Rating: 
Summary: Good, but let the name go
Review: as a movie its a good sci-fi, good story and all, but to my disappointment it had NOTHING to do with the final fantasy series. I guess the spirits were like FF crystals, also the scientist's name is Cid. Also, gaia was destroyed way to easily as if they needed to have a main character die to create emotion. Good movie but the name is misleading.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the point of photo-realism in CGI ?
Review: First, what I liked about this movie:
The CGI is simply stunning. Hats off to all the animators; they are our real modern-day illusionists.But...
The story is way over the head of people who are uninitiated with the FF franchise. Or could it be that I was too distracted by the magnificent visuals to be too bothered about how the story developed, what motivated characters and so on? Also, the movie is WAY too serious for its own good...the dark, gloomy palette of most scenes is made more drab by the humourless, fun-less script. Which brings me to my real gripe about the movie. What's the point of making a CGI movie that is so photo-realistic when we can have the same thing with live actors and sets? The producers seem to have worked from the assumption that audiences want realism in CGI. Not true. We do not want realism as in REAL-LIFE; what we want is STYLISED REALISM, the kind displayed by SHREK and TOY STORY. Those movies can never be made the life-action way; with Final Fantasy, however, the entire movie could have been made more effectively with conventional actors and sets.
Rating: 
Summary: Glorious animation nearly overcomes uninspired script
Review: Sometimes a movie isn't so easy to review. One reason can be that it doesn't fit the mold, and that's certainly the case with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. It's animated, but it's not for kids. [Note the PG-13 rating.] It's animation, which is computer generated, is so high tech that it's almost photorealistic. Unlike Shrek or A Bug's Life, though, it's main characters aren't cartoon figures made lifelike. They are people - people generated by computers. They don't look entirely real, but they are startling enough to suggest a future in which Nicole Kidman or Julia Roberts could star in a movie without really being there at all. They could simply show up afterwards to do the voices. With the possible exception of Moulin Rouge [not yet on video]. Final Fantasy is the most visually stunning movie I have seen this year. If a movie can be art, then this one qualifies. If it can't, then this is still a major technological breakthrough. There have been lots of important advances over the years, such as Technicolor, Cinemascope, Cinerama, Panavision, digital stereo and IMAX. Each of them impressed audiences and increased business, at least until the novelty wore off. After a while audiences remembered a basic need, which is that of a story people want to see and hear. That need has not changed, and the makers of Final Fantasy, who spent four years and a reported 137 million dollars to create this newest frontier in movie making, learned the hard way that, if the story isn't all that good, people won't come to see the movie. To make matters worse, they weren't able to convince a young adult audience that an animated movie can be for them rather than for kids. It can be, but few viewers are yet buying the idea. It is the year 2064. Planet Earth has been invaded and conquered by creepy and often invisible beings. Life for people goes on, but only in cities protected under giant bubbles. Leave the city, and the aliens will definitely get you literally sucking out your spirit. As the movie opens, Dr. Aki Ross [voice of Ming-Na] is alone on a scientific expedition. Fortunately, she is rescued at the last moment by Capt. Gary Edwards [Alec Baldwin] and his crew. It turns out that Aki and Gary used to be lovers and are not at all happy to see each other. Everyone thinks Aki is crazy to have ventured out into the world, but she is actually working on an important project with Dr. Sid [Donald Sutherland]. They believe in the Gaia, the idea that our planet is composed of spirits. If they can find all eight of these spirits, they can force the aliens to leave. Most of the rest of humanity is putting its faith in the Zeus Project, a giant death ray in space built to destroy the asteroid the invaders arrived on. Aki and Dr. Sid are convinced that blowing it up will only make matters worse. So, here we are at my problem. I can't fault the artistry of the film. I will doubtless watch it again for its astounding visuals. I know the movie is based on a very successful series of video games. The concepts of looking for the spirits and for the Gaia are intriguing. So, why did the producers decide to use such an unimaginative space-opera script? It would seem like their enormous investment would have required a first-rate story. Whatever the case, the best I can do is to give it a mixed review. By the way, since the art of computer animation does not yet produce entirely believable human figures, Nicole and Julia will still need to report to the set for the next several years.
