The movie has probably been boiled right down to its...well you've all analyzed it. But I'm wondering if you would share your opinions on this review.
This movie follows the story of the intensely popular video game on PSX; Final Fantasy VII. And I have to say this out aloud: In my personal opinion, if you have never played a Final Fantasy game or, heck, never played Final Fantasy VII alone, then I do not, in anyway, recommend this movie to you.
Not because you will not enjoy it, but mostly because without a grip on the background story you won't have a good idea what's going on. And even if you do, this movie was made mostly for those who enjoyed the specified game. A true sequel. Still, I would probably suggest that you take a peek at some of the action scenes.
It's two years after the ending of Final Fantasy VII, and it seems most of the characters have moved on. The movie revolves around the main character of the original game, Cloud Strife. And there are many surprising cameos.
The movie doesn't remind you of anything that happened in the game (which is pretty much the backbone of the story). Fortunately enough for those who have the DVD, there is a section on the feature disc called Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII. This provides a number of clips and video from the original game to refresh your memory of what was going on. This can be very helpful especially since it's been a number of years since the game was out. Not to forget the storyline was complex as it is to begin with.
The direction is very smooth through-out the movie making a nice trip. The dialogue can be, at many times, quite ambiguous, making you rely on your memory of the story to actually figure out what's going on. This isn't very tough, however. The movie itself may seem as a sort of let-down, since it begins very slowly, something which, I'm sure, isn't what Final Fantasy fans would be looking forward to, but that is taken care of. There are also some comic moments. Not hilarious, but they offer a break from all the seriousness.
The graphics. I, for one, have never seen the trailer for the movie, only pictures (which looked fabulous!), so I have never the movie in action. It surpassed what I thought. The movements are extremely smooth, detailed, and realistic. At the title screen of the DVD I actually gaped at the moving characters! Yes, they are that good. There may be a milli-second or two off oddity with the water, but this is easily overlooked seeing how they are not an entire goof and, of course, they only appear because of how great the rest of the movie's visuals are.
I play alot of video games, but this is absolutely the best CGI I have ever seen. You could count the hairs if you tried (you may not want to trust me on this, since I haven't tried). And if you look hard enough, you might actually find some faint freckles. The visual department of this movie will not disappoint.
As for the sound. The sound is great. There really haven't been moments where it blew me away, I'm not sure why, maybe the sound system wasn't plugged in correctly or something, I'm not sure, but I will make sure of this.
The soundtrack itself is really heart-warming. The songs in the game which we learned to love were all made artificially, so you will notice the large difference since they are now played on real instruments. Songs, such as Tifa's and Aeris's theme, seem much more lovely on this movie. And songs such Jenova are revamped to seem more rock-ish.
I'll actually take a moment to talk about The Black Mages, the band which performed the rock songs on the soundtrack. I hate them. All they seem to do is take the artifical music of yore and simply perform it. There are no extra 'touches' or modifications on the tracks, other ridiculous quickly played notes (I have reason to believe they were trying to perform what is usually known as a "solo"). In fact, there is one fabulous track on the movie (which I will not name simply to stick as much as possible to the "no-spoiler" concept) that The Black Mages, with supernatural ability to make a mockery of art, absolutely ruined. The song itself had an incredible potential to reach with this new arrangement, but you can always chock it up to a half-assed Japanese rock band to ruin it.
I apologize for the break in personality, and vocabulary, but my psychiatrist advised me not to hold anything. Hopefully I will write the next review without any voices telling me to harm others.
Still in the 'sounds' section, we may talk about the voices and voice acting. As any anime fan knows, Japanese voice and English dubbing have a notorious history. They always manage to be incredibly cheesy and right out of the constantly churning "phrase-o-matic" machine (which is in large stock in studios). This does not seem to be the case here, the voices are actually quite acceptable and a number of them are superb. The voice-acting itself is nothing to die for, but you will not complain. In fact, you will be glad they actually did such a good job! (I enjoyed Cid's Texan accent)(Yes, I said it)
I haven't talked about the story well-enough, but I feel I should add a thought or two here. Something that everybody hates to see in sequels is when the writer seems to have forgotten the original story-line. When certain scenes from the original movie and sequel clash in regards to logic. But the story in this movie is pretty much flawless. There are no gaps to ruin the legacy of Final Fantasy VII. And though the story isn't entirely complex, there are actually a few angles to it that almost make up for it, such as antagonists' personalities.
