Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Reviews (original) (raw)

Summary Set on Earth in the year 2065, an invasion threatens to extinguish the remains of mankind and quite possibly every living creature on the planet. The fate of all life on Earth relies on one woman's determination. But time is running out. (Columbia Tristar)

My Score

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Spectacular entertainment.

The problem this movie had was it had "Final Fantasy" in the name, and that came with a lot of expectations from fans of a certain game franchise, of which this had nothing to do with. When you subtract that one thing out, what you are left with is a very good science fiction movie, expertly crafted for it's year, and engaging in it's story too.

Фильм явно сделан не для фанатиков игр Final Fantasy. То есть, для таких как я! Когда в 2002 году, я случайно взял этот, тогда ещё думал художественный фильм, в прокате, то даже не подозревал, что беру не кино, а чудо технологической мысли того времени. Я играл в Final Fantasy толи на nes, толи на чем то ещё. Это было давно и игра мне не понравилась, плюс ко всему она была на японском. Я про неё давно забыл. "Последняя фантазия: Духи внутри" не имеет ничего общего с играми. Это редкий случай, когда фильму реально мешает название. Поэтому я оценивал его как самобытное произведение. А как самобытное произведение, этот анимационный фильм, просто бесподобен. Качество анимации для 2001 года просто запредельное. "Беовульф" так же показал бесподобную графику, но это было уже в 2007 году. Сюжет захватывающий и не имеет, как это принято, счастливого конца. Что, опять таки, выделяет фильм из общей серой массы. Герои мне так же очень понравились. За них хочется переживать, им сочуствуешь. Единственное, чего не достаёт фильму, на мой взгляд, это более подробного описания того, что произошло с Землёй и героями во время самой катастрофы. А так же какой, никакой истории пришельцев. Короче, фильму очень нужен приквел! Хотя надежды на это никакой. Ещё раз говорю, что оценивал этот анимационный фильм, как самостоятельное произведение и другим советую сделать то же! Если кто пропустил или просто не видел ещё, советую даже сейчас. Фильм смотрится очень бодро. Только убедительная просьба, выбросите из головы все упоминания о Final Fantasy!!!

You watch with amazement their physical movements, how closely their lips match their overly precise, prerecorded dialogue, yet they're not human enough to get us past the stunt factor and lost in the drama.

The techies still can't manage to make two characters look convincingly into each other's eyes -- it's like watching Disney World animatronic figures do soap opera.

The film's plot gets so convoluted no nongamer older than 14 will be able to follow it all.

The lip movements of the animated figures are slightly slow, so you feel as if you're watching a badly dubbed Japanese creature feature from the 1960's. The dialogue is almost as stilted, and after a while you drift into that half-dream state that inert movies can create.

I never forgot for a minute that I was watching a cartoon, all the way down to the silly, pseudo-spiritual ending, an ending whose very incomprehensibility is actually one of the more endearing hallmarks of anime.

The 3rd best video game movie yet. First is sonic ova. Second is wreck it ralph and this is third. But I do wish the movie is better and gets a better sequel.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Technically it was a masterpiece back then and there were even some people that thought that it could lead to actors becoming obsolete. Sadly it lacks in the story and character parts. Lets start at the beginning. The Final Fantasy franchise is a long running series of role playing games by Square (later Square Enix). It is one of the most recognized and successful franchises in the industry with a loyal fanbase. So many people including me were hyped when a Final Fantasy movie was produced. The trailers and animation looked amazing. It was the first time that we got realistic animated human characters. It blow away the minds of many and the attention reached even people that never played videogames or have heard of Final Fantasy. It was a new milestone in animations and creating realistic characters. What we did not know back then was that this made the movie really expensive and it was a ton of work. We noted that the trailers did not look like it was related to any Final Fantasy game which was not strange as the games are no sequels of each other in this regard. They are set in different worlds with new characters and sometimes really different mechanics and ideas (There are of cause some staples and reoccurring themes). Then we watched the movie and it was a bit divisive. It is neither a masterpiece nor garbage. As fans we would say it is not Final Fantasy or to be more generous not Final Fantasy enough by far. It uses a few recognizable themes but is more like a post apocalyptic science fiction movie. Recently I read that they wanted to make something that is for everyone and does not rely on knowledge of the games. This is the kind of decision that seems good on paper but annoys the viewers. For fans of the games it is unrelateable and for others it is just a standard movie with some good or unique ideas. A perfect example for the middleground being the worst case. The story is set in the year 2065. Earth has been overrun by alien live forms that came to us via a meteorite. Humanity is nearly wiped out and hides in cities with shields as no human can survive on the outside. This is caused because the alien live forms called Phantoms have ghost like characteristics. They are invisible to the naked eye and physical matter is not effecting them like us or how it should. What makes them even more dangerous its that they can kill by touch and seek out lifeforms. However there are some strange or unfitting things like the Phantoms not using their advantages in a tactical way or seem not cooperating (They could have won and ended humanity long ago with ease even if slightly competent). The protagonist Aki Ross is on a mission that could change the status quo but has to be secretive about as there is more to it then it seems. I stop here with this basic set up. The story is actually good and has its moments. I think it is a fresh approach and a bit unique. I must also admit that it sounds better on paper and is not in the realm of the better stories in the genre. It uses themes from the Gaia theory that can be a bit confusing if you are unfamiliar with. Like already said technically this was a masterpiece of the era. Everything looked amazing and the movie itself set the new standards. It comes with a slight weakness in facial animations as the emotions are sometimes not transferred well enough. For the voice actors we got a dreamteam. For Aki Ross we have the great Ming-Na Wen who is now far more famous thanks to Agents of Shield and the Mandalorian. Then we have James Wood as general Hein who can be described as antagonist but I refuse to call him evil as I clearly see his motives and care for humanity. Alec Baldwin as Gray Edwards and Donald Sutherland as Dr. Sid are an amazing addition to the cast. I think they have chosen a great team. I don't remember much of the soundtrack so I wont rate it. For me the negatives are that it is not Final Fantasy enough, the character development is just decent and the story itself misses the last push or pushes to awesomeness. The ending while fitting is also a bit unsatisfying. For itself the reception was average except for the animations which were amazing. From box office standpoint it was a bomb and hurt Square Enix financially. Overall I would have rated this movie a bit higher but after a few years I came to the conclusion that being a fan of the franchise made me less critical. Still worth watching as it has it moments and set new technical standards. Far away from videogame movie adaptation garbage.

Esta película en especial tiene mas de una película al estilo "Aliens" o "Tomates asesinos" que de una película a la altura de la mítica saga de videojuegos. Desde principio a fin es bastante aburrida, es como esa cuarta película de Indiana Jones que nadie tiene en cuenta de lo mala que puede llegar a ser a nivel narrativo. Animación correcta para la época de lanzamiento. Nota: 3/10 Nula.

this film just ****. yes the animation is great and has aged relatively well and the cast is pretty good but the plot is so dull and in no level representative of anything final fantasy. i know hironobu sakaguchi was developing ideas that were surrounding his mothers death and you can see a lot of good ideas but they aren't fully executed and probably should have been blended into something more appealing to long time fans. and unlike any other final fantasy this has really forgettable characters. even the most awful final fantasy's had character's you would never forget Cid is the only one here that fits that criteria

Production Company Columbia Pictures, Chris Lee Productions, Square Company, Square USA

Release Date Jul 11, 2001

Duration 1 h 46 m

Rating PG-13

Tagline Unleash a new reality

GoldSpirit Awards

• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

San Diego Film Critics Society Awards

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination