denzel backstory in the special features was far more revealing to me than the extra footage was. I don’t think I saw a single new scene that wasn’t better off left on the cutting room floor. They wrecked the pacing, turning a confusing fast movie into a slightly less confusing boring movie, and if I’m starting to sound like I prefer the original to the Complete Edition, well, I do. Whatever complaints I may have had about that headache-machine, this version is decidedly worse, as it’s two hour run-time threatened to put me to sleep. I won’t say it’s not worth watching... Hell, I won’t say it’s not worth owning, as it’s visual and sound qualities are far too outstanding and innovative to not include it in your collection, but the only reason I’d recommend this version over the original is because of the kind of justice that the Blu-Ray format does to it. All the same, it’s still a pretentious piece of fanservice, and those of you who have the ability to turn your brains off probably should. I give Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children Complete Edition a 4/10.

I've heard rumours that there was a director's cut of this movie. I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy VII so i searched out for it. When i saw this i couldn't help but think, this 'director's cut' of the movie should have been the original. They finally fill in the gaps from the 1st, like how reno & rude got to the bridge. As the first one it's just as good if not better, in my opinion of course, it's out in english dub right now but very expensive, well to me. Any big FF7 fans out there, you'll love this movie, its just ... like the old movie only with more scenes

You haven't seen real animation until you've seen this. As of yet, there has been no anime (movie) that can compare with this one. The story is a great follow up. Though it is better for you to know the Final Fantasy VII story-line, its not necessary as the first couple of moments brush you up on the history. Honestly, this anime has the best graphics for an anime. The sword fighting and structure is very good as well. I would recommend this anime to anyone, its a true wonder. The voice's are good both dubbed and subbed ... (for once), the characters are great, and you WILL enjoy this anime.

All the extra footage in this really ties the game and the movie together. The added scenes with Reno and Rude were terrific and the extended fight with Sephiroth at the end was thrilling and beautiful. A definite must for all Final Fantasy fans!

I enjoy the movie very much . The storyline takes place after the events of the Final Fantasy 7 video game. I would give it
Story: 9/10

The Art is outstanding. The graphics and details are amazing especially in blu ray HD version. My eyes feels like its gonna explode any moments with the special effects everywhere
Art: 10/10

The sound an the background music also fits every situation in the story. My favourite part is when Sephiroth Theme Song is played.
Sound: 10/10

The characters are all same from the final fantasy 7 game. Clouds party members which includes Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid , Yuffie and ... Vincent
Character: 9/10

My enjoyment is 10/10 which is outstanding and Overall i would give it a 10/10

This anime requires a distinction between fans of the FF7 universe and those who aren't. For those who aren't, I'd rate it around 5-7 depending on how strict you are with your anime quality. There's simply no way the plot of FF7 can be communicated while developing a whole new story on top of it all in one show. The flaws of the anime don't help much either. The dialogue is withheld, like they are reluctant to speak more than a few lines in a conversation; at times, it's derivative. The characters are entirely unexplained and many of them only have cursory entrances. The ... action involving Cloud and Tifa is solid, but the rest of the original cast of characters from the video game seem to solely exist in order to make a friendship cameo rather than any sensible contribution -- a cameo which newcomers will entirely miss out on and not be so forgiving for why it looks superficially underwhelming.

If you are a fan, this anime is at least an 8 (and I am strict). It's clearly fan service for us, but it's absolutely worth a watch because your familiarity with the universe will fill in the gaps in lore and quality. Several times I had goosebumps watching, especially towards the end. Seeing the characters in "real-time" action like you always imagined while playing is totally bad ass, and the fights play out just as strong as you felt in the game.

However, no matter who you are, it's definitely an upgrade over the previous Advent Children. It's worth watching this version even if you've already seen the original. There're new plot developments that add closure to all the loose ends in the original that you won't want to miss.

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete is a must for all Final Fantasy fans. It is simply outstanding, and ranked among the best anime/animation films I've ever seen.

Story: 9! - The story is simply awesome, and it makes more sense now than before.
Art: 10! - The art is beautiful! I have never seen animation this detailed. Simply outstanding! Square Enix really have some amazing animation skills!
Music: 10! - The music was awesome in the previous movie, and it didn't change! Still awesome music!
Character: 9! - You understand each character better now than before. Denzel, who came out of nowhere kind of ... now have more scenes, and you get to know a lot more about him. Besides from that all the characters are really cool. But there is no use watching, and understanding each of them if you haven't played the game, or researched the characters.
Enjoyment: 10! - I enjoy this movie a lot, and I really want to have all my friends watching it!

I hope there are others who are as pleased with the movie as I am. And for those who haven't watched it, but plan to do, you should not hesitate for long.

This film is one of the few I like.

The story is very good, the return of Sephiroth, caused by hidden molecules in the river and infects many people, it's nice, it's very true to the Final Fantasy universe 7. For me it is a 9/10.