My only real problem is with a scene that happens at the end. The movie manages not to throw anything in your face (which is quite an accomplishment considering the reputation of Japanese anime), and if you haven't grasped the underlying clues the movie might end without you knowing it was there. Something good that goes with "Show don't tell" mantra. However, the one moment that actually does actually slips from the lips of a few character a few minutes before it happens. This may not seem like a big deal, but the scene itself would have quite an incredible surprise if we hadn't known it was coming!
Although the battle-scenes seem to fall within the visuals category, I decided to talk them separately for a moment.
The action is incredible. It is incredibly detailed and smooth. And fast. In fact, maybe too fast! The dynamic camera-movement might leave you thinking "What just happened?", seeing as how all the actions are quickly chained together.
I have, however, decided that this is a much better thing than having the camera zoom in on a held gun for 3 seconds, zoom in on a forehead for another 3, and finally focus on a finger griping the trigger of the gun before it ends on a hold in a forehead. Wonder if I was clear.
And for those of you who are nitpicky, as I, you may find that some of the action is incredibly unrealistic. This is something I constantly whine about in every movie. And I should really whine about this, seeing as how some scenes don't seem at all possible. But this movie made me discover something (something I never thought I would actually say out loud); Some scenes, or fights to be specific, are so visually pleasing, intense, and packed that they actually make up for the slight lack of realism!
I really wouldn't have believed that if someone told me it, but I saw the movie and I guess this is what I think. But if you are more of an inartistic Nazi that leaves no room for the imagination than I (not sure if this is possible), it is slight compensation to say that, if you saw the Matrix and accepted it, than you may accept what is going on here. The only reason I'm addressing this is because this kind of thing is important to me, as it may be to others.
All in all, Advent Children is a movie worthy of the name Final Fantasy. As a movie-watcher, I say the movie isn't a classic that will find its way to the library of congress, and it won't shake up the entertainment scene. But as a Final Fantasy fan, I'll say that this movie is exactly what I was hoping to see.
This movie follows the story of the intensely popular video game on PSX; Final Fantasy VII. And I have to say this out aloud: In my personal opinion, if you have never played a Final Fantasy game or, heck, never played Final Fantasy VII alone, then I do not, in anyway, recommend this movie to you.
Not because you will not enjoy it, but mostly because without a grip on the background story you won't have a good idea what's going on. And even if you do, this movie was made mostly for those who enjoyed the specified game. A true sequel. Still, I would probably suggest that you take a peek at some of the action scenes.
It's two years after the ending of Final Fantasy VII, and it seems most of the characters have moved on. The movie revolves around the main character of the original game, Cloud Strife. And there are many surprising cameos.
The movie doesn't remind you of anything that happened in the game (which is pretty much the backbone of the story). Fortunately enough for those who have the DVD, there is a section on the feature disc called Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII. This provides a number of clips and video from the original game to refresh your memory of what was going on. This can be very helpful especially since it's been a number of years since the game was out. Not to forget the storyline was complex as it is to begin with.
The direction is very smooth through-out the movie making a nice trip. The dialogue can be, at many times, quite ambiguous, making you rely on your memory of the story to actually figure out what's going on. This isn't very tough, however. The movie itself may seem as a sort of let-down, since it begins very slowly, something which, I'm sure, isn't what Final Fantasy fans would be looking forward to, but that is taken care of. There are also some comic moments. Not hilarious, but they offer a break from all the seriousness.
The graphics. I, for one, have never seen the trailer for the movie, only pictures (which looked fabulous!), so I have never the movie in action. It surpassed what I thought. The movements are extremely smooth, detailed, and realistic. At the title screen of the DVD I actually gaped at the moving characters! Yes, they are that good. There may be a milli-second or two off oddity with the water, but this is easily overlooked seeing how they are not an entire goof and, of course, they only appear because of how great the rest of the movie's visuals are.
I play alot of video games, but this is absolutely the best CGI I have ever seen. You could count the hairs if you tried (you may not want to trust me on this, since I haven't tried). And if you look hard enough, you might actually find some faint freckles. The visual department of this movie will not disappoint.
