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tomekk's Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Tv Review

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children tv Review

Two years after the defeat of Sephiroth by Cloud and his gang, a new danger reappears. This danger is Kadaj. He and his two brothers are out to get the cells of Jenova in order to bring back Sephiroth. Cloud, in order to stop it, must pick up the sword once again and join in the fight. With the help of the Turks and the former President of ShinRa, and his fellow friends, Cloud must prevent this danger and save Midgar and the world once again.

by Aoshi101

Story & Characters

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The movie we were all waiting for. So here it is now. There is already a review by someone who didn't play the original FF7 game, so I make this one for people that know the game well. Do you remember where FF7 left us eight years ago ? '500 years after...' Red13 and Midgar all grown over with jungle and birds... 'nature is the winner' stuff and those weird children laughing and the staff roll beggining with cool snare drum. So this is where Advent Children begins: '498 years before'. That was funny. Then the crater... a ShinRa helicopter, Turks and stuff... something is going wrong, and the story begins.
Summarizing briefly, Cloud suffers of post-dramatic trauma and secludes himself from everybody. In fact, he lives in the Sector 5 church and sleeps on a hobo mattress. Three guys with silver hair arrive, searching for their Mother, for a Reunion. They are of course evil. Cloud and Co battle them, finally win, and Cloud discovers a meaning for his life. The ending scenes are all fucked up with unconvincing optimistic stuff. Like Aeris with Zack in heaven or something and for Cloud it's OK. Aeris is dead, but she speaks to Cloud in weird mental scenes. The last line of the movie is Cloud's 'I'm not alone anymore'. I am satisfied with the 'good end' thing, but not gratuitously. I mean: Aeris comes back as magical-rain-that-heals-everything-and-also-dissolves-the-bad-guys. It's crap. All the story is as chaotical as I present it; 80% of the movie deals with improbable fight scenes and the remaining 20% is filled with unconvincing soap opera and pseudo tormented stuff. Even The Spirits Within was more convincing in its story and development.

Rating: 2

Art

The character design for Advent Children is very different from the one of TSW. Whereas in TSW Square tried to represent real persons (it was done quite well, in fact, but it wasn't perfect), in AC the visual style is a mix of reality and anime design. This was a very interesting and good choice. This approach is also visible in the design of the vehicles : the new airship (the Sierra) or the different bikes seen in AC, while generously textured with gloss and shining, remain in the weird style seen for example in the ShinRa concept cars from the game, i.e. are very round and almost organical looking.
The CG technology knows no limits; so the movie denies completely the laws of physics and the non solid nature of the human body. When people are punched for example, they fly 50 meters before hitting the ground. Which of course doesn't alter Cloud's hair, Rude's sunglasses or Reno's suit. In case you wonder, people can jump with almost sound-speed (indicated by a blue force field in front of the character) at an altitude of roughly 500 meters. I'm not fond of these giant proportions unbelievable fights. In CG everything is possible, but the wonders of it haven't been used for example to show us incredible landscapes and structures, like it could be done with Midgar or Junon (I am thinking of the magnificent Minas Tirith of Lord of the Rings). You've got in place people literally cutting buildings in two, or running on a vertical wall or riding bike on the ceiling of a tunnel.
Battles are Matrix-styled. There is a heavy use of bullet time or '2 FPS' or black and white to illustrate that something cool is happening. The incredible camera movements of CG are fully exploited, with 360° rotations and such.
Sadly, I've got the feeling that the creators' imaginations weren't good enough regarding the possibilities they were offered.
It is still a unique experience.

