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Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
R1 - America - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (21st March 2007). |
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The Film
 I never thought much of "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" (2001), the film was supposed to mark a new era in film production where digital actors would soon take the place of flesh and blood performers. Well that never really came to pass, sure the graphics were astounding but the truth of the matter is no matter how photorealistic you can get your characters looking they still miss one vital component soul. These films still feel far too artificial and almost always emotionless, I suppose Square Enix (the company behind this film) have a lot to learn from Pixar. Four years after the release of "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" we have yet another film that carries on from the game "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" is by no means related to "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within", if you're expecting a sequel then you'll be disappointed because this film follows on from where the video game left off, 2 years later in fact. A disease called Seikon-Shoukougun or Geostigma has spread rapidly across the world. This disease is nature's way of punishing humans for the irresponsible use of 'the life force' which was harvested and used as an energy source. The world is a mess and amongst it is ex-SOLDIER Cloud Strife (Takahiro Sakurai), who has decided to live a life of seclusion receives a phone call from former Shinra president who seeks his services for protection against Kadaj (Shotaro Morikubo) and his brothers Yazoo (Yûji Kishi) and Loz (Kenji Nomura) who are searching for their 'mother', and they believe that Cloud knows where she is. What ensues is a struggle against these new foes, while a search is on for a new energy source. Having not played any of the "Final Fantasy" games, I was unaware of the storylines and as a result it was hard to get into this film. But, regardless I'm not exactly sure whether playing the game will make the film's plot easier to understand, as a standalone film it certainly is confusing. I've seen this film three times now and aside from the cautionary message of draining the Earth of its resources and some stylistically cool fight scenes, I'm at a loss as to what it is exactly the filmmaker's were trying to achieve here. I guess this is what happens when you expand on an idea that originally took 20 minutes to wrap up and hiring a bunch of creators that have no prior knowledge of making a film instead their experience lies in creating the in-video game cut scenes. This is in effect what watching "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" is like, an extended cut scene. The film jumps between Cloud and Tifa (Ayumi Ito) as the story somehow tries to connect and come to some sort of conclusion, within all this are some impressive camera movements, beautiful looking fight scenes, some near endless futuristic motorcycle chases, a lot of exposition which is frankly boring, a giant winged monster and some more fighting with big giant swords. The CGI is second to none with immense detail put into each frame, my only gripe is with the character designs, every male character looks creepily too feminine, and by creepily I mean artificial, plastic, unnatural etc. Additionally it seems like the animators put very little effort in adding emotion to any of their expressions and all seem to be stuck looking serious all the time they appear virtually unable to pull off any other expression. I can't really see this film appealing to anyone other than fans of the video game, there isn't anything here for the simple spectator off the street. If you're already immersed in the world of "Final Fantasy" then this release will likely interest you otherwise I suggest moving on to something more real.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer is stunning from start to finish, taken from the film's original digital source the image is extremely sharp with fine detail visible in almost every shot. Colors are well balanced and blacks appear bold and vivid. I was pleased with the cleanliness and quality of the print which did not display any visible flaws such as edge-enhancement or compression artefacts. Simply put this is a top notch effort.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included for this film and are in English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1 and the film's native language Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its Japanese soundtrack and much like the lush visuals the soundtrack is brilliantly complied and makes effective and excellent use of the surround channels totally immersing the viewer into the film. The dialogue is sharp and clear and presented without distortion, the action scenes are aggressive and loud, with some quieter more ambient scenes thrown into the mix and you have a track that handles the dynamic range quite well. The score also makes its self known as does the sub channel which will rumble often throughout this film adding the necessary depth to a number of scenes. Optional subtitles are included in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
