Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

FFVII Advent Children....WOW! What a fantastic movie. This movie literally had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. The action in this was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was fantastic!! There are no other words to describe it other than amazing, incredible, thrilling, and mind-boggling (I don't mean it'll confuse you, but more like a "woah...how the heck did they do that???" kind of way). It's a must see!!

Final Fantasy VII might just be the most influential instalment in the entire FF franchise. It's not my personal favourite and the polygonal graphics certainly don't hold up well compared to most of the other instalments, but it did have an epic story with a grand scale and some fantastic characters. Naturally, Square-Enix decided to take advantage of the game's legacy with a prequel game, a sequel game and some film/OVA adaptations. Most of which were not good. This brings us to Advent Children, quite possibly the best received of all of those tie-ins. The film came out in 2005 with a slightly longer, complete ... version coming out in 2009. We'll be looking at the complete version and asking a simple question. Does it hold up?


Story:

Two years after the events of VII, a strange disease called Geostigma is decimating the populace. With that to be concerned about, Rufus Shinra, who wasn't quite dead, is approached by three silver-haired pretty boys clad in leather and looking for their mother. These are Kadaj, Loz & Yazoo, they call themselves remnants and are after Jenova. Obvious conclusion is obvious. With things starting to move elsewhere Cloud has gone missing due to his own Geostigma affliction.

The biggest issue with this film is just the ending. Everything wraps up far too nicely and easily where the narrative would have really benefited from a more bitter-sweet conclusion. It's like they're afraid to take some risks which is strange given that the source material had plenty of sad and downright depressing moments that added to its gravitas.

That being said, there are plenty of strong moments to Advent Children. The build up and pacing are both fantastic. What the story is building up to is pretty obvious, but it's also compelling enough that you want to see the whole thing unfold. I will also give it credit for holding up pretty well as a sequel. It uses those elements that were already a part of the story and expands on them.

Characters:

The main cast of VII returns, including Aerith & Zack who make their appearances in spirit form. They don't have the same level of development as they did in VII, since that was a three disc game and this is a film that runs for less than two hours. That being said, they're all recognisable and there are some strong character arcs. I will also give them credit for using Cait Sith just enough to get his character across but not enough for him to get to be a nuisance. Cloud in particular has an arc that centres around him learning to rely on his compatriots instead of trying to shoulder everything. The culmination of the whole thing comes up during an action sequence, but it actually works really well. The minor problem with the characters comes in the form of a group of small children. They show up, they have Geostigma and we're supposed to feel sorry for them. Which doesn't really work. I don't know anything about these kids nor am I ever given a compelling reason to care. That being said, there are some strong character moments involving Marlene. So, you can't say that having the children was a complete waste.

Art:

The animation in this is absolutely fantastic. The character designs are nicely upgraded. The action sequences are amazing. The game's world comes across as lively and vivid, with large crowds and sprawling landscapes.

Sound:

It had to be quite the challenge to take characters this iconic and choose just the right actors for them. Fortunately, Square Enix did a pretty stellar job in that department. Sakurai Takahiro, the voice of Rockman X & Kururugi Suzaku, is fantastic as Cloud Strife. Morikawa Toshiyuki gives a strong performance as the One-winged angel himself. Really, there are no bad performances in this. The music is superb, including an excellent rendition of the one-winged angel theme.

Ho-yay:

There isn't any in this.

Final Thoughts:

Advent Children holds up remarkably well, actually. That being said, it's really for fans of the game. Especially since the character investment relies heavily on you already knowing Cloud, Tifa and the others. You can get the gist of the characters and understand what's happening without having played the game, but there's not much reason to be invested in it. For FF VII fans, it's an opportunity to see the characters you know and love in a new adventure with a compelling story in its own right. As well as possessing music, voice acting and artwork that are all top-notch. My final rating is going to stand at an 8/10. Tomorrow I'll forge ahead with film festival week with a review of Love Live: The School Idol film.

I have always been a fan of RPGs, FF7 was one of them. As much as it was a fun game back in the day I can't seem to find that love anymore now that it's buried away with horrible spin offs and merchandise. One major contributor of this(besides that joke of a game, Dirge of Cerberus)is Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children. (oh boy, here comes all the angry fanboys/girls). Also please chill if you don't like my review format and/or structure, this is my first film review.

Graphics and Visuals:
As it is quite visible to anyone, the film was pretty top-notch for visuals and special ... effects. I have to agree overall it was a visual piece nonetheless and it did get a thumbs up for that...though I do find it strange that they lip synced Spirits Within to English and yet not this one. Oh well, what's done is done and I'm cool with it.

