I was eight years of age when I both first picked up and, 7 months later, put down Final Fantasy 7. From the moment when I saw the final scene of the ending sequence, I knew that this game would be a classic. Even before the idea of starting a website dedicated to the game, even before threads starting popping up on forums about which game was the best ever, I knew that Final Fantasy 7 would go down in history as being the most complete game in all senses of the word.

When I heard 2 years ago that a computer animated sequel was in the works, my awe was unmatched. Finally, after years of cries for a remake or a sequel, after dozens of online petitions with millions of names listed, the geniuses over at their Squaresoft Tower had taken notice of our addiction, and proceeded to call up the most important task in their careers and began on beginning the compilation of games and movies that would emerge over the coming two years. And at the forefront of this compilation was a dream concept that was unmatched in anybody’s vision: Advent Children. A few days ago I managed to download a subbed version of this marvellous feat and sat down and watched what I knew would be the equivalence of a religious experience.

Ultimately I was wrong.

Before I endeavour into the faults of what should have been a masterpiece, I will praise the good points. Aesthetically, that is graphically, the film is flawless. The world is represented in inspiring clarity and the characters are brilliant. It is truly the most realistic CGI representation of human beings I have ever seen, and the motion feels real, and the world as plausible as it could be considering the circumstance. I was indeed awestruck when a certain summoned dragon appears in a fantastic way and began to wreak havoc as only the ‘Neo’ version of the king of the dragons can. The battle scenes as well are spectacular, because that fact of the matter is they are very cool. The physics defying movement, the might clash of swords, the manifestation of the use of Materia is enough to soften any anime hater’s heart. Musically, the movie stays true to the fan boy’s needs with renditions of all of the famous tunes re-recorded wonderfully and played out great, helping to keep the movie running along with plenty of tension and adrenaline.

At that’s the all the good points. Now for the faults.

In the game, all the characters are thoroughly well developed, and whilst all their actions in battles may not have played out great in a real setting, we took this as fact because after all it was a game. However, in the movie, all the of the quintessential characters, whom we all remember having fully fledged personalities, hopes and dreams, loves and hates, are shoved in for the sake of their presence. Cid, Yuffie, Barrett, Red XIII, Vincent, Reno, Rude, Tseng, Elena, Rufus Shinra. Before my eyes the memories of their words and their actions was struck by a powerful odour of commercialism. In the movie all of them are contrived and two-dimensional shadows of what they should have been, which makes you think ‘why did they bother putting them in there in the first place’. Tifa is the only shimmer of hope that just about shows us that there was some thought going on when deciding on the cast. But Cloud. Cloud, in the game Final Fantasy 7, was an incredibly thought out hero. And that’s what he should have been in the movie, a hero, and leader of men., with problems, but talented and courageous, and most of all human. Instead, he is represented as a whiny lost little ‘Emo’ boy who would not stop whining about how troubled he is and how much regrets letting Aeris die. Oh dear, talk about pleasing the crowds. This is a totally unfeasible idea which does not play well at all. And as for the new characters, they are also completely unconvincing and stereotypical villains. What a waste. The story itself is about 1% o what Final Fantasy 7 was. It is contrived, unoriginal, and generally just poor. Where exactly did these three Sephiroth Clones come from? Why is part of Jenova still alive? What the hell is Geostigma? And why does absorbing Jenova’s neck into you chest constitute a transformation into Sephiroth. This is NOT a sequel to the game, as it does NOT answer and unanswered questions, only creates them. A feeble, shameful attempt.

There is one thing that stands in the middle of good and bad, and that is the confrontation between Sephiroth and Cloud. Whilst the idea behind it lacks, and the end is terrible and leaves an unmatched amount to be desired, the fact that it occurs is a dream come true. Visually stunning, and an unforgettable conflict is given a very nice, if inane, touch with this sequence.

Overall, whilst the movie obviously lacks content, characters and substance, the fact remains that this is a movie sequel to the greatest game of all time, and therefore it deserves a higher rating than its content alone would lead you to believe.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 16th, 2006 at 8:38 pm and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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