Rating: 7

Sound

The OST is signed Uematsu, which stands for nice quality and maybe some memorable tunes. The 'sort of' main theme of AC is a solemn choral piece dubbed 'the Promised Land'. It can be heard in the official website. When I didn't thought that it was very memorable, I in fact surprised myself remembering that tune. A lot of previous material has been reused in AC. I think of: Piano versions of Tifa's and Aeris' themes and of the fighting theme, the Black Mages version of JENOVA. One Winged Angel has been arranged and now deals with an orchestra, a chorus AND the Black Mages. All these and some other soundtrack stuff can be found on the 2 CD AC OST. What I've really enjoyed: the opening theme of FF7, appearing in the opening sequences of the game and the movie, with its major-minor modulation that suits the tragical themes of FF7, is now available in a gorgeous orchestral arrangement. Also: the end credits music is an orchestral suite of the Aeris' theme, a modified Main Theme and, which is not self-evident, the 'Final Fantasy' theme. I suppose this means that AC is to be integrated in the official FF canon.
The greater part of the OST is spent on rock based tracks, each of them decently enjoyable.
It appears that Uematsu has'nt got a great experience in movie soundtracks. Uematsu composes great themes, which can stand alone, but not specifically-timed and adapted to movie action music.
It remains a quite nice soundtrack though.
For the sound itself, like sound effects or voice acting, There is nothing special to pop up. It's done nicely.

Rating: 7

Presentation

AC is fan service. Someone not in touch with FF7 would not understand many allusions, especially because the movie don't spend time on explanations. I am a fan of the game, and I was very disappointed. I mean - it was obvious that I will be disappointed, because it's always the case when you expect something that hard. But the fact is that I am far more disappointed that I thought I'll be. The Last Order anime deals with elements of FF7 - its atmosphere, its dark elements, its scientific crap, its wide-scale consirations, its love stories. For 25 minutes you live FF7 another time. In AC, it's 100 minutes of bullshit. Nearly 100 minutes of pure useless fight. For example, the Tifa/Loz fight in the church is completely unfounded - I mean, you meet someone you don't know, you say two sentences and start a fight. The development of Cloud's personnality in AC is a big jump from depressed hero to adult-who-has-found-the-meaning-of-life. What was nearly accomplished in the 50 hours of FF7 is now fully accomplished in 100 minutes. It seems that the great change was inspired by some weird Aeris visions from beyond the Lifestream. They were maybe meant to be poetical, which they arguably are, but completely unconvincing as for changing Cloud's mind.
The positive point of AC is of course for a FF7 fan the possibility to see all the team together in action. I must admit that everyone was perfect in their actions and words. Could you believe it ? even the weird walking-running of Cid is now fully CG ! Negative point: Yuffie runs on a vertical wall on 200 meters. Positive point: Sephiroth returns. Negative point: Cloud's deals with him in a few minutes of intense fight, Sephiroth says that he 'will not be a memory', only to disappear for good. How could they ruin Sephiroth's return ? They could.
A nice touch in AC is the humor revolving around Reno and Rude, and of course the now-classic Loz' telephone ringtone.
But all those little positive touches cannot make disappear the feeling that this movie is only fight with some pseudo story. In the game, there was so much things to discover, side characters in fact involved with the main plot, etc. So much feelings also, so much people involved in all kind of relations. It was epic. Advent Children is, as Nomura stated it, 'visual content'. A lot 'visual' and far less 'content'.

Rating: 3

Final Verdict

4.00 (below average)

Reviewed by tomekk, Sep 25, 2005

Comments

  1. white-zero Sep 26, 2005

    If there is anything I like about AC is the classic Turks music. I always like that lazy tune to it.

    A below average review of AC (for me, it's a good review). I wanna see how the rabid fans deal with this.

  2. harvestfarmer Sep 26, 2005

    Althought I agree with most comments of the review, I do not think it deserves such a low score. I mean it is a fan service movie and will be sold like that, it is not meant for the big public.
    It basically follows the average path of any anime movie based on something with a more developed scenario (manga, game, anime series...), with all the goods and flaws that it carries. I would give it a 7 ^^.

    About the OVA reflecting better the feelings from the game than the movie... is just normal, more than half the OVA are scenes of the game (and hell, I reaaaally would love a ffvii anime series following exactly the game's scenario, been wanting that for years)

  3. lapuk Sep 26, 2005

    definitely 4 is an exaggerated low score for the movie.. yeah the storyline sucks, yeah yeah but i personally believe that the graphics pulled it way up.. give the guys some credit, and i don't think 4 is enough.. i'm not an avid fan of ff, but this movie made me somewhat of a fan..oh i dunno, i simply love the film..