Extras
Sony have packed this 2-disc set with numerous extras such as two featurettes, deleted scenes, original festival footage, a bonus anime film, trailers, sneak peeks as well as collectible items found exclusively in this 'Limited Edition Collector's Set'. Below is a closer look at these supplements. DISC ONE: The only extra on this disc is "Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII" a featurette that runs for 23 minutes 54 seconds, this is a story digest that follows the scenes from the video games over the years leading up to this film and provides some background. That is if you're interested in watching nearly half an hour of video game clips with generic music playing behind it. DISC TWO: The second disc kicks off with a series of 11 deleted scenes these can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option, the scenes included are for: - "Scene 1" which runs for 24 seconds, Cloud is confronted about his memory. - "Scene 2" runs for 19 seconds, during the final battle Cloud tells Sephiroth he used to idolize him. - "Scene 3" runs for 35 seconds, Reno teaches a lesson about subordinates. - "Scene 4" runs for 15 seconds, more cut dialogue between Cloud and Sephiroth during the fight scene. - "Scene 5" runs for 7 seconds, Barret flexes his bicep. - "Scene 6" runs for 5 seconds, a shadowy figure jumps from a tree. - "Scene 7" runs for 19 seconds, Cloud confronts Yazoo, Kadaj and Loz. - "Scene 8" runs for 12 seconds, more deleted fighting with Cloud. - "Scene 9" runs for 10 seconds, street side comments during Clouds final fight. - "Scene 10" runs for 9 seconds, yet more deleted fight footage with Cloud, Yazoo, Kadaj and Loz. - "Scene 11" runs for 12 seconds, and some more deleted fight footage. Next up is "Venice Film Festival" footage which runs for 23 minutes 45 seconds, during the film's production it was invited to the Venice Film Festival to preview the film, this is the clip they premiered there, which is in effect an abridged version of the film. Following that is "The Distance: The Making of Advent Children" a featurette which runs for 39 minutes 8 seconds, this making-of is basically the same as the one on the previously released DVD edition except that it is extended by a couple of minutes. The new additions to this clip are interviews with the English voice cast. In this clip the filmmakers chronicle the release and popularity of the games as well as a look at the development and creation of this film. They comment on their involvement, making the leap from video games to film, expanding the 20-minute film idea into this feature as well as casting the voice artists. The Japanese artists comment on the characters and the privilege of working on this project as do the English voice cast, the clip also looks at the music among other things. "Last Order: Final Fantasy VII" is an anime short film that runs for 25 minutes 36 seconds, in this cool film we follow Cloud and Zack as they are on the run from the Shinra Corporation. Cloud and Zack took on Sephiroth for killing Tifa's father and that has Shinra quite angry. This film is created in 2-D styles akin to most Japanese animation and makes a welcomed addition to the extras. 8 promotional trailers are included, they are: - "Tokyo Game Show 2003 - 1st Day" which runs for 53 seconds. - "Tokyo Game Show 2003 - 2nd Day" which runs for 1 minute 17 seconds. - "Tokyo Game Show 2003 - 3rd Day" which runs for 1 minute 52 seconds. - "Jump Festa 2003" which runs for 1 minute 50 seconds. - "E3 2004" which runs for 2 minutes 27 seconds. - "Tokyo Game Show 2004" which runs for 4 minutes 21 seconds. - "Jump Festa 2004" which runs for 2 minutes 27 seconds. - "E3 2005" which runs for 4 minutes 22 seconds. 5 sneak peeks of Upcoming "Final Fantasy VII" games are also found on this disc and include: - "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII" which runs for 32 seconds. - "Before Crisis" which runs for 2 minutes 12 seconds. - "Crisis Core" which runs for 1 minute 12 seconds. - "Dirge of Cerberus" which runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds. - "Advent Children" which runs for 2 minutes 34 seconds. Packaged in this Limited Edition Box are: - A 116-page script book - "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" 72-page Novel that contains side stories of Barret, Denzel, and Tifa during the 2 years of after the game and before Advent Children. - 10 collectible postcards.
Packaging
This 'Limited Edition Collector's Set' packages the 2-disc DVD inside a deluxe cardboard box that also houses the printed collectibles.
Overall
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