Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

The year is 2065, and the planet of Earth is far removed from the place that it was in the past. Deadly alien creatures known as Phantoms have appeared all over the planet, and mere contact with these entities is lethal, whether it be an instant death or a prolonged decline. In order to try and salvage what little of the human race is left, large force-field barriers have been constructed around certain cities to repel the Phantoms.

Seeking a more permanent solution to this invasion are scientists Aki Ross and her mentor, Dr. Sid, whose investigations have revealed that there exists a form of spiritual, Gaia energy that can eradicate the Phantom's presence from this world. Aki and Sid aren't alone in their quest through Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within; the human council and the military squad "Deep Eyes" are ready to help. Not everyone is convinced of this plan though.

Aki, Sid, Grey, and their allies have to band together against forces both alien and human if they are to have any chance at restoring peace to Earth. An enemy whose mere touch is fatal, the Phantoms appear the more dangerous enemy, but as they will come to find out, their human nemeses are also not to be trifled with.

Ross, Aki Main

Toda, Keiko Japanese

Edwards, Gray Main

Koyama, Rikiya Japanese

Dr. Sid Main

Kobayashi, Kiyoshi Japanese

Whitaker, Ryan Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Fleming, Neil Supporting

Gotou, Atsushi Japanese

Hein, Douglas Supporting

Isobe, Tsutomu Japanese

Proudfoot, Jane Supporting

Karasawa, Jun Japanese

Sakaguchi, Hironobu Director, Script

L'Arc~en~Ciel Theme Song Performance

Hyde Theme Song Composition

Fabian, Lara Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Jan 6, 2008

Lirael

Recommended

Despite what people say, this film was not awful. Okay, it didn't quite match up to the magical, epical, astounding, spellbinding, memorable, groundbreaking quality of the game series, but think of it as a normal SciFi movie and you'll be fine. That's right, SciFi. It's not really what I would classify as fantasy.

The story was quite simple, but decent enough. It had some good qualities, but nothing new. There were a couple of unexpected moments, some romance, action, and some interesting ideas. However, it wasn't nearly as good as what people hoped it to be. I preferred it to Advent Children since it was a ... story in its own right, but it doesn't compare to the game series.

The animation was astounding; the characters looked almost as real as they possibly could have done. For its time, it's groundbreaking. Better than the animation in FFVIII, which was being made at the same time.

The character voices were well cast and the music was serene. It added to the atmosphere, and all those sound effects we take for granted well sleak and done to perfection.

Characters were nice, and better than the plot. Each was unique and, while I didn't learn a lot about them during the film, I felt they were created well.

Considering its length, the time, and the fact it's a part of a series which is loved by millions, I would certainly say this movie is under-rated. It's not got much of a re-watch value, but I'd certainly say go and watch it once. Watch it with an open mind, and forget it's called "Final Fantasy". Think of it as nothing more than "The Spirits Within", and enjoy it for what it is, not what many people hoped it would be.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 6, 2009

keitybg

Mixed Feelings

Fine, first I want to specify that I watched the anime quite a long ago, a year or two ago I guess. I haven't played the games, so I can say with no mental self-accusations that this was the better part of Final Fantasy movies. For me.

Story - it wasn't something veeery special, still, at least you understood what is going on and that stuff, which in Advent Children was possible only for who has already played the game. There is no game Final Fantasy on this particular story I think and that is one of the good sides, I guess, because you watch it ... like a separate film, with a different story, different characters and etc. So I must say to the non-fans of Advent Children/people who hasn't played the games - better watch this, I don't say it is a really good movie, but the story is comprehensible and you won't get tha-a-at bored as if you watch Advent Children ;)

Art - oh, it wasn't really good, it was Amazing... You watch the characters as if they are real human beings.. :) (better than Advent Children, I have the feeling xD)

Sound - I don't remember it very precisely, but the soundtrack wasn't bad and the other sounds were a fine piece of workmanship.

Character - trite. You see, there wasn't anything interesting about them. I can't even remember them, just that woman, the main character, and her beloved.

Enjoyment - fair, I guess, because of the art, it really smashed me up(it was one of the first movies that I had watched with so realistic graphics then) and some of the action scenes weren't bad...

Overall, I recommend it as a killer of time and as a really good 3D art movie, which has nothing to do with Advent Children as story, but for people, who haven't played the game and won't be angry if they don't like the film, would be a gulp of fresh air. :)

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 18, 2012

World_of_Cassia

Not Recommended

Where in the world do I begin with this train wreck of a movie?

The plot is the essentially a clone of other Final Fantasy movies and has more or less the same story arc we've all seen a thousand times before in sci-fi and anime. What makes all those other countless identical films superior to this one is exposition. Flashbacks, memories, narrative storytelling, correlated events - all of these are what give a tale depth and interest. Sadly, none of that is seen here, just a series of events given in one block of time. The closest we ever come to any dimension added ... to the characters are the little tidbits they happen to drop in conversation with others. However, without compelling imagery, the words are just as flat as the script on which they were written.

The one saving grace is the CG artwork, which was crisp, defined, and of good enough quality. Again, though, the "phantoms" practically had generic written all over them. Less-than-material creatures that glow a lot and eat spirits - anyone else getting a little déjà-vu yet?

So, once again, the amazing video game franchise is slightly cheapened with another badly made movie. It would have been just another mediocre bit for the masses, but unfortunately, every other film-maker did it first, and every other film-maker did it better.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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