  4. NeoGhost Sep 26, 2005

    like lapuk said, 4 is a little harsh for A.C. this movie is a fan service after all and we should not judge the combat actions in the movie with real life scenarios. As the title implies, this is a fantasy, and as such it will come with all the little quirks. Although the story lacks quality, the graphics and the sound should balance it a bit. I believe the movie stay true to the game in terms of combat, music, and art so I would give it a 7.5

  5. geninlv1 Sep 27, 2005

    A 4??? Sure, the story was a little predictable, but giving it a score that doesn't break even?
    "...improbable fight scenes..."
    Duh! Its based on a video game, with a world as far detached from our own! We neither have materia or chocobos for that matter.

    "In AC, it's 100 minutes of bullshit. Nearly 100 minutes of pure useless fight."
    That's a stretch.

    "Even The Spirits Within was more convincing in its story and development."
    ...I'm not even gonna touch that one.

  6. Mushy Sep 30, 2005

    O_O I loved the movie...I watch it everyday....What are you people talking about!!??

  7. Regenbogen Oct 07, 2005

    Hey... I just watched Final Fantasy Advent Children... finally... But... I felt disappointed afterwards. So I wanted to take a look here at MT, what people write about it. And your review is just exactly what I think as well. Final fantasy Advent children unfortunately turned out to be a show off... "see how fast our characters can move"... "see how our graphics ability has developped" etc. I feel really a little sad that the story has not become a part of this "Showing off"... Why does the content always have to suffer? I think it's the same with many videogames... Yes 3D may be great... but where is the story? Well this is another topic so I am not going to get into this.
    While I was watching the movie I looked at the clock after some while... after seeing one battle after the other I found myself asking "When will the story finally begin?" The end was a quick end... trying to give these battle scenes a beginning and an end... to pretend it was a story. That's why it is so weak. :( Well... maybe I should watch it again... trying to see seom more positive aspects. But I am just wondering again and again... where has the spirit of final fantasy 7 disappeared?

  8. justducky Oct 14, 2005

    I disagree and I find it disappointing you don't see it as other do. The grading is harsh and it coming from a ffvii gamer. The story and presentation deserves better. Did you expect Aeris to be portrayed as nothing but a memory that Cloud should have gotten over? A death isn't anywhere near easy to deal with and I think the optimistic look and his thoughts of Aeris reaching out to him were just right. As for the fighting scenes, yeah they were exageratted but remember this is a fantasy world. Where you summon monsters and bring people back to life with potions; phoenix downs. It was appropiate to see Yuffie running on a vertical wall for who knows how long and such. :\ Won't you be more lenient and see it from that view? Your review is heart wrenching to me but I'm glad your a ff7 fan :)

  9. Elesiel Oct 14, 2005

    I am positively addicted to the Advent Children now. Yesterday I re-watched the movie. Did it seriously, stopping in every more or less important moment and examining every little detail. Looked at the situation, outfits, character personalities, even voices though I don’t understand Japanese but the sound of the voice is really meaningful for me.

    So yea… watched it…

    1. Ended up dieing from Reno’s behavior though he seems to be little clumsy (look at the way he hit his partner in the main fight in the city) but same time he is pretty smart though little impatient (look at the way he translated Tifa’s words to Cloud)

    2. Absolutely in love with the “zuru zuru” I think my mom’s ears will fall out before I stop smirking and repeating them ^___^;;;

    3. At last saw why so many fell in love with Cloud, he really has adorable eyes.

    4. Fell out off love with Kadaj, though I still like Cloud/Kadaj pairing (sorry Morphie)

    5. Well more in love with Vincent. The “Where’s the phone salesman at” was priceless.

    6. Stopped to think that Yazoo looks like a women (he does in the very beginning). He seems like the most serious and elegant out of three.

    That’s about it... am still under impression and maybe will watch it once more... I really like Vincent’s voice it’s so low and deep and nya *drools*

  10. Jalopie Oct 22, 2005

    I just can't get over that you don't like the over the top CG and physics that this movie uses. I think it really brings back a classic and more truthful to the ffvii style. I havn't seen to many fighting scenes so well coriagraphed and they didn't change the fighting styles of any of the characters to make it easier. Over all I think you gave it an unreasonable grade for what its worth.