Soundtrack:
I must say I did in fact also enjoy the soundtrack. I was always a fan of the Black Mages and their renditions of beloved final Fantasy music and was glad to find that they were involved with the film. Throughout the film it did in fact fit well for setting the mood and did what it supposed to. So another that's a win for music.

Plot and Characters:
This is where things start to go downhill. I was instantly impressed with the stunning visuals and revamped soundtrack but that's where it ended. It just felt like watching another mindless action movie held together by one of the weakest plots imaginable.

Please take note that if you never played the games and are out of the loop about the story you'll have no idea about the backgrounds of the characters or any general history at all, so unless you've played through the game it's pretty much hopeless to see any character development.

It also doesn't really help that the script seemed like it was written by a 14 year old fanfic writer, it was chalked full of cheesy lines and less than meaningful monologues it was sometimes agonizing to listen (If I hear Dilly Dally Shilly Shally one more time...!).

The plot was not much better, it was hard to even really find one actually. From what I can find it's about some angry sephiroth wannabes (clones?) crying over "mother" and attacking the oblivious protagonist just as an excuse to have pretty action scenes.

Overall:
So overall, it looks and sounds pretty but the content otherwise was bland and weak. I personally would not suggest the film to anyone aside from people who just like over the top action scenes with great visuals, besides that it isn't worth it.

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children- where to begin? Many fans of the final fantasy series found the Spirits Within film released in 2001 a dissapointment overall with hardly any connection to the games. The case with this film is completely the opposite. Fans of Final Fantasy VII or the the series itself have to watch this film even Kingdom Hearts fans as they will see familair faces. The film focuses 2 years after the events of Final Fantasy VII the video game. The plot focuses on Cloud the protagonist fighting with a rise of villians and the hardest battle, himself as he believes that he ... is alone and is guilty about his past, lost friends. The film appeals to fans and newcomers to the game series as well as people who just happened to pick it up, the music combines with instruments and there are some classic tunes to put a smile on the Final Fantasy VII fans out there. The characters all make a cameo apperance and have a battle, characters that are new and old enemies. I have shown this film to many people and the one thing they always admire in this film is the artwork and graphics. If there is one thing that will attract people to watch it, it is its timeless and classical graphic work that makes it look so delicous like a PS3 game. After 5 years fans had finally recieved a clasic monument in the Final Fantasy series and non- final fantasy fans who eitheir weren't into the video games now knew what the fuss was about. The only weak point of the story is the character development. However with all the positive factors of this film you can miss it. It will also appeal to the whole family as there is a message in the film about love, family and friendship. My favourite scene in the film is when Tifa fights against Loz to protect Marylene. The scene contains cool matrix scenes and unbelievable fighting moves. This film is combines, cute characters, evil villians, fights, hate, flowers flying in the air and water curing children. It will always be a Final Fantasy gem forever and ever and will always be recommened again and again.

I was very pleased with this movie. I was kind of expecting another "Spirits Within" (which sucked), but this actually stuck to the Final Fantasy world and feel. The story was new and creative, so as not to bore the ones who have played the game before. Even if you haven't played the game it shouldn't be too hard to understand the story. The graphics were amazing. So detailed and great quality. I can only imagine how much work it took to complete this movie. You can tell it was definitely not half-assed. That in itself makes the movie worth watching. I liked the new ... characters that were introduced. The original characters from the game, however, did not meet my expectations. The Cloud I knew from the game had a sense of humor. No chance of that in the movie with his uber emoness. Which I like uber emoness, too, but he just didn't feel like Cloud to me. Maybe in that respect it would be better for people who haven't played the game.

Two years after the defeat of Sephiroth and the devastating attack from Meteor the planet of something or other (I’m pretty sure it’s never been mentioned) is finally getting back on its feet. Those who survived in Midgar have built a new town called “Edge”, situated near the ruins of the former city that was destroyed. Their new found happiness is soon dealt a blow when a mysterious disease known as Geostigma begins to infect children. Cloud Strife, who now runs a delivery service with Tifa Lockheart and their friends is now a victim to the Geostigma, which forces him to go into hiding in ... fear that he cannot protect those he loves any longer. But when Cloud is attacked by three “brothers” he learns of a plot to resurrect his old foe Sephiroth, which has something to do with the arrival of the Geostigma. The brothers then begin to kidnap children, including an orphan named Denzel who lives with Tifa and his sister Marlene. Cloud races to protect the children, while Kadaj and his brothers discover from Rufus Shinra (head of Shinra Company) that their “mother” is in fact the remains of Jenova, who is behind the rise in Geostigma cases. Now, Cloud and Tifa must call upon their greatest friends for the ultimate reunion.

