Final Fantasy 7

OK. I waited. And I waited. And I waited some more. Finally, I was able to see the sequel to my all-time favorite game, Final Fantasy 7.

Final Fantasy Advent Children is a visually superb look at life after we last saw our characters save the Planet from both Sephiroth and the clutches of Shinra, Inc. We see Midgar and its inhabitants up close. Cloud, Tifa and Marlene stand out as great looking characters.

The action is fast paced and wild.

But that's where the movie goes horribly wrong. As excitingly twitchy as the movie was, it greatly lacked the psychological emotion and character development from the game. THIS WASN'T FF7! Barrett, Cid, Yuffie and Red XIII (who has no role whatsoever other than to look badly drawn) just kinda seem to be hanging out together all the time. Fans of FF7 know that this is convenient for a quick action segment, but nonsensical according to the story.

Almost all the fight scenes are attempts at fast whip cam shots as the characters fight on a concrete stage of buildings and a city square.No imagination here whatsoever. Otherwise, the movie borrows from action movies and tries loony fights on motorcycles. It's lame.

Furthermore, where's THE MAGIC?!? No ice, haste, cure, fire, berserk, NOTHING. It was like a bad martial arts movie.

Though the visual effects were beautiful, I was truly disappointed by the "we're in too much of a hurry to tell a story" plot and a complete disregard for the pathos and feel of the original story.

I wouldn't recommend that any F7 fan waste their time with Advent Children. It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

If you've heard of Advent Children, then you probably have also heard that the movie makes absolutely no attempt to appeal to people who haven't played the game. Well, as someone who hasn't played any of the games, believe me, it's very, very true. I could never get into a video game that has turn-based fighting, but I love anime, video games, sci-fi and action films, etc…so there's no way I would pass up watching a film this good-looking, even if I'm not the intended audience. Luckily, I read a synopsis of the plot of Final Fantasy VII before watching Advent Children, and good thing too, as nothing is introduced – not the setting, not the backstory, not even the characters (there is a short narration at the beginning, but it won't make any sense to newcomers). I only wish that the plot synopsis had mentioned that the characters all have superpowers, capable of the most gargantuan of physical feats, and that in this universe, the laws of physics don't apply. Everyone seems to bounce around like Spider-man. There's a well-circulated image on the 'net of the FFVII cover retitled to "Fanboy Bull$#!% VII", and watching this film, I couldn't help but think of it constantly, because this movie is filled-to-the-brim with anime clichés. If you are attempting to watch this without playing the game, be fully prepared to suspend your disbelief to a degree you probably didn't know you were capable of. I'm a self-confessed nerd, and even I had a very hard time suspending my logic in order to enjoy the fight scenes. Characters jump around so freely, they can practically fly, throw multi-ton objects, like motorcycles, as though they were made of cardboard, and dodge and deflect bullets easily. All this, without any blood! Cloud, the main character, gets shot in the face near the beginning and all he gets is a small cut. This is the only blood in the entire movie from what I remember. In fact, Cloud gets stabbed, shot in the back, and has a building fall on him, and each time, he just shakes it off. Now I'm all for over-the-top action, but this film was so matrix/anime clichéd, that its very hard to take it seriously. See this movie while you're still young, because you won't be so easily impressed for long. Also, the irony of a turn-based game being made into a breakneck-paced action film is probably lost on most fans, but certainly not on me.

Currently, this film has a stellar rating of 7.9/10, which in my book would make it the most overrated film on IMDb. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the fanboys have turned out in record numbers to vote. So for anyone who's not played the game, don't let the rating fool you, (as many have pointed out) Advent Children DOES NOT stand on its own as a film. In fact, it barely stands as much of a sequel to the game, as (again, as many others have pointed out) the story is not continued to any significant degree from the original game. Instead, Advent Children plays more like an epilogue short story that bookends the massive plot of the original epic. It's a 20-50 hour game, followed by a measly 90 minute movie.

Yet I gave it a good rating, primarily because the CGI, animation, visuals, landscapes and action sequences are so well done and beautiful, that they deserve mounds of praise. This is Advent Children's saving grace, like The Spirits Within, it's a damn gorgeous film. And the movie is still a lot of fun, and certainly very entertaining, if not very well written. And I was able to enjoy both films primarily for these reasons. I went in expecting Square Pictures to learn from their mistakes from the first film and write a great script for this film, but I was let down. Leaving us with, now, two films that are style over substance.