  11. flyable Oct 31, 2005

    I agree..But unfortunately the storyline wasn't as great as we expect it to be..
    But i feel the graphics are not bad...They pulled the movie rating up alil...
    About the presentation...
    I guess you all need more sense of imagination to be understanding what is going on in the story..
    But I feel this movie certainly is worth more than a rating of 4..

  12. eybear Nov 01, 2005

    give me another example of any CG film in the past couple years that can stand up to AC with regard to animation quality, attention to detail, and voice acting. ff7:ac truly raises the bar in that department, although it does lack the storyline that mainstream movies have. Yet since this is a movie based solely on a game, wouldn't most of the story elements draw from the game itself rather than having to build up from scratch? Criticizing it from a viewpoint of a mainstream moviegoer as having a lackluster storyplot and character development would be expected, but as a ff7 gamer I'm wondering how closely have you played the game with regard to story element. True, it is a bit too dependent on drawing from the game, but as it stands, the movie is selling to players of the game, not the general public.

    From the first line in the movie, the premise is already presented clearly as a reunion, otherwise known as a reminiscence. If purpose for the creators of the film is to create a world like that of ff7, it would be safe to assume that the storyline will rely heavily on the same source. Thus it would be a complete misinterpretation to judge this movie without first considering its purpose: to add to the whole ff7 genre by using the latest cutting edge CG technology to bring the original world that we all love so much into quasi-reality.

  13. hazey Nov 09, 2005

    AC is a good film, I can't belive you only gave it a 4! OK the storyline isn't that great, but the art and music is brilliant, and of course there's alot of fighting scenes, it's a adventure game for crying out loud.

  14. hunterkiller03 Nov 11, 2005

    Awsome REview! i love final fantasy advent children.. watched it like 8 times alrdy <3

  15. Angel-on-Dragon Nov 12, 2005

    I think you are right with your comments. The story really isn't that.... good. But the art and the music are really outstanding. I think they should at least get an B and what is wrong with the presentation?
    I can see that you really looked forward and were quite disappointed in seeing this movie, weren't you?
    In my opinion 4 is a bit harsh, but nonetheless good review ^^

  16. frozenwilderness Nov 14, 2005

    Yeah, the story was too simple.. kind of disappointing. But the art and music did fit nicely. It should get at least a C or so though. But your comments are to the point and I share most of your views, I guess just not the way you rate.

  17. Mushy Nov 23, 2005

    That was extremely over-exaggerated. Advent Children is my favorite movie, but I don't think I'm being biased when I say it deserves a much better score. Can you honestly say you've seen a CGI movie that much better that AC? You can't compare it to FF7 which took place over three discs. Advent Children is only one small movie and it is impossible to live up to everything VII was in an hour and a half. If you're now saying, "Than they should have made it longer!" did you even consider how much it would cost? Give them a break. There's only so much you can do in one movie.

  18. kingmakoto718 Dec 01, 2005

    i think this movie could get a little higher of a animation grade, i mean u can see each freckle and hair, so freakin detailed. not to mention their motions. the sounds were pretty good in my opinion, what exactally would make the sounds "pop-up"? i thought the music was used reall well, throught the movie. but i do agree that this movie really isnt exactally "content rich" but none the less, it was still; a kick ass movie in my opinion.

  19. julian1 Dec 08, 2005

    i don't mind if you say the story was not good, everyone has their own opinion. remember, this is fantasy, so anything that surpassess reality can happen. i mean, The Planet's not necessarily have a gravity pull as strong as our Earth. that's why people can jump really high. it's just the same as every other anime, if you're saying that the fighting scenes are shit, you're saying that dragonball's stupid because character can fly without any help, or that naruto's crazy because no one can split into 5, or inuyasha's dumb because demons don't exist, or one piece is shit because nobody gains superpowers just because they eat a fruit.