Rating:
Summary: Should not be titled Final Fantasy
Review: Final Fantasy is a very well done movie, but I felt a little dissapointed. I have played Final Fantasy 7 so I am a little familiar with the series. The cg in Final Fantasy is absolutely amazing. The main problem that I have with this movie is that it does not have any fantasy in it. This movie is a pure sci-fi. The game was always a mix of both. I feel the makers of the film played it safe and went with the Aliens/Starship Troopers formula, ignoring all of the things that made Final Fantasy a great and unique game. It is a more serious movie and lacks the quirky characters that we all love. This is definatly worth checking out, but offers nothing new besides good animation.
Rating: 
Summary: A movie that has a long time to prove itself.
Review: In the same arena as Tron was in 1982, Final Fantasy;The Spirits Within, is yet another rung on the CGI technological ladder. Although it's plot is quite stale and familiar, the graphics and technical expertise are unsurpassed at least for now as of March 2002:) Much like Tron, it's proves that a movie doesn't necessarily need to have a deep and enthralling story to be a viable piece of art. Essentially, movies like these are meant to do one thing, to create something we have never seen before so that others can be inspired to do it better and more creatively. So, for the future of new CGI films, this movie is a not a failure but a testament! We can only see films like this get better and more engaging as time develops. Someday, when Tron turns 40 and Final Fantasy turns 20, we'll all look back on these pieces of work as part of our pop culture, so, negative reviews are really kind of senseless since this movie will inevitably become a part of movie history whether we like it or not. Long live Final Fantasy!
Rating:
Summary: visually beautiful, boring storyline
Review: This movie is worth seeing for its awesome visual effects, but don't expect much from the story. Its an ok plot its not terribly interesting, or engaging. Watch it with the sound off. Visuals 4/5
Plot 0/5
Overall 2
Rating:
Summary: Final Fantasy - The best 3D CGI Movie I watched
Review: Frankly speaking, reading "bad" reviews and hearing bad "rumours" about this movie, I was quite reticent to buy this DVD (as I did not watch it in movie theater). Now I watch this DVD several times, I can assert this movie is simply the most beautifull 3D CGI movie I watched in my life. And I must confess to you I watch all of them because I am working in this field. I read animation was bad ! Animation is incredibly good. Renderings are outstanding and the level of details never seen before. Technically speaking, all characters / objects / sets / materials have been carefully designed. A complete 2065 futuristic virtual world with its own technology and history. Just an example: the air transporters are incredible and look so real with all mechanical parts functionnal. From a human point of view (the most important point), Dr Aki Ross and Gray Edwards relationship is deep and very well defined. They have a rich background and their own experience they carried. Dr Aki Ross is a scientist who fell in love with a tactical "Deep Eyes Squadron Task Force" Captain played by Gray Edwards (Alec Baldwin voice). But during a research, she is infected by one "phantom" (Free spirits coming from outer space). As her future is doomed, she decides to stop any relationship with Captain gray. Every night, she is dreaming a strange "Final Fantasy" dream. Her phantom is slowly but surely destroying her, so she has not time to spare. She must find a solution to eliminate phantoms from Earth. By chance, in one mission within Old New York City (a must see sequence), she meets again Captain Gray. She finaly explains her ill to him. Gray decides to help her for finding the solution of the phantom mystery. He will try anything to save her life, even at the cost of his own life. Simply a superb plot: the altruism at its maximum. In France, in few weeks this DVD is now one top selling Amazon reference (in the top 5 ! ). Just watch it and you will experience the Final Fantasy. Best Regards from France. Vincent.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie with awesome extra features
Review: The Final Fantasy world has been locked in the video game world and with this movie is finally introduced into mass media outside of it's wall. And they do a marvelous job of putting the classical series into a movie. For anyone shut out of the Final Fantasy world the series has, as of this review, 10 makes of it. They are not related, but simply share the same interface (essentially) and play style. It is extremely popular and limited to the Playstation consoles and some are available on the PC. The Spirits Within is a sci-fi movie with an original plot. The Earth has been "invaded" by spirits with the power to kill any living thing with a spirit. Humans have developed a defense against these spirits and built barrier cities to defend against them. They have built guns and a new cannon with the ability to kill a large area of spirits. The only problem with the cannon is that there is a possibility that it could injure Gaia, the spirit of the Earth. At the same time Aki Ross and Dr. Sid are attempting to capture the eight spirits of Gaia to oppose the alien spirits. The opposer to their research is . He is willing to try anything to shut down their research and fire the cannon. To add to this great film are the special features. Outakes, behind the scenes, character files, inside the grey project, and even a special dance sequence. There are more than that. Tons of them and most are worth seeing. A great movie that should at least be given a try.