And to me that's the real tragedy. To the best of my knowledge, these two Final Fantasy movies are the only feature-length CG films so far that aren't kids movies. Because of the shortcomings of these films, it prevents other serious CG films from being made. This year, you will see a dozen Shreck clones (90 minute fart jokes, marketed as high-quality family entertainment) released in theaters, and yet Advent Children, the most gorgeous CG film ever made, was not released in theaters in the US.

Square really landed this one. They didn't try to please everyone and instead focused exclusively on Final Fantasy 7 fans. And boy, are those going to be happy fans when they see this movie! The story might not be all that interesting or credible but it ties in neatly with the story of the game and has several honest-to-god funny moments!! A total surprise there and a welcome one too

There are lots of cameos and funny references to the game too. And most important of all: The fighting scenes rock so hard they could cut through diamond! They are truly the total awesomeness and would have made the movie worth it even if everything else sucked. I mean, they are some of the best ever created PERIOD.

See this movie. Bye.

PS: I know my review sounds like the ravings of a teenage girl. It was, like, totally what I intended.

This movie was absolute garbage. Sure the animation was nicely done, but once you got past the "ooh-ahh" factor of how you can see little details like the characters' reflections in puddles of water, you realize this is a movie with little characterization, choppy editing, gaping plot holes and characters you could care less about. Unless you are a fan of the game of course. This is the main problem with the film: unless you have played or are passingly familiar with the game, none of it makes any earthly sense whatsoever. The viewer is given very little background or motivation for the characters or the plot itself for that matter, so even when there are spectacular battle scenes being staged, they have little or no impact because you don't really care about the outcome. There's no tension, no anticipation, no nothing. Just pretty pictures of people doing the impossible and kicking the crap out of each other or some demon or other. I actually bought this movie after having seen and marginally liked Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and on the recommendation of some friends of mine who are fans of the game. I was assured that, since this one was more faithful to the game than the previous movie, that it would be much better. I beg to disagree. Because it wasn't tied too closely with the Final Fantasy mythology, the first film was infinitely easier to follow. I was at least interested in the plight of the characters and intrigued to see where the story would go, even if I was ultimately disappointed in its conclusion. In all, I found this movie to be terrible and a complete waste of my money. My copy of it is now probably resting comfortably in the discount used DVD bin at some second-hand video store.

The Japanese Film Festival for this year opened with an anime from the wildly popular Final Fantasy series. No, not that atrocity from the USA which premiered almost 5 years ago - the US somehow likes to remake Asian movies, but adds its own 2 cents worth to classics until they become almost unrecognizable, apart from its name. Take Godzilla for instance, that US Godzilla is NOT Godzilla. Doesn't look, move, or act like the big lizard.

If I recall correctly, this movie was recently released on DVD here, and follows the events after those that transpired from the computer game. Back during school days, I had many classmates spending their time with the games and having a field day discussing tactics. My limited knowledge of the game and characters, was just on the lead character Cloud, with his HUGE sword like weapon, which can be combined and combined some more to increase its size and functionality.

Given its heavy and rich history, watching this movie without any prior knowledge will leave you with two options - be totally confused about the plot as it contains plenty of references that cannot be covered in under two hours, or forget about those and concentrate on what is currently the present, and to admire the aesthetics of the graphics.

In a nutshell, the plot contained elements like strange viruses, the recluse hero, a multi- national corporation plundering earth for its minerals to generate power, and those who are against some environmentally unfriendly ways to make profits, super soldiers and their search for a mystical "mother", and moments which parallel Harry Potter and sequences involving his Voldermort. While the opening credits allowed you to enjoy the excellent songs featured in the soundtrack, and endless showing off of Cloud and his custom built bike, credit must be given to attempts to bring an audience up to speed with a quick summary of what had transpired in the games.

Despite its slow introduction and confusing plot, you might opt for the second way to appreciate the movie, and that's the graphics. I will not quibble, they are beautifully rendered. Character movement is extremely fluid, and there are enough moments during battles which are filled with tension, and things kept open ended most times in deciding who will turn out victorious. However, although the action is slick, they are too fast, and if you should blink, you'll probably miss the combo executions that the characters inflict on each other. To slow it down would mean the forgoing of pace, but to keep it as it is, well, depends on your mind's ability to decode images seen by the eye in record time.

Keeping to the theme of friendship, this movie has its share of chest-thumping moments were camaraderie comes alive. However, I would still go for the fact that only true-blue fans will come to enjoy this movie, as primarily, this is made for them.