For many gamers their love of the Final Fantasy franchise began in 1997, with the release of Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation. This was the first 3D incarnation in the series, which immediately captured the attention of gamers worldwide, shifting more than nine million units globally. It was also the game that developers Square would take to heart. Arguably it’s still the finest entry in the series to date, and it’s easy to see why. Later instalments have continued to be immensely popular, however there’s a sense with Square that they began to tread familiar ground. Certainly Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX go over the same territory, slightly altering the story of their main protagonists, but staying in line with the same themes of love, life and a universe built upon a mysterious Lifestream. Perhaps Final Fantasy VII is so loved because at the time it presented a narrative like no other in videogames. It also had a fun selection of memorable characters and a world vast enough to become fully immersed in.

“To those who loved this world, and knew friendly company therein: this reunion is for you.”

So, as a tribute to its fans, as a thank you for all their support over the years Square Enix closes the doors on its highly respected masterpiece. It was perhaps an all too brave move for the company, due to the colossal 2001 theatrical bomb that was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which subsequently forced a joint venture between Square Pictures - which was on the verge of bankruptcy - and games developer Enix. However Square Enix have bounced back, more determined than ever to take computer animation to new heights in a bid to secure themselves as being amongst the best CG animators currently working today.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve played Final Fantasy VII, and over the course of nine years or so it’s easy to forget certain things. While many plot elements still stick with me there are others that have simply fizzled into obscurity. That initially brings cause for concern when approaching a movie sequel set two years after the events of that game. The characters and locations instantly cause memories to flood back; there’s no mistaking this world for anything else. But, as Square Enix has already covered, this is a film for fans. So does that pose a threat to those who haven’t sampled the games? In a sense yes. While the storyline is relatively small it’s filled with convoluted elements that only gamers will instantly pick up on; talk about Mako, Materia and other exclusive elements to the series is bound to go over the heads of the uninitiated. Likewise certain characters that fleet in and out, especially Aerith and Zak are bound to have viewers scratching their heads. Frankly that’s not enough for me to automatically put down the film, because here we’re torn between two sides of entertainment – obviously films and games. Final Fantasy VII does have a strong narrative; over the course of forty or so hours of gameplay a storyline does develop, characters are fully fleshed out and a resolution is met, all done in-between randomly generated fights of course. For the film Square Enix doesn’t dwell too much on the specifics of their game, which had already presented all the story it could have.

Instead the team take the story to the next level, whilst ensuring that everyone’s favourite characters get a look in. The film also presents us with some exclusive characters, namely that of Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz – three brothers seeking out their “mother”. The main plotline here tries not to be superficial, and yet clearly the feature’s visuals win out above all else. It’s hard to become wrapped up in such a story that for all intents should be simple to follow but relies so much on specific jargon created by team Enix. No longer do words like Geostigma hold much interest for the viewer, despite its origins being touched upon. Furthermore this is of course all leading up to the inevitable return of fan favourite Sephiroth, who does eventually show his face after many a showdown for a big finish toward the end. To be honest though one should probably have never expected an Enix storyline squeezed into two hours to be anything particularly engaging. Frankly the film becomes far greater immersed within the whole Final Fantasy contingent, wrapping itself up in a philosophy that has survived throughout each subsequent game. Most of what we see develop during its run is exactly plot devices that are just touched upon, but then if you want an entire back-story then I guess you’ll just have to play the game.

Still, there’s no denying what an amazing film this is to look at. When Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was being hyped up due its unprecedented realism within the confines of computer generated motion pictures things were looking very good for the future of entertainment. Newspapers were running articles, printing still shots asking the reader to distinguish between a real eye and a CG one. It was proving that computer technology might one day be able to replace actors full stop. However when the film was released and we saw it up and running it was clear that there was still some way to go. The biggest problem with these characters was that despite moving in a realistic manner they were ultimately soulless beings, and that can never be truly replicated by any machine. Facial expressions, particularly mouth movements just took the viewer out of the film. It was an experiment; an interesting but flawed one. A few years down the line and Square Enix has reached a point where it’s happy to stay for now. The characters of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children do indeed look superb, but for different reasons. They retain humanistic qualities, but they’re designed to fit within a suitably Japanese world, that mainly of anime, a medium that Square Enix has embraced and isn’t too fussed in staying close to. On close inspection eyes, ears, noses, mouths, every limb and vein could well be finely tuned to human characteristics, whereas hair designs – while remarkably fluid and strangely mesmerising – are instantly defined by their anime/manga-like qualities. Likewise is the sheer amount of outlandish costuming, seen only within this or videogame artforms. Ultimately though these characters are for the first time truly alive, they work on a level far greater than those of the aforementioned film did. Square Enix aren’t trying to make a 100% realistic film, they just want to break some rules and have some fun while staying true to the essence of their games.