  20. DragonboyVNY Jan 01, 2006

    Very harsh... But i remember the phrase "voluntry suspended disbelief" for the movie. Without all that superpowered fighting, it just wouldnt be Final Fantasy. B4 this, I got to watch "Storm Riders" from Hong Kong which Id recall as a nice chinese comic take on Fantasy, cool swords and magic- Final Fantasy, Hong Kong Style. Watching this movie fulfilled a part of me which was a space for 8 years... As predictable as the
    ending was, I prefer it to what I thought was the other ending, where Cloud dies maybe, and I dont know alot of Dirge of Cerberus except that its after AC and based in Midgar and Vincents the hero.
    The fights are impressive and I can 4get about overated Matrix. You didnt expect a 3hr epic like LotRings did you? As brill as the LotR is, its possible some people could find the theme boring as amazing as that sounds (Im talking about a friend of mine who isnt a fan of it!)
    My score= 8.5/10. Not for nonFFVII fanatics.

  21. cup-of-tea Jan 21, 2006

    I would have to agree with your critique. Watching AC for the first time is a bizarre and dissatisfying experience. I'm surprised many love it as much as they do. Weren't people expecting better? Personally I'd give it higher than a 4 (maybe 5.5) but given that AC is quite a letdown, a 4 doesn't seem totally unfair.

  22. sin-shenlong Mar 06, 2006

    I believe dis review is a load of shit and the score is way too low. First of all you are complaining about the story being poor. But study it; it is suppose to be a sequel and it is IMPOSSIBLE to capture FF7's incredible story in 100 mins, i think if the story was to be the focal point, then the movie would have 2 b at least 4 hrs. The makers did a good job at giving non- final fantasy followers the general gists of things, i'm proud to say that the movie even sparked some new fans who went to buy the game or who are anticipating the remake on the ps3.
    In terms of fight scenes, come on now its final fantasy and its an anime DO NOT EXPECT REALISM. I mean have u really played the game and study the abilities of the characters (limits etc). I personally believe they were too weak in the movie, and my only complaint is that the movie lacked balance. Sure Cloud is cool; thats because almost every one of his limit breaks were unleashed in the movie, I was so disappointed at the rest. During the fight with Bahamut I was screaming at the screen, telling barret to stop playing the fool and unleash catastrophe (level 4 limit) and i was telling vincent to stop wasting time and transform. Also I think they downplayed yuffie and Sephiroth basically U believe these characters were too spectacular? well i believe they were too weak.
    Art and graphics i am not going to comment U know that movie is frickin beautiful. U seriously forgetting forgotten capital's beautiful moonlit forest or or in the centre of midgar with the statue shinra built?!. The characters looked phenominal and the use of bullet time and choreography put most if not all action flicks to SHAME! (matrix looked so soft after watching dis pic!) I haven't scene cgi dis good since appleseed I mean come on.
    Music: Its Nobeo Uematsu NUFF FREAKIN SAID!
    All in all dis movie geting at least an 8 in my view, U need to watch that movie again and stop hating!

  23. Tinbad Apr 30, 2006

    *sigh* Im not going to bother going into a discussion. I havnt played the game, but i still watch movies alot and pay attention each time a watch it.
    Movie was good. +
    Sound Awsome. +
    Story a bit too short. +-
    Fight scenes awsome. +
    Ending wasnt Epic enough for the rest of the movie. -

  24. Deathknight22 May 22, 2006

    Alright, going to add my 2 cents to this. The movie was awsome. I've been a big fan of FFVII since it came out. Now before I lose anybody who is quick reading this, lemme get to my point. For those who think the movie sucked, congrats, now go sit in a corner and shut up. Some of you have your reasons, others just watched it without playing the game to get the whole picture which left many asking what the hell?. Play the game, know the story and try again. But seriously think of it this way, what else could they really do for the story? It's hard enough dealing with the pressure from so many FFVII fans out there but to make matters worse, you have to somehow link another story into the pre-exhisting one. In my opinion they did a good job at throwing something out there but I will admit, it had some holes in it. Besides the story, people were saying something about the fight scenes and how they were too unrealistic. For those that said that, smash your head into the wall and stfu. This is a fantasy world, physics doesnt apply so get over yourself. Everything else about the movie was top quality. So after reviewing your review mulitple times and the people that posted, I would have to say that your score is extremely harsh, at minimum this movie should get a 6.5 (or a D for those who want the school rating style) I've said my peace so if you hate me for it, congrats, go jump off a f*ckin cliff you shallow minded prick. Those that love me, I''ll try to keep things in the right direction.

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