Rating: 
Summary: haunted by spirits
Review: The bottom line is that this movie is a benchmark in animation. Just like Akira changed the way people look at cartoons, Spirits Within changed the way I look at computer generated movies. It is one of the most beautiful things I have seen recently. There are some who would argue that computer generated movies lack the "soul" of live action movies. I say it had more than enough. To me it really was poetry in motion, etherial, like a dream. It had action and romance, which all movies like to have, but it had more.
Rating: 
Summary: This Movie is Actually Worth Seeing
Review: If you are anything like me than you probably didn't have high hopes for this movie. After the agony of such game-to-movie disasters as Mario Brothers, Street Fighter, Wing Commander, and Dungeons and Dragons I had virtually given up hope on the idea of taking the stories of good interactive games, and converting them to the silver screen. This movie proved that assumption wrong. While by no means a movie that will go down as a classic, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is well worth viewing if you are a fan of fantasy or even if you're just looking for a fun summer flick. The story, though simple and predictable, actually has an interesting plot and does something that very few movies of its genre (i.e. Dungeons and Dragons) has achieved, in that it has created sympathetic and believable characters. This is even more surprising considering that the movie is entirely done in digital animation. If for no other reason, this movie is worth seeing because it is the first attempt to try to convey a sense of dramatic realism to a digitally animated film. The digital rendering (which is nearly flawless) actually aids in the suspension of belief, drawing the audience in past the visuals to empathise with the characters and their situation. Whether you're a fan of the Final Fantasy game or not this movie is a good flick in its own right, just so long as your not looking for cinematic genious. It's just a fun film!
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL MOVIE DON'T DIS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT!!!
Review: I saw the Final Fantasy movie. IT IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. After the first minute you feel like you are watching real life actors and actresses, the graphics are that good. The story line is totally oridgnal too! I thought the story line would not be as good as the games but I was wrong. You actully feel for the characters. If you have seen the trailers and thought it looked like a take off of something, go and see and relieze it's from a world of it's own!
Rating: 
Summary: All Dazzle, No Razzle
Review: Final Fantasy--The Spirits Within was billed as one of the biggest special effects extraveganzas of 2001. I have never seen a movie so beautiful executed visually but such a complete utter failure in story. What was wrong with the story? There wasn't one! They have one of the greatest voice ensemble casts in recent memory, making the characters extremely likeable but then they kill off the majority of the cast but still allow the movie to continue for an addition thirty minutes, at which point I was ready to leave. The visuals are incredible with ultra-realistic movements but it was like the producers said, "This shot cost a hundred grand, let's leave it on the screen for a full minute." The movie starts out great but goes nowhere with story, development, sub-plots... It lacked everything a movie has to have to be good. As George Lucas said, special effects without story is pointless. Final Fantasy is full of dazzle but has no razzle. And near as I can tell, the story has nothing to do with the video games at all. It was as if they decided to slap that name on it for recognition to add to the dollar potential However............. As Final Fantasy is a Sony Pictures movie, It was worth the anguish of seeing the film for the trailer of Sony's biggest franchise to date coming in May of 2002... SPIDER-MAN! So a big thumbs down for Final Fantasy, a movie that I really wanted to like. One out of five stars and it wouldn't have even gotten one if the visuals and the voices wouldn't have been so great.
Rating:
Summary: A very good effort
Review: I saw the movie yesterday evening, and overall, I thought it was pretty good. The plot is a bit cliche if you've played lots of RPGs and watched lots of anime, but it's definitely not typically Hollywood....
The CG, on the other hand, is (for the most part) amazing -- my main complaint is that the humans move a bit stiffly, and the sometimes expressions on the faces are hard to read. Mechanical objects look wonderful, though.
The music (by the composer of "Batman Forever," I'm told) is all-around pretty average; it's not bad, but I won't be buying the soundtrack.
Rating:
Summary: Please, see the movie, then review.
Review: Forget Toy Story, forget Shrek, this is the one that will remain in the history books. I just saw this movie and I have to say this is a true landmark in moviemaking, at least visually. That's why I give it 5 stars. But be advised that this is not the greatest movie in the world, since acting, directing, music and storyline are from mediocre to average. Square Pictures has a lot to improve in those areas. But it still deserves the highest rating for establishing a new standard in computer-generated imagery for movies.Go see it and be part of this important step in moviemaking. ILM, PDI & Pixar, make way for Square, the new master of CG cinema.