Rating:
Summary: A sadly overlooked treasure
Review: It has really baffled me how this stunning ground breaking movie ended up receiving with such mixed response upon its release last summer.
The design and visuals are so powerful and arrestingly beautiful that have yet to be surpassed in any movie, let alone in the genre of science fiction.
The direction, particularly in the several eye-popping action set pieces, reveals a talent on par with James Cameron in terms of the menace, unrelenting tension, and imagination that is conveyed. The quieter moments of emotion and character exposition are handled with an equal degree skill and subtlety, and to the extent that it is quite astonshing to realise that one is actually watching an entirely animated movie.
The story is not ridiculous, as many of it's critics seem to suggest. It is certainly bold, in that it attempts to deal with issues of spirituality and death, but it is told within clearly outlined, consistent and plausible universe of the mid 21st century following an asteroid impact. The story uses as its basis some contemporary (although admittedly not widely held)
scientific views on the Gaia theory which may for some people be difficult to swallow, but within the confines of the story the theory is dealt with in a balanced and consistent way without being used as an excuse for excessive silliness or sentimentality. Perhaps more importantly, the Gaia theory as alluded to in the film is really a device used in the film to address a number of deeper issues such as death and religion, as well as ecology and the nature of extraterrestrial intelligence.
I cannot recall another sci-fi movie that deals with so many of these issues so boldly and intelligently. For that same film to be so viscerally exciting, thrilling and moving is a rare thing indeed and it saddens me a little to think that the work that Square pictures put into this obvious labour of love didn't equate to the box office smash that it so deserved to be.
I urge anybody who reads this review to give this overlooked movie a chance and you might find yourself rather pleasantly surprised.
and finally, the DVD itself is one of the most slickly put-together 2 disc sets that i've seen and provide a fascinating insight into the film's genesis.
Rating:
Summary: Nicely Done
Review: Normally, I don't write long reviews, or reviews at all, for items that already have 100+ written by other people. It just doesn't make good sense. The odds of anybody actually reading mine are pretty much zero. But I felt like doing this one anyway, just because I apreciate this film a great deal. I'll start off by saying that I've never played a Final Fantasy game, with the exeption of the FF3 version for the old school Nintendo Gameboy. I do keep up on the animation though, and download any previews that I can get my hands on. So it seemed perfect for me that Square would come out with one non-stop video. I'm impressed by the video quality. The animation is realistic, rather than the stylized characters that have been used in the video games. Even though the animation has a long way to go, it's still the most impressive, realistic that I've ever seen. This is as far as it gets from Jar Jar Binks. More impressive is that no human models were used to input the movements. All the more power to them. I enjoyed the story. And it's a dark story. I know there are people out there who resent any story that doesn't have a Disney happy ending. If you're one of those people,
a) Grow up
b) and don't buy this movie. You won't like it. I don't know why people keep refering to this movie as an adaptation of a video game. Honestly, in my opinion, if it had meant to be an adaptation, it would have adapted a previous storyline. It would have been Final Fantasy 8: The Movie. Or something like that. Or to look at it another way, nobody ever disliked Super Mario Brothers: The Movie because Mario didn't have to jump on top of the head of a turtle-type thing waving a candycane to save the princess. I look at it as something original. To finish, I liked the realistic body of Aki Ross. Rather than be a swimsuit model, she is a modest, pretty girl. I apreciated it deeply, to contrast the whole Laura Croft ideal in video games and movies. I wish that the characters had been developed a bit more. And I wish that the second disc was worth watching more than once.
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