This brings us to what is obviously the film’s greatest asset – its action. Once again motion capture is used to fully replicate human movement, something that has been used time and again for feature films, including animation, with the most recent comparison being 2004’s Appleseed. And, if you thought the action there was splendid then you should prepare yourself for quite a feast here. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is filled to the brim with the most crazed action sequences that you’ll likely find from any film; there’s a kind of John Woo philosophy being employed here – anything goes, and it doesn’t have to be real. Of course there’s no point in forgetting that this is a continuation of a game, besides it’s impossible to do so. There is no feasible way that anyone could pull off what these characters do, it’s so ridiculous, so improbable and yet so much fun to see them fly, leap across rooms, scale tall buildings with their legs and wield weaponry so heavy that by rights they should be collapsing within seconds. There are several superbly designed set pieces – the team finally coming together as one for Bahamut’s confrontation being the film’s biggest showpiece, and one that ensures huge grins all round. While most of the action is impressively staged there are one or two encounters that suffer from far too much quick-cutting, which makes the hand to hand combat a little less engaging – Tifa vs. Loz for example. At the end of the day though, fans want to see the likes of Vincent and cloud kick serious butt, plenty of loud motorcycles and scanty clad, perfectly formed women, and that’s exactly what they get.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children also has a score that not only reflects that of the game, but uses itself in a highly reflective manner. Nobuo Uematsu’s Classical numbers accompany several fight sequences, which lift them above what any other rock orchestral piece might have done in order to spice up an action scene. Which isn’t to say there isn’t any rock pieces, just that the selective process has been an intuitive one. Come some of the later stages Uematsu whips out the guitars for some exciting bouts, which largely take up the second half of the film as tempers soar. Uematsu has always been able to engage the gamer with his pleasant scores, often providing a fine lyricism and poignancy which takes the weight of any of the Final Fantasy games’ emotional baggage. While there isn’t as huge an emotional drama being played out here he emphasis on action and provides some nice intermittent numbers. As with the games the music becomes integral in drawing the viewer in.

On a final note, fans might not feel the need to question the motives of the film, and as far as they go this is a worthy enough successor to a game that’s still talked about ten years after its conception. Saying that I’m still concerned by certain things that I most definitely didn’t expect to see here, things that just don’t belong within the world of Final Fantasy VII. Many of these are minor, but my biggest gripe is that which sees some amazingly shameless product placement. Is there really a need for it? I suppose that depends on just who is funding the work of Square Enix. It does bother me somewhat, and I find that it can all so easily take me out of a film when it’s so blatantly shoved in my face. I’m referring to the gratuitous use of mobile phones, something that not once made its way into the game. Since when do these characters use mobile phones? I understand that people need to communicate, but there is something very distracting about all of these characters pulling out a phone and flipping up the lid; in addition to a funny little musical piece from the game being used as a character’s ring tone, which might just be Square Enix saying “Yea, you can also grab this tone from all good websites.” After researching I found out that the phones used are in fact the Panasonic FOMA P900iV range, which is only available within Japan, with possible European and US launches in future. It really does bother me in this day and age why even in a animated fantasy world we have to be subjected to this kind of nonsense.

Overall

Depending on how invested the viewer is in these characters it might bare significant impact on them upon its denouement, otherwise Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children might not be the emotional ride that some viewers hope for. For an action film it’s a stunning piece of work, easily outstripping the wafer thin storyline contained within. I imagine that hardcore fans will be thrilled with Square Enix’s passionate piece of work, while others will easily marvel at its glorious animation. With a run time of 100-minutes the film breezes along and is over before you know it, which pretty much sums up that it sure is entertaining.

Eye Candy

That's the only fitting description I can think of. Advent Children is basically a 100 minute FMV. You get treated with breathtaking graphics, and that's about all you get.
Story and characters are about as shallow as it gets.
Story is better forgotten, and characters are actually impossible to remember.
Don't listen to the pants-creaming Final Fantasy fanboys out there, past the visuals there's nothing even remotely interesting to be found in there.

Watch it if you wanna take a ride. If you're looking for some substantial story or solid characters .... pass your way, you dialed the wrong number.

OK, well, I have never played the game, still I don't know whether the game or the anime was first, but hell, I didn't get anything... No, let's start from the beginning.

