Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

"A gift to all the Final Fantasy VII fans around the world"

Introduction
After their mediocre Spirits Within, few would have thought that Square Enix was interested in tempting fate once again, crossing the realms from games to movies. Because if their previous effort was any indication, then Advent Children would be a glossy, beautiful but ultimately hollow affair.

And while Advent Children still suffers from the fact that plot is an underdeveloped factor, and that the visual experience is meant to be the star of the show, it's still a far, far better movie than Spirits Within, in every single sense.

Concept
2 Years after the events in Final Fantasy VII, where Cloud and his friends finally managed to defeat Sephiroth in the Northern Crater, and with the blessing of the planet ultimately stopped Meteor from destroying all life, things are now stirring again. Yes, life went on. But a disease called Geostigma has strangely started infecting people, and to make matters worse, even Cloud himself seems to be a victim of the growing disease. In a search for the cure, inner peace and the truth about the current events that are unfolding, led by three mysterious men, Cloud gets back into the action, and is reunited with his friends during the journey to self discovery and just the right amount of fighting.

The story is a bit confusing at first. It leaves many open questions, and while it answers some of the old, it doesn't do a very good job in giving reasonable explanations and grounds for the new that arises during the movie. It has little to none character introduction, leaving it up to the viewer to recognize and feel for the characters. Bad for new viewers, but then this movie was never really about people who hadn't played or heard about the game before. Some events in the movie are also very far-fetched without a proper explanation, but can be forgiven since there's not many other ways to give the fans what they want while staying true to the ultimate events in FFVII. One has to remember, that just as much as Square Enix was trying to make a movie, they were also giving their fans something that has been wanted for years, a sequel to one of the most beloved and known Final Fantasy games. And with that, comes alot of fan service which does make the plot thinner and more farfetcbed than it would have needed to be. But in the end, that doesn't really matter.

The basic setup works. It starts with some nice scenes that sets the tone of this darker, sadder and wrecked world, and it manages to create some hype to keep the viewer interested from the beginning. Slowly it unravels the slightly thin plot, but it manages to keep things good for the fans by showing of the beloved characters in various eye-opening moments(Tifa's fight is really one big tribute to her, and one can make out her moves based on her limit breaks from the game). But when it comes to another character, no matter how much that certain character is loved, the plot cannot quite justify the way that character is used, and it's easy to feel a bit cheated after the scene is over. Out of breath maybe, since it's easily one of the most satisfying and intense scenes in the history of animated movies, but still a bit cheated.

The fighting is visually impressive, but it raises questions about the near superhero-like abilities of the cast. As much as the action is intense and exciting, it's also very overdone, and in some cases gravity seems to be completely out of the question. Yes, the movie is not about reality, but even without predefining set rules about physics and gravity, there are certain things that just seems to be completely ignored. One sequence(although very impressive looking) has Cloud literally flying miles up in the sky, and while some don't mind it, it does make everything feel a little too fantastic.

Don't get me wrong. The action is absolutely stunning. The fightscenes picks the best of both The Matrix and various John Woo movies and combines it, and the result is nothing short of amazing. The slower scenes also has the right amount of drama and manages to keep the new questions lingering all the way until the end, effectively keeping the tension til the credits roll. And in the end, it manages to give some great conclusions that should give most fans a pat on the back as a "Thank you" for keeping the spirit of Final Fantasy VII alive.

Graphics
There's really not much to complain about here. Viewing the movie several times has still left me searching the picture of any notable errors without success. The animation might not be perfect, and there's still a good way to go before we're able to recreate an close to identical reality like animation, but then again, this movie never tried to create reality. It's an animation, and it's one of the very best seen to this date. The fact that it's animated never gets in the way for the enjoyment of the movie, and that's a testament to the amazing skills of the animators at Square Enix. They have managed to make humans so amazing, yet still keep it within the realms of animation. Humans in other recent animations are nothing compared to the ones in Advent Children. The animation is powerful, yet gentle, and everything from hair, skin, body movement and facial expressions are done masterfully. A scene at the end shows just how beautiful animated humans can be if done right, and it's hard to not be moved. So far, Advent Children is the only animated movie that has been able to express something without words better than live action movies, and if that doesn't say something about Square Enix's abilities, nothing will.

Sound
The Japanese voiceactors are great. While the english translation hasn't been heard yet, it will have a hard time competing with the Japanese. Let's just hope for the best. The great thing is that they sound just right. The voiceactors manages to infuse the characters with just the right voices, so Yuffie sounds exactly like you'd imagine, young and yappy, while Tifa shows a great amount of emotions, layered in her voice, just like her character in the game and further portrayed in the movie. Cloud is also voice just right, and one has to give kudos to both Square Enix and the Voiceactors for keeping the spirit of the characters alive when taken over by real people. If the quality of the voice acting is an indication of what they are trying to accomplish with the US release, we're in for a treat.

The Music is also good, and Nobuo Uematsu has finally written some new music again for the Final Fantasy series. Some of the songs are reused from previous occations, heard on various albums released, but the majority is newly written songs. Most of them blend ambience influenced by Final Fantasy VII, and some of them are fast rock versions of various battlethemes. Some works, but some doesn't. The ambient themes works great, but probably the one song that feels out of place is the one played in Tifa's battle. The song itself is a pianoversion of the normal Battletheme in FFVII, but for some reason it never seems to fit with the action on screen. But there's very little doubt about the star of the show, which for spoilers sake won't be revealed here. But honestly, it should be easy to guess. The song is fantastic, and apart from a middle part that drags a little, it's Uematsu's gift to the fans of the song that have wanted such a version for a long time.

The worst one can say about the soundtrack is that it feels more like separate pieces written for individual scenes that has no relation to each other compared to being a part of a major recognizable theme, and the best one can say is that most of the songs are just great, and usually fits the scenes very well.

Conclusion
But no matter what, despite thin plot, slightly overdone action sequences and some reused music, Advent Children is the movie Square Enix needed. So far, the movie has proved to be a great success in Japan, and if the current trend continue(when it comes out in NA and EU), it will soon be up in sales rivaling major games in the Final Fantasy games. And after watching and enjoying Advent Children, one just have to stand up and give the guys and girls at Square Enix a big round of applause, because they earned it. If you feel for the characters, and have been longing to see them again, Advent Children will give you an emotional joyride that only the best of games and movies will. The fact that the animation is more or less spotless and drop dead gorgeous, and that it gives a good conclusion that both closes one chapter and opens for a new to one of the most beloved Final Fantasy ever, means that Advent Children can be strongly recommended to fans of the series, animation and most people alike. And to a fan like me, who's favorite Fantasy is the 7th one, I admit that the tears came when the credits rolled, but it wasn't of sadness, it was of the big emotional burst I got when seeing all the beloved characters together again. And that, is probably the best gift Square Enix could have given to a fan.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/05