The graphic style is just sublime, 3D is perfect as can be hoped from Square Enix. Just lip sync is not perfect for foreign languages ​​which is a bit disturbing. 10/10

For sound, it's very good, very well, but still, as said before, lip synchronization is sometimes inadequate, but the music is beautiful and sometimes resumed in some winks flagship music games ... like mobile ringing victory music from enemies. 8/10

The characters are good, even very good, but I do not know if it's because I am French, and so I looked in French, but Cloud gives me sometimes want to slam it so it may seem silly. 6/10

But great overall, I still had fun watching this movie, action phases are more than adequate, and that's a big plus point, I really recommend it. 8/10

first i want say something i have one elder brother which is hate anime while i was watching this movie even he was interested movie and we watched together with him he was very liked this movie thats why this movie was really good even anime haters can like this =)
I enjoy the movie very much . The storyline takes place after the events of the Final Fantasy 7 video game. I would give it
Story: 9/10

The Art is outstanding. The graphics and details are amazing especially in blu ray HD version. My eyes feels like its gonna explode any moments with the special ... effects everywhere
Art: 10/10

The sound an the background music also fits every situation in the story. My favourite part is when Sephiroth Theme Song is played.
Sound: 10/10

The characters are all same from the final fantasy 7 game. Clouds party members which includes Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, Cait Sith, Cid , Yuffie and Vincent
Character: 10/10

My enjoyment is 10/10 which is outstanding and Overall i would give it a 10/10
Read more at http://myanimelist.net/anime/2952/Final_Fantasy_VII:_Advent_Children_Complete/reviews#EU4gjcuv6Oz7paeX.99

--Chapter 1: STORY-- (5/10)

If you haven’t played the games, or read any of the doujinshi, you are not going to understand what the hell is going on. No effort is made to explain to the uneducated viewer why all this crazy shit is happening. They just throw you from one scene to another without any explanation as to what the flip is happening and why. Like, why the fuck is Cloud always having an existential crisis? Why is he having flashbacks about his boyfriend in the middle of getting stabbed by Sephiroth? Why are there three random edgy boys talking about their mother? Quite frankly, ... I played the games, and I still don’t understand what’s going on.

But somehow, at the same time, they managed to make the most predictable plot ever. Bad guys talk of reincarnating super bad guy, super bad guy reappears, existential crisis guy takes out super bad guy, world is at peace again. The end.


--Chapter 2: ART-- (10/10)

The art moved me. The fight scenes were fluid, fast-paced, and quite frankly, awe inspiring. It felt like I was watching Fast and Furious. The quality of the art was so intense, I would believe you if you told me this was actually a live action movie.


‘nuff said.

--Chapter 3: SOUND-- (6/10)

ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!

While a lot of the background music is completely forgettable. The sound effects that play during combat scenes make for quite an immersive scene. However, I do have to add… In the complete version… WHY DID THEY ADD THAT FUNKY SWOOSH SOUND EVERY TIME A BLADE PANS ACROSS THE SCREEN. IT MAKES NO SENSE AND BREAKS THE IMMERSION.

There were a few good scores, particularly during the fight scenes. But for the most part, there wasn’t anything that necessarily stood out for Final Fantasy standards.


--Chapter 4: CHARACTER-- (3/10)

I do have to preface this section by stating I have watched the dub version, not the sub. I have heard there are some stark differences in this feature film. Primarily, the voice acting in the dub freaking SUCKS. The characters sound so emotionless, Mitch McConnell sounds enthusiastic. Their voices just sound so bland, their lines are delivered in such a robotic fashion.

Just don’t watch the dub version.


Please.
No, I’m serious. Don’t waste your time with the dub.

--Chapter 5: N-Joy MINT-- (7/10)

Even with all of the fracking terrible flaws I have presented thus far, I found this film to be quite enjoyable. I am not going to claim this is a classic, such as Haneyori Dango, but I will not forget this one any time soon. The fight scenes kept me at the edge of my seat, but the dialogue left quite a bit to be desired. Whenever the dialogue slowed down, oh boy did it slow to a crawl. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep in the middle of viewing some scenes.


--Chapter 6: OVERALL-- (7/10)

Was ‘aight!

I grew up with Nintendo only. No PlayStation. So I didn't play FF7 until I was an adult. I have no nostalgia for it the way I do for Zelda and the like. That said I did watch this movie shortly after spending several months trying to 100% the game (that chocobo breeding stuff takes forever,) so I wasn't a stranger to the source material.

If you haven't played the game you're going to be confused. If you have played the game you're still going to be confused, but for different reasons. It's a weird story, but I guess that's not surprising considering it's Final Fantasy. ... Sephiroth is back but not really but he is. Cloud and friends are all separated now for some reason, but they team up again when a dragon attacks. This dragon is also probably Sephiroth... I think.

Basically if you've ever played a JRPG, just think of that weird third quarter of the game where it gets all existential and your party has to fight cosmic beings that exist outside the fabric of reality by hitting them with an even bigger sword. It has the same energy as the part of the game where stuff stops making any sense, and that's saying a lot for a game where you already have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit just on the setting alone. I don't hate high concept stories, but you can't just go full high concept and then not explain anything. If you need an external wiki to understand the plot then you probably haven't done a very good job as a storyteller.

Anyway 7/10 it had a dragon in it.

I unironically love this movie, it probably wouldn't be a stretch to say that the characterization and symbolism in this rendition of the movie is my favorite of all time. They way how it starts with Cloud trying to become his own person and leave Zacks legacy behind, only for him to then use that legacy later in the movie in order to grow stronger while also developing as a person is amazing to me. Along with Clouds struggle with mental health and his ability to protect those around him, and the inadequacy he feels at his inability to do that. The action at least ... to me, was top notch, I really like how as Cloud grew and learned learned to forgive himself his ability in combat grew as well, with him either having to play super defensive and losing in the beginning, to him defeating Kadajs gang and Sephiroth at the end. I highly doubt anyone will ever see this review, but if someone does, Godspeed, and good luck in the future.