Soo, the art was amazing, still, I am not into 3D computer graphics very much, you know, so that is why I give it 9, not 10. ;) I think Kadaj and Tifa approached real human beings the most, but Cloud had his "real" moments as well. :P

The story - well, man, actually, I really didn't get the idea... I couldn't understand the story from the beginning till the end. Either I'm stupid, or ... just almost nothing gets clear from the film (ok, if it is after a game, just fine, I guess who has played it, understood everything, but how could the others who hasn't, understand something, damn?)... In the sense that I had my own theory what is happening through the whole movie, you know, for example I didn't get what the "Mother" is till the half of the movie or why were they looking about her in Cloud's home?! Anyway, there were moments you didn't even know what is happening like when the children were uhh poisoned or something and they were standing like zombies and then monster came and everybody started to fight and... shit, did I miss something or I don't get anything were my thoughts like, ya know.
And then, the fighting scenes. What? There were such? I've missed that part too. I guess I was so confused by the fact I didn't understand what the point of the film is, that I couldn't enjoy the fighting enough. And at one time, it became my only hope for the whole anime. I was waiting for a good, goood fight, so that I could say after that "Hell, if not anything else, at least the action was on a good level!", but then it came the next disappointment - personally I didn't like the fighing scenes at all. Yeah, there were some good moments, like for example the pursuit scenes (with the motors) and the best part of the whole movie - if it wasn't that part, I would have an even worse opinion about the anime - certainly the best part of the film was the fighting part between Tifa and Loz. ;))) And finally, I hope nobody who hasn't watched the anime, reads this, and if you haven't, that is spoiler, so don't watch. :P How the hell Cloud fought with Kadaj for so long, and with Sephiroth so short?! It just wasn't right. Hm.

Sound - fair. I haven't noticed the music, I haven't noticed the sounds of fighting and etc either. So I guess it is not the best soundtrack they could have put on the movie, so 6, but I really wondered whether to put 6 or 7..

Characters - their portraits were interesting, but they weren't developed(I hate when others say like this but this time there is no other way) and you know, they were, well, too supportive, you see, TOO supportive. Most of the times person enjoys someone of the characters in a movie and of course, logically, wants to watch him more and hear his voice more often. Well, the movie didn't give you that chance... Even the most most most main person, Cloud, was so loosely showen that I really wonder how could anybody like that anime so much... You know, for example, I liked Loz and Yazo, but I heard them speak maybe 2 times (Yazo not at all, he was just showing here and there somewhere beside Kadaj) and saw them only like puppets who had to do the black job. ;/
So-o-o 4, sorry, the characters were really pleasant, but they just didn't have the chance to show us they are fascinating as well..

Enjoyment??? Wow, only in the beginning, I guess, and it was just a few minutes... In the half, I laughed my head off at every scene (I often do that at stupid movies), and in the end I was thinking "Damn, won't it end for god's sake?". It was really boring, huh.. :O

Overall, I really can't understand why almost everybody is sooo crazy about this movie. And I can't get as well what the idea was and exactly where had Cloud mistaken in his past life that he had these visions or whatever and, huh, who was Tifa, why did she live with him, who were those children, why Tifa knew them and other stuff that you just don't know and I guess, you shouldn't ask for...
So, mediocre as here is written :D, I just don't want to be too rude, otherwise I have to give an even lower mark... Sorry, that is my opinion and I don't obligate anyone to share it. ;)

Peace.

Firstly I’d like to make the point that I watched the recap feature on the DVD and thus that may have influenced my opinions. However it made very little, if any, sense to me, so I don’t think it would have had an impact.

I was nicely surprised by this anime. Final Fantasy is a fandom I always heard about and always thought I should watch but never had the reasoning or felt the want to. I wasn’t expecting much from this film so what I got was a pleasant surprise.

The graphics on this were lovely, having watched it after watching Appleseed (2004) I’m not sure ... which is better but both rock. The thing that threw me most was the body language, there was a lot of it and I really liked it.

The characters themselves could have been more developed but I understand that they have several films of back story and in a movie based on the games you are expected to a certain point to know that back story. They worked well as they were for me without the back story, I could figure things out and piece them together.

The plot ran a little thin and was hard to understand without the aid of a Final Fantasy otaku like jazzymegster by your side. But it was pretty; there were kick arse fights and good music which is always good in anime.

Downsides for me? And this will show you all how shallow I am. There was no character I fell in love with, none that made me shout ‘oh mamma I want a piece of him/her!’ Tifa was interesting, the red haired dude looked cool but that was about it.

It has sparked my interest in the Final Fantasy universe, so if anyone knows of a way for me to find out more without having to play the games give me a bell.

Overall good anime, worth the watch and worth recommending to even Final Fantasy newbies.

Nanashi Moriko *potentially a Final Fantasy fangirl but not an Advent Children one*
18/06/07

I am a big Final Fantasy Fan and i played Final Fantasy VII around 1000 hours(feeled).
The Movie Advent Children is set 2 years after the events of Final Fantasy VII and there we already have the problem. People who did not play the game will hardly understand the plot or what certain elements in the story mean. It was a great idea to made this movie but sadly it is in fact only for Final Fantasy fans.