As for the sound. The sound is great. There really haven't been moments where it blew me away, I'm not sure why, maybe the sound system wasn't plugged in correctly or something, I'm not sure, but I will make sure of this.
The soundtrack itself is really heart-warming. The songs in the game which we learned to love were all made artificially, so you will notice the large difference since they are now played on real instruments. Songs, such as Tifa's and Aeris's theme, seem much more lovely on this movie. And songs such Jenova are revamped to seem more rock-ish.
I'll actually take a moment to talk about The Black Mages, the band which performed the rock songs on the soundtrack. I hate them. All they seem to do is take the artifical music of yore and simply perform it. There are no extra 'touches' or modifications on the tracks, other ridiculous quickly played notes (I have reason to believe they were trying to perform what is usually known as a "solo"). In fact, there is one fabulous track on the movie (which I will not name simply to stick as much as possible to the "no-spoiler" concept) that The Black Mages, with supernatural ability to make a mockery of art, absolutely ruined. The song itself had an incredible potential to reach with this new arrangement, but you can always chock it up to a half-assed Japanese rock band to ruin it.
I apologize for the break in personality, and vocabulary, but my psychiatrist advised me not to hold anything. Hopefully I will write the next review without any voices telling me to harm others.
Still in the 'sounds' section, we may talk about the voices and voice acting. As any anime fan knows, Japanese voice and English dubbing have a notorious history. They always manage to be incredibly cheesy and right out of the constantly churning "phrase-o-matic" machine (which is in large stock in studios). This does not seem to be the case here, the voices are actually quite acceptable and a number of them are superb. The voice-acting itself is nothing to die for, but you will not complain. In fact, you will be glad they actually did such a good job! (I enjoyed Cid's Texan accent)(Yes, I said it)
I haven't talked about the story well-enough, but I feel I should add a thought or two here. Something that everybody hates to see in sequels is when the writer seems to have forgotten the original story-line. When certain scenes from the original movie and sequel clash in regards to logic. But the story in this movie is pretty much flawless. There are no gaps to ruin the legacy of Final Fantasy VII. And though the story isn't entirely complex, there are actually a few angles to it that almost make up for it, such as antagonists' personalities.
My only real problem is with a scene that happens at the end. The movie manages not to throw anything in your face (which is quite an accomplishment considering the reputation of Japanese anime), and if you haven't grasped the underlying clues the movie might end without you knowing it was there. Something good that goes with "Show don't tell" mantra. However, the one moment that actually does actually slips from the lips of a few character a few minutes before it happens. This may not seem like a big deal, but the scene itself would have quite an incredible surprise if we hadn't known it was coming!
Although the battle-scenes seem to fall within the visuals category, I decided to talk them separately for a moment.
The action is incredible. It is incredibly detailed and smooth. And fast. In fact, maybe too fast! The dynamic camera-movement might leave you thinking "What just happened?", seeing as how all the actions are quickly chained together.
I have, however, decided that this is a much better thing than having the camera zoom in on a held gun for 3 seconds, zoom in on a forehead for another 3, and finally focus on a finger griping the trigger of the gun before it ends on a hold in a forehead. Wonder if I was clear.
And for those of you who are nitpicky, as I, you may find that some of the action is incredibly unrealistic. This is something I constantly whine about in every movie. And I should really whine about this, seeing as how some scenes don't seem at all possible. But this movie made me discover something (something I never thought I would actually say out loud); Some scenes, or fights to be specific, are so visually pleasing, intense, and packed that they actually make up for the slight lack of realism!
I really wouldn't have believed that if someone told me it, but I saw the movie and I guess this is what I think. But if you are more of an inartistic Nazi that leaves no room for the imagination than I (not sure if this is possible), it is slight compensation to say that, if you saw the Matrix and accepted it, than you may accept what is going on here. The only reason I'm addressing this is because this kind of thing is important to me, as it may be to others.
All in all, Advent Children is a movie worthy of the name Final Fantasy. As a movie-watcher, I say the movie isn't a classic that will find its way to the library of congress, and it won't shake up the entertainment scene. But as a Final Fantasy fan, I'll say that this movie is exactly what I was hoping to see.
