Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

"Just because it is final fantasy?"

I've definitely learnt my own little lesson here. Well, why did I buy this movie? Obviously for this reason, and obviously the reason for everyone else: BECAUSE IT'S FINAL FANTASY! Oh come on, I truly thought this was going to be an amazing movie. After all, all Square Enix have done is impress with their games. Since my first final fantasy, which was 6, I've been a fan of it. But obviously this shows they cannot make movies at all. After playing final fantasy 7 I waited for this and literally bought it on the first day it was released in the UK. Well, lets review this;

Graphics: 10/10

There is nothing I can say here. The graphics are truly amazing, once again, final fantasy shines through with spectacular graphics. Perfect, and definitely deserves praise. Remember the movie scenes in final fantasy 10? It is like that even through, but even better. Much better.

Storyline: 2/10

Mind you, this is only my opinion. I mean come on, they should of at least explained what happened in Final Fantasy 7. I've played the game and I have no idea what is going on. How will someone who has never touched Final Fantasy under stand what on earth is going on? All that happens in the movie is fighting and more fighting. The worst part is, you don't actually know what is happening. Cloud continues to fight and fight. The only thing I had to say when the movie ended out loud was WTF?!?! I've seen this movie only once, and I don't plan on watching it again due to the fact it sucks. Basically this is what happens (no spoilers) - Theres some disease going on, cloud is convinced by Tifa and some other people to save the children after he has been a delivery boy for about 2 years. Then, the children get controlled by some random dude, then Cloud chases the "bad guys". Sephiroth is reborn, Cloud fights Sepiroth and wins "WTF?!?". End of movie.

Sound: 10/10

Once again, amazing sound effects and music. The sound and graphics go together really well. But still, since it was translated from Japanese, some parts are a bit weird. Where one person's lips have already stopped moving, and the audio is still going. But if you are someone who enjoys final fantasy movies for the graphics and sounds, perhaps you should consider buying this. But if you are someone who rarely plays Final Fantasy, or someone who has never played Final Fantasy 7, you will be wasting £20 buying this thing and at the end of the movie your jaw will drop and you will probably mumble "OMG" or something similar.

Extras: 1/10

There are no extras to this movie. Just different languages and subtitles. Only languages I had on the EU version was Japanese and English. Kind of disappointing. But the subtitle has every major country ranging from Chinese to Russian. Nothing more I can say here. You'd expect Square Enix to at least add some previews to other Final Fantasy games. But nope, nothing.

Overall: 4/10

I am not taking an average here, just my opinion on this movie. Realistically, a movie depends on the storyline more than anything. You're not buying a movie to look at sound effects and how "popular" it is. Even after playing final fantasy 7, I had no idea what was happening. All there is are people you remember in the game fighting against other random people. An Aeon (Bahamut) does appear in the movie. But he comes out of nowhere, and it is too random for my likings. If only they improved the storyline, then it would rock. But if you love Final Fantasy, there is no reason for why you should not buy this. Final Fantasy is still Final Fantasy in the end.

Pros:
*Amazing graphics
*Nice sound
*Good fighting scenes
*Quite realistic
*Final Fantasy

Cons:
*Rubbish plot & storyline
*Audience has no idea what is going on

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/02/06