Graphics are very good.
But many characters from the game are barely shown.
So the viewer can not really build an connection to them and will eventually have ... only little sympathy for them.

A film that is around 100 minutes long is to short for a Final Fantasy game.
Cause you will probably have to play atleast 50 hours until you reach the final boss.

Nevertheless as a Hardcore Final Fantasy Fan i have to say the movie was okay and i hope they will make more movies like this in the future.

I haven't played the game yet, but this movie made me want to. The story itself wasn't that special. But the action in the movie was absolutely the best. No movie, anime, Tv series has better fights than this. After watching this movie, I could never bring myself to like any action-based anime like DBZ, Naruto or Bleach. Why? Because it was all about action and the action SUCKED. I've rarely found fights that could compare. Almost all the time they are turn-based, only one person attacking at a time, or it ends up being a cluster fuck of power-ups.

The animation was awesome. ... This is SE after all. And the characters were diverse. I loved their designs, especially Vincent's. Music is, just like any other final fantasy game, impressive.


In conclusion this is a really fun movie. The action itself would get a 100 out of 10

Overall I'd give this a 10/10

A lot of people say you have to have played the game to enjoy this movie. I only played the game for a few hours when I was a kid and watched Last Order before I watched the movie; the game was too difficult for me at the age so I put it away. The only characters I knew about were Barret, Cloud and Tifa. I didn't have any high expectations of the movie, but wow was I surprised.

The dialogue, graphics, design, music and battle scenes are some of the best I’ve ever seen. I was so confused by the story but in a ... good way, there was so much I didn't know so many mysteries and I knew there was a tens of hours long game where could find my answers. So after watching the movie I was so stoked, I had to pick up the game from where I left. After beating it I loved it. Even though I didn't get all my answers (Like who tell hell Kadaj and gang really are), I'm still happy. I think it’s better if some things aren’t told; it makes it more interesting even after it’s over. Seeing how the characters developed to what they are in Advent Children was a great joy.

Even though the story was confusing, I loved every second of the movie. Watching the most beautiful art, epic and beautiful music and epic scenes I've ever seen put together in something I can only describe as a masterpiece is a feeling I can’t describe with words. The CG (Computer Graphics) looks really good. In many CG movies the character movements and facial expressions tend to look unnatural and very doll like, though in Advent Children this is not a problem. Movements and facial expressions are very well done which make its look much more alive.

The music is mainly composed by Nobuo Uematsu with support from various other composers from Square Enix. The soundtrack consists mostly of re-arranged scores from the original Final Fantasy VII. Hearing some of the finest gaming musical pieces re-arranged and even perfected will make any fan and not yet fan happy. The new scores exclusively for the movie are really good. Pieces like Cloud smiles and divinity II shows clearly what Uematsu does best.

There are a lot of memorable scenes in the movie, the meetings with Aerith and the battle scenes and all the scenes where the character supports our hero. The main theme of the movie is obviously “No man is an island”. This has been done before but I can’t recall seeing it as beautiful done as in Advent Children. Cloud is depressed and just want to shut everyone out, carrying all the burdens for himself. He doesn’t want to be alone but, can’t face his friends because he’s ashamed of himself and feel guilty. He blames the death of important friends on himself, because he couldn’t save them. As the movie progress our main character slowly comes to realize he’s not alone. His friends are watching him and supporting him (even from death) and they don’t blame him as long as he does his best.

The story doesn’t have any deep plot and much is clearly fan service which is not a bad thing. The battles are enough to make you forget about the plot and there are many of them. Anyone one with a playful mind and a love for high paced acrobatic action with super powers will enjoy the battles. The characters do crazy jumps, cut through amazingly large objects disobeying physical laws like nothing. This is only done by our heroes of course since they are not normal people and have years of battle experiences. Some people who lack imagination will be disrupted by the action, they seem to forget that it’s fantasy. The essence of fantasy is to go beyond the boundaries of reality and Advent Children does this very well.

Character design is done by Tetsuya Nomura the man behind the original character design of FFVII. Not only has the music gotten a proper facelift also the characters. They look better than ever. A lot of the characters have a very bishoujo and bishounen look. Everyone looks excessively handsome. Even though a lot looks very realistic Square has managed to keep an anime style to the characters mostly because of the haircuts and eyes.

To sum it up, fans of Nobuo's music and Tetsuya's design won't be disappointed. Anyone with a playful mind and love for epicness will love the battles. You like handsome characters? We got them. You don’t mind fan service and don’t feel like there’s a need for a bigger cause for something to exist? Then you won’t mind the story. Advent Children is mostly about eye and ear candy. Remember being a fan of FFVII doesn't necessarily determine how much you will enjoy this movie. A lot of fans have been very disappointed by the movie and a lot of non fans have enjoyed the movie and vice versa.

