Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Review
By SplinterCell
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Review
Square Enix
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- Comments
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Plot Synopsis
No plot synopsis or other information available for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Screenshots
FF: The Spirits Within DVD Cover
Alec Baldwin's Character
The Bright Eyed Troopers
The Translucent Phantoms
Story & Characters
Shall I be the first to say it...? Do not expect this to be as fun as a Final Fantasy game! There is no real intriguing story here. Nothing really entraps you into wanting Dr. Aki Ross to get all the sprits within. There are, of course, moments that were really cool. But sadly they are just moments; the entire story doesn't really do it for me. Upon hearing of this movie I wanted to see it so bad just to be disappointed by lack of storyline. It's pretty linear sort of speaking. She just has a quest to get all the spirits within to stop the phantoms. Nothing major or exciting here. Oh by the way... they managed to sneak in a cheesy love story in the mix... Just thought I'd tell you.
- Rating
- 3 (poor)
Art
The 3D is very good. Animations are quite fluid and are a tad better than Advent Children. But give way that Advent Children has much more action scenes than this movie. The character designs are nothing major or out of the ordinary. Probably the one thing that truly shines is the phantoms and the design of the soldier's uniforms. The phantoms are truly amazing and were the most enjoyable part. Since phantoms are ghosts, they can move through almost anything and steal the souls of people right out of their body. The phantom designs were very intriguing and made the film enjoyable to watch to see this semi-clear thing just straight out attack. The soldier's uniforms in the opening scene were fantastic. Helmets are reminiscent of Jin-Roh's design. You don't get to see the soldiers do there thing a lot though, but that moment was pretty cool. The designs of the weapons, vehicles and landscape are astounding. Very impressive in my opinion. The casual wear of the characters throughout most of the movie are rather plain and reminded me of being trap in the Nebuchadnezzar (Matrix).
- Rating
- 9 (very good)
Sound
The soundtrack isn't as good as the actual Final Fantasy games, sadly. The sound effects are nice though. Not really much to say here since I didn't really enjoy the soundtrack to the movie. But I guess the music is standard and the sound effects are too.
The voice acting is pretty good with a lot of budget actors on the scene. But
some of the voices didn't really click (by click I mean match up with the
faces).
- Rating
- 7 (above average)
Presentation
Overall experience was alright. The movie was okay. But caution, walk into this moving expecting the worse and you'll get better than what you think. Of course the cheesy love crap was boring and didn't add to the story nor did it anyway help advance anything. The characters are semi-lovable and you can easily identity who's the villain. But you don't really care for the "Spirits Within". They talk about most of them and you only get to see Dr. Aki excavate about 2-3 of them if I remember correctly. But in the end the movie alright to watch but extraordinary if you enjoy 3D flicks that are far away from the kiddy stuff Pixar and Disney dish out. Some may like this movie some may hate it, but respect it for being bold. Definitely shouldn't be called Final Fantasy. In my opinion that was just a ploy to get Final Fantasy fans to watch it. If they said "created by the makers that brought you Final Fantasy..." then I'd probably enjoy this movie a little more. As a Final Fantasy fan, I was disappointed. There was no magic, every one used guns (pretty much), no summons, and no inspiring characters. Aki rarely showed any emotion and just wanted to get the jobs done. Alec Baldwin's character showed more emotion.
If you walk into this film expecting Final Fantasy, you will walk out very disappointed (like me).
If you walk into this film expecting a flick created by the makers of Final
Fantasy games, you'll enjoy it for the graphical sense.
- Rating
- 7 (above average)
Final Verdict
6.00 (average)
Reviewed by SplinterCell, 2y 37wk ago
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nice review, i have the 2 DVD disc edition, i have to say its a favourite of mine, good story. The Final Fantasy name is a bit misleading as you do think its related to the games
i may have given it a higher rating (slightly due to liking it more ^_^) but for what it is, i think you did well with the review and without spoiling it as well
Good review, unbiased and detailed.
Personally I would give this movie a higher mark, but like speedfreek19 says, the Final Fantasy name is misleading. It was a mistake calling it that. They should've just called it "The Spirits Within". And I walked in expecting a movie created by the makers of Final Fantasy, that's why I enjoyed it.
I recall making it into the theater to watch it and being disappointing. Hell they didn't even need to call it Final Fantasy and I think some people would just be disappointed in it as just a movie.
Square could of done a lot better on it.
I agree, the name is misleading, although i did enjoy the story, i didn't like how the character developement was.. I agree with Deathglare, i think they could have done better.
Square usually does a good job of characterization in most of the things it does. This movie could of benefitted from an addition month on it. To work on the script, the vouce acting and the music.
Just a month people and the finished project would of been a bit better.
Fair review. I do have my copy of this sad intent from Square Studios. We will be dreaming about what would like to have a great FF story done with great technology, but is good that FFAC changed that bad turn. This movie is more a lesson than a good score.
good review
I agree with you that their really wasn't much 'Final Fantasy' screaming from the movie. It has a really common sci-fi feel to it, especially since there isn't any magic or summons. The character designs were more realistic to todays world too. Even though it doesn't have the 'Final Fantasy' feel to it, I still really enjoyed the movie, just as a movie.
You did a pretty goog job with your review, thanks for sharing it with us!