Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

I'm back! It's been a busy few weeks, but here's a new review for ya!



Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
2005 (PG 13)

Starring: Steve Burton, Steve Staley, Crispin Freeman, Steve Blum

Plot: The movie functions as a sequel to the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation. Without spending several hours recapping the story, characters, and spoiling the ending of the game, I'll try to summarize:

*takes a deeeeep breath* The movie itself actually begins with a brief summary of the events of the game, from beginning to end. The game (and movie) centers around Cloud Strife, an ex-soldier turned mercenary who assists a rebellion who is seeking to take down an evil corporation called Shinra, whose goal is to siphon the planet's life stream, and convert it into energy, unaware that in doing so, they are killing the planet.  Enter Sephiroth, a genetic experiment created by Shinra in an effort to create a perfect soldier, who wants to take over/destroy the world in a bloody quest for vengance against his creators. **SPOILER ALERT** He was killed during the ending of Final Fantasy VII.

The movie takes place several years after the events of the game, during which time large numbers of children have been stricken with a mysterious ailment that many believe to be the doing of the planet, angry at those who tried to kill it. The heroes of Final Fantasy VII must reunite in order to stop three mysterious new enemies seeking to resurrect Sephiroth.

Confused? It's to be expected. If you're not confused, you've probably beaten Final Fantasy VII, and watched the movie already. The game itself spawned a multitude of spin-off games, and a lore that spans decades. It's actually rather impressive considering it all came from one video game. If you want to know more, definitely go back and play the game, or check out the Final Fantasy Wiki. But here, I'll only be covering the movie itself.

The Good: I've said it before, I'll say it again. With animated movies maintaining popularity as they do, it's important for companies to set theirs apart in some way. Advent Children does this through gorgeous, action-packed visuals. And for this movie being almost 10 years old, it still looks beautiful. The animation is crisp, hair and clothing moves in a believable way (for anime-styled characters that is), action scenes invoke a sense of awe, whether it be in the scale of the monsters, the speed of the action, of the visuals of the sparks flying, or magic spells being cast. This is also one of the earlier computer-generated movies that I remember seeing that managed to fit such a massive amount of people on-screen at the same time, which still manages to impress.

In terms of sound, the score continues to impress, evoking a range of emotions. Most of the soundtrack consists of orchestrated versions of music pulled straight out of Final Fantasy VII. My personal favorite is the piano-only version of the video game's battle music. The voice acting is also wonderful. Popular voice actors including Steve Blum (Cowboy Bebop), Steve Burton (Kingdom Hearts), and Quinton Flynn (Metal Gear Solid 2) are instantly recognizable by their fans, and bring into the movie the talent that they're known for as video game / anime voice actors.

If you're a well-versed fan of the Final Fantasy VII universe, the story is easy to follow, and offers plenty of fan service, whether it be a familiar place, or a familiar face.

In 2009, an extended version of the movie was released on Blu-Ray, titled "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete" which includes 25 extra minutes, and many completely redone scenes. For hardcore fans, this is a must.

The Bad: I'll start with the obvious: If you're NOT well-versed in the game, you're going to have a rough time with the story and characters. There's a lot to this movie, and aside from the short intro to the movie, the makers definitely assumed that if you are watching the movie, you already know the plot of Final Fantasy VII.

While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can get dangerous in the fact that sometimes it seems they assume too much. Personally, I'm a big fan of the game, and have played several of the spin-off titles. That said, I still find myself scratching my head a few times during the movie.

Verdict:
This movie is hard to give a final score to, so I'm actually going to split it into two sores.
If you're a gamer, 9/10.
If you're not, 6/10.

No matter which way you look at it, the movie is presented stunningly. It's worth a watch solely for the visuals, but if you are familiar with the series, it is exponentially better.