If I would have scored the movie the day I watched it I would have given it a nine out of ten but since then I’ve grown to like and appreciate to movie even more. Because this movie is really one of a kind.

Final Fantasy used to be heralded as the untopped king of RPGs back in the late 80s and early to mid 90s. The video games redefined the role playing game genre and came the closest to immersing gamers into a fictitous realm and battling the unreal and supernatural beasts and creatures only found in the pages of Dungeons & Dragons monster manuals that table top gaming provided. The series can be considered Macbeth, ruling over the RPG console gaming world that the Dragon Warrior series and Sega's Shining Force franchise could only hold their own so much. But much like Macbeth, (then) SquareSoft would fall ... victim to it's own madness, and that madness emerged in the form of easily the most overhyped, overrated video game Final Fantasy VII. I won't take anything away from it's success in the marketing department, this game made out like gangbusters and the only other game that was equal in hype was Super Mario Bros. 3. The similarities end there.
I will not lie, I really hated FF7 and still do, for more than just pissing off hardcore fans of it (which I did for well about a decade). The gameplay was simple and adaptable, the visuals were stunning at the time, and the music was pretty darn good (I still love the boss battle BGM). It's the storytelling. Final Fantasy VII destroyed comprehensible stories beyond repair that still affects RPGs to this very day, even in SquareEnix's own works. I won't get into all of that, I'll be here for hours. FF7 made little to no sense from the end of disc 1 to that debacle of a flashback in Nibelhiem. I've played the game from start to finish seven times to try and make heads or tales out of what is taking place and whose story is supposed to be the truth. What I pieced together is Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth's lies are all just one, big plothole pretzel that I assume is supposed to keep audiences guessing as to what the answer is. So I assumed with the announcement of Final Fantasy: Advent Children, Tetsuya Nomura would come clean and release a full-fledged apology and tell us what that whole Life Stream crap was supposed to be. Instead what was released was an impressively below- mediocore CGI snore-fest that not only failed to answer any questions, but raised new, even more puzzling ones.
This was an amazingly boring movie that I could not get into from minute one. Not much happens, to be honest. Once I threw aside the notion of expecting an explanation for.....ANYTHING....the new plot they were attempting to feed me just seemed very paltry. The new villians, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Lox, are apparently hardcore Sephiroth fans clad in all black (all black attire is hammered into your brain repeatedly in this movie. "Look, we're EDGEY", they seem to faintly scream), looking to retrieve Jenova. You know, Jenova? That entity that would've made for a far more suitable antagonist than drama queen Sephiroth, who was sad about being a clone? This is anime, who isn't sad about being a clone!? Anyway, they talk and talk, but none of their dialouge means anything, mostly because these guys just show up and I'm supposed to accept them as some mode of threat. This plot is very akin to one of those Disney direct-to-video sequels where the same thing is just vaguely rehashed (see Aladdin and Mulan sequels). It just isn't engaging in the least. Something about a virus, too.
As for the "heroes", and I use the term very loosely in regards to Cloud, who is a walking Radiohead album with spiky hair, and Tifa, who still ranks as one the most selfish female leads I've encountered until the creation of Bella from the Twilight franchise. The fact that she was perfectly content with continuing to feed and ferment Cloud lies about his origin and existance despite the fact that it was tearing him apart just so he wouldn't leave her side is easily the most blatant act of co-dependance and self-absortion I've ever seen in fiction. having a nce rack doesn't make you a good character, he still had his mind on the dead girl, you hussy.
As for the other characters you played as in the game, they're virtually non-existant, save Vincent, who appears to tell everyone that he's a vampire now, since that what everyone on the face of planet decided instead of the amalgam of experiments Hojo turned him into in the damn game. At least I got a kick out of the Turks while they were on screen. They provided nice bouts of entertainment whenever present.
The visuals are nothing short of stellar, though, and it is beautiful to look at, even if the color palette is regulated to mostly the hues of gray, black, and brown. It's too bad most of the film takes place in the rotting septic system that is Midgard. If I wanted to watch Bladerunner, I would. It would've been nice to see Cosmo Canyon in rendered CG or that Casino place, the name I forgot. (Rold Gold-something?) The fighting and action, like most CGI films I watch, comes off a little fake and over produced. Things are zipping across the screen at blinding speeds, so keeping up is a chore, and since it's lifeless CG models, they resemble drones that get hit, yet exhibit no real expression of pain or anguish, making it hard for me to care about the fight. They just get right back up like automotons and continue zipping around like mad. By the way, when did Cloud learn to fly?
IN CLOSING: FF7 has it's loyal fanbase, but to me, it's the Neon Genesis Evangelion of RPGS. It's formula has been copied and only got worse with each passing mimic. Funny since it's source material isn't that great to begin with. Advent Children seemed to be an attempt to cash in on the hardcores that adored the game and wanted more, but just came off as a hackneyed, uninteresting sequel riddled with forced cameos and nonsensicle storytelling and probably the mother of all goofball surprise reveals (I won't say anything except "TOWELWHEELCHAIR", you might know what I mean). If you want to see characters from the game duke it out in high quality 1s and 0s, enjoy. I'll turn my Gambits off so I'll stop attacking Final Fantasy to end this review.