Rating:
Summary: I'm impressed~
Review: Yes, I just watched the movie and I enjoyed it! I haven't played the FF series for some time already (finished only at V and never have a chance then...) so I wouldn't argue if this movie has moved how far away from the game. Well I think the movie itself didn't have a lot association with the game and (I think) it didn't have to. The story plot, is a little bit confusing by first glance but it shouldn't be hard to be understood by sci-fi fans. The idea of "spirit" is a pretty fresh idea, it's too bad the idea has not been fully explained (why the "spirits" are trapped in a meteor and got "released" as a half life-form is still a question in my mind) and obviously there is no explanation and that left to our own imagination. The things that draw my attention are the stunning visual effects and the quality of animation. Of course you can argue there are a lot of texture maps and indeed there are, but don't forget you are watching a movie that wants to recreate human beings and the surrounding environment, not a bunch of imaginary, er, TOYS. I appreciate all the details and efforts put into recreating the scenes and the result is much prettier than you have imagined. Well, to be honest, the movements of the characters are a bit off beat, thats a bit disappointing, but when u look at the face of Dr. Sid you will still be stunned. And that is what Japanese animations stand out from American animes (ok ok, I know this is not a Japanese movie, but the quality is close). I am not saying American animes are bad, but Jp animes has some qualities that Americans can't beat. The final word, if you like sci-fi, this movie is great. It could be a bit boring, but indeed a very nice try.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat like the games
Review: The year is 2065. The Earth has been taken over by a horde of aliens called phantoms that have purged the human race to near extinction. Humans are forced to live in phantom proof barriers that keep them safe. Dr. Aki Ross and her teacher, Dr. Sid are aiding the New York Barrier Colony to find a way to stop the phantoms, preferably peaceful. However, their efforts are jeopardized by the violent efforts of the General Hein, a member of the City Council who wants to try to destroy the phantoms with military weapons. The problem is that the aliens are near unbeatable. They came 35 years ago when a meteor landed on Earth. These aliens are usually invisible to the naked eye, but when coming in contact with humans, they either drag out their soul or contaminate them and inserting a part of phantom into the victim and kill them shortly. The only way to stop the contamination is to target the phantom with a laser, but when hurt, the phantoms seem to flee or run deeper into the patient, usually causing further injury and sometimes death. The men have a laser that seems to work, but it takes several hits and usually will not destroy the bigger ones. Dr. Ross and Dr. Sid are trying to find a peaceful way to immobilize the phantoms not by shooting them down but by scientifically exposing them to a reversed set of energy waves at the phantom, hopefully causing it to be pacified. They have discovered that what is needed are 8 spirits who match the required energy wave levels in order to make a pacifier. Dr. Ross however was contaminated by a phantom early in their project, and is only kept alive by a membrane invented by Dr. Sid that keeps it in one spot. Even though the membrane seems to be working, the phantom is also adapting to the power of it and will soon get out and destroy Dr. Ross. I have explained the main plot to you, and there are many more factors that will explain the outcome, so you must just watch the movie. I loved the graphics in this movie, as some of the people looked as if they were imported from the real world to the computer-generated world of movie. There are so many special effects in sound and graphics that this movie is worth seeing just for those, but the plot is good too.
Rating:
Summary: Seen the movie and was impressed...
Review: I've already seen the movie on its first showing yesterday. For those of you who come in looking for specifics or trying to base the story off any of the Final Fantasy games, I can see you all probably going to end up being disappointed. However, just like you can't really compare between the various different Final Fantasy games based on story and characters, if you just sit back clear your head and watch the movie, it will turn out to be an enjoyable film. The story may look related to past sci-fi movies of the past to some, but it is still unique in many areas and even goes to some aspects that have yet to be touched by other movies. In a very spirited attempt to make an ultra-realistic CGI movie, I am also impressed. Every fifteen minutes or so, I had to remind my eyes on some areas that what I was seeing was indeed animation. With the animation, creativity's the limit and the special effects and camera views were nothing short of superb. Of course, nobody should treat the dialogue, character movement or even the details as perfect. This movie has broken a lot of new ground and has done a lot of firsts, and you cannot expect perfection in everything so soon. I was missing some trademark Final Fantasy signatures, like maybe the composer who does the music for the game, the songs...but overall, I saw so much in the less than two hour long movie and I was impressed that they came out with a story in which they usually excel that usually evolves through many days into a short movie. Well done.
Rating:
Summary: Here's hoping for a sequel...
Review: I've been looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I heard rumors that it was in production. I went to see it on opening night and, actually, it was everything I expected it to be.... well, almost. The visuals and sound are absolutely amazing so I won't spend a lot of time talking about them. Suffice is to say that you've never seen anything quite like this. Ever! The animation is so intricate and detailed that at times I had the feeling that I was watching real actors instead of digital ones. The mere fact that a comparison between real actors and Final Fantasy's "digital actors" can even be made is the movie's peak achievement and a tribute to the sheer artistry involved in creating it. That said, the acting itself leaves a lot to be desired: the voice actors (with the notable exception of Mr. Sutherland) largely fail to match the emotions portrayed on the screen and this flaw is particularly noticeable with the main character, Dr. Aki Ross voiced by Ming Na (well... she was great as Mulan... oh well). To add insult to injury, the dialog itself is rather corny and all too often crosses the line to B-Movie Land. A particular scene at the end of the movie is especially ridiculous and sounds more like a contest of how many times the word "spirit" can appear in a single sentence than coherent dialog. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the last words uttered in this movie are "it's warm!". I'm not sure whether this was supposed to be a clever joke or a really corny piece of text, but the result was that the entire theater roared with laughter. Not all is bad though. Some of the one liner wisecracks are genuinely funny, especially those said in response to automated PA announcements (two of which are particularly hysterical). The plot is interesting and relatively well thought out but it's not overly exciting or surprising for that matter. There are a few loose ends and weird twists that could leave some viewers lost, but overall the plot measures up well to other sci-fi B Movies. The bottom line is that not even the corniest dialog, half-spirited acting and "geez people you gotta be nicer to the planet" type of plot could ruin this one. This is the best animated movie of the year so far (sorry Shrek, I still like you... but... damn!) and one that you should go and see. Here's hoping for a mind blowing sequel!
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