STORY: 3
ART: 8
SOUND: 7
CHARCTERS: 4
ENJOYMENT: 5
OVERALL SCORE: 4 out of 10

PROS: Pretty cool visuals, I loved the Turks, Zack in full rendered CGI
CONS: Lousy story, lame villians, uninspired Matrix-styled fight scenes, just dull

this film is basically the most interesting film ever to be created.advent children has not only revive ff vii,but has brought many people to the world of final fantasy.people can see the way final fantsy is without needing to play the games.and not to forget the action(incredible,fantastic),its so breathtaking.the characters are the most beautiful i have ever seen in my life.the characters are very lovable(kadaj is so cute and beautiful),i like the way he was protrayed in the film.a young child with very strong ambitions and goals.

to cut things short,this film is a must see for ff fans,action fricks,lovers of anime,and Fans of cgi.highly ... recommended.i have watch this film more than 100 times and have hardly get bored,thats to show how great the film is.

i saw this masterpiece when i was a kid and it was amazing. i really like this anime. its on my
<a href="https://myanimelist.net/myreviews.php?seriesid=317&go=write">top 10 animes</a>
.
i remeber . i watched it with my cousins. i remember after watch final fantasy i thought im cloude. we could choose a charactor and i became him. honestly i wasnt really liked anime at first but after watching this baby i totally changed my mind.
the animation was perfect
storyline gooood
characters one by one perfect
you know what i really miss them i should have watch it tonight. i wanna call my cousins and tell them lets watch a movie and then take ... this sweetie out.

Final Fantasy is a great anime. All of it's series and movies are great. Advent Children is also very outstanding. It has a great plot. It building of the emotion is mastered wonderfully. It can catch one's attention. The Art was amazing. It was captivating. Each character had a look which complimented it's characteristics so well. It is very enjoyable indeed. It misses comedy but it covers up everything else so perfectly that it is way better without it. It has a lot to do with playing with the emotions of the one watch because it has so many eliments of love and sorrow. But ... it doesn't miss any part in action.

A brilliant film to the game of Final Fantasy IIV having everything a final fantasy needs :
a great story, CGI animation, and Voice actors such as Quinton Flynn and some songs from the classic game a very enjoyable film you would never get bored with it it would if you have played the game but even still if you haven't you will still love this film

-TL;DR version of review-
This movie is fanservice. Its PURE fanservice. There is NOTHING but fanservice. And thats all one could want from a FF7 movie.

-Story:-
There is none.

-Art:-
Tifa (http://www.finalfantasywallpaper.net/images/wallpapers/tifa-191843.jpeg)
/arguement

... -Sound:-
All the godliness of Noubu Uematsu remastered in HD sound quality.
(One Winged Angel remastered = GODLY)

-Character:-
Tifa. End of argument.

-Enjoyment:-
Its FF7. End of story.

this film is incredible.i have watch it so many times that i have lost count.the graphic are the best ever created and it continues ffvii in a very good way.the characters are well detailed from head to toe and sometimes you forget that they aren't real.beautiful than all real people put together.

the fights scene in my opinion are one of the best in any anime/film.it really reminds you of the incredible and fantastic fights in dbz.i recommend it for anyone.



graphic: 10/10 absolutely beautiful(shrek and the rest,take example)

story: 1010 really good for a sequel of a game,strong will of characters and lots ... of stuff that teaches good morals.


overall,the best film i have ever seen and i hope square-enix would make more.good job

omg, the art was orgasmic! everything was so...dark and beautiful.
i loved it. especially when i bought the movie and watched it on my sony bravia..
even the buildings looked like it could be real. the music...was induced with feeling.

the characters are reallly interesting, especially if you've played the games or know them
from previous encounters (kingdom hearts) you;ll get into it even more alluringly.

the story, i thought was impressive, how they dragged the whole project into this movie to make it better,.

i personally would watch it again and again whenever someone wanted to watch it with me.