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Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within (Special Edition)

Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within (Special Edition)

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $26.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Truly ground-breaking work.
Review: Since I haven't played any of the Final Fantasy games, I don't have anything to compare it to. As far as the plot, it was your typical action film with a twist. It's always good to watch, especially when it is well executed as it was in this case, but it will never be confused with Titanic for its depth. However, the CGI graphics were very close to real-life. It was the attention to the little details (the freckles on Aki's face, the way her hair moved realistically, the natural motions of ALL of the characters, the real 3-D feel of the environment, etc.), overlayed with doubtless the best graphics to ever go into a film or any other animated work, that made this movie one of the most breathtaking I have ever had the great pleasure of viewing. And the sound, from the various normal action sounds to the music, were without equal. Simply put, I was blown away by the entire experience, and I highly recommend this film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Astonishing
Review: This movie is simply amazing. The computer graphics are by far the best I've ever seen. The people have realistic features like facial hair and other things that make you think they are real. Plus with this DVD you get to see some really cool behind the scenes stuff. If you're a Final Fantasy Junky like I am this movie is great. If you're not a FF fan this movie is still great because its more sci-fi. This movie will revolution the computer graphics field for years to come. Square is the best company out there go Square Soft. They should make more movies because they did a tremendous job on this one. This is a must have for any dvd collection.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: very cool!
Review: many people didn't like this movie. i saw it and let me tell you something:forget about cg, this movie rocks! the story line is wonderful, the music is great. of course the dialogues are not the most intelligent you have ever heard. so what?! the people i talked about the movie and didn't like were because :the story was dull and it has nothing ti do with the videogames. excuse me? the dreams aki has, the ending and the plot are very final-fantasy-esque. the story line is very different from other animated movies like shrek wiich was a good movie but doesn't compare ti FF. You don't have to be a videogamer to like this movie. just open your mind and remembre that "cartoons" are not just for kids. so "animated movies" doesn't have to be comedies or musicals always.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: LeonCloud
Review: I dont know why all the bad rap about this movie. The story line and animation is the best ive seen in a long time, im a frequent movie goer like every Satday or Sunday and i was beginning to get bored cause all the hollywood stuff are either remakes or everything just look so repeated especially the story, but this movie really rejuvernates me, its makes me feel how good a movie and be and how a movie is suppose to be. At first i didnt like the fact that Akis suit look so much like Reis plug suit from NGE and the scenes just look so much like starship troopers, but when i eventually saw the DVD i was in aw, i had my eyes glued to the TV, not a blink, its wasnt as dull or actionless as other ppl said, it has its share of action and great explosions and fight scenes like Holly movies but better. It sure didnt look like any movie ive seen, especially the story line i was surprised it look far from starship troopers.
As for the not so seamingly flow of CG motion in the characters, trust me there are lot of ppl in hollywood even top noch actors that act worst than the CG models. If humans can look (bad) then CG models that are less natural are likely to be that way. Though the models can use more work but since Square is over budget and overdue they still did a very good job, and had to release it early due to certain problems if they were to do something about it maybe a remake like lucass star wars is a good way to go. Taking the movie and improving it all the way toward mostly in the motion (every would agree on that right) it seem to have gotten alot of work still and if u take note on Dr Cid he has perfect motion in many of the scenes though only a few he is still well done. As for the fact that its not so fantasy related, i personnally dont think so, its hightech like FF7 and 8 and like all the FF games each one has a unique story and characters so does the movie, which makes it even more unique, if they were to make it like the game the story line would fall too much upon the game and would make the story already known if ur person that play all FF games and that way it make the story line dull. It does make u wonder and question things as the movie progress. If FF7 n 8 can be called Fantasy then why cant the movie they are all Sci fi Fantasy to me. To fantasise simply put is to dream of being or in dream state being or ur sub conscious delves into a world of alternate reality doesnt the FF games do that and dont they draw u into the action and each time the angles goes to the first person view of the hand gear, monitors so on i feel as if im the one there and looking. And i do dream wish or fantasise of being there with the action. I feel drawn into the movie just like playing the games.
I personnally think that Square has yet again brough to us another great Final Fantasy title its the best game related movie ive seen even better than Lara Yes. Another master piece from Sakaguchi.
In relation to the poor earnings i dont feel its the fact that the movie was bad in anyway. Its simply the fact that the thing was animated and most adults think anything animated is cartoon so they dont like it and since its not real there are others that dont like that. Its the non Square fans and and those that never really played the games or known much about the workings of square that gave the movie such a bad rap im sure any true final fantasy fan has seen the movie and will get the DVD like me.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: So bad, it ruptured the fabric of both space and time.
Review: This movie had absolutely no plot, none, nada, zip, zilch, zero. I saw it in the theater and seriously contemplated walking out. Yes the graphics were phenomenal, but everything else was just bad. The story was easy to figure out, the dialouge was all cliches, it could have been one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I would not buy this, I would not reccomend it, and last, but not least I would never see it again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: good movie, good computer design, good Aki...
Review: Did you see it in theather? Now is time to review it. Didn't see it? Wrong decision, so, you have the opportunity to correct it.
With this album you get two discs, but the film is the star, of course.
It's about an apocalyptic history, a hard future.
You have a good story. I think it could be better, but it's good, really. The landscapes and structures images are perfect. Literally fabulous. The first sequence with Aki in New York is perfect, like reality... or better.
But the human skin, the human moviments aren't reallistic. It's a very good job; nowadays the better available, but it needs more "humanity" in the faces, in the lips, in the fears and the laughs... Really they have worked hard, especially in the pretty Aki Ross girl. The hair... it's so real... the body moviment and expresivity, the face... A very very good job.

OVERSEAS -EUROPEAN- CUSTOMERS
I've a Pionner all-zone DVD player, and the CD doesn't work if it's the first disc after the power on; but it works perfect with a second or third introduction into the player (In the first instance its detected like a zone 1 disc, but after it, the play is continuous). The sound and the video are in the maximum quality level.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Glorious Animation, Good Story
Review: I find myself in a curious position of praising Final Fantasy to the skies although I abhor the idea of making a movie based on a computer game. The film stands complete apart from the games. No characters from the games appear in the film, nor will a filmgoer ever feel left in the dark if they are completely unfamiliar with the games. Apparently only the Gaia--Earth Spirit concept and the idea of worlds in which magic and technology coexist are held in common, and perhaps the overall tone of the game. Viewers hoping for a two hour reenactment of their favorite game are bound to be disappointed; but those willing to accept the movie only in the spirit of those games will surely be thrilled.

Final Fantasy is every bit as stunning as the trailers and previews and pre-release publicity would lead you to believe. The animation is quite simply the most realistic I have ever seen. The detail of the characters, from their complexions to the way they move, left me in awe of the artistry--several times during the film I found myself literally saying aloud "I can't believe it!" And other times, I found myself NOT amazed at the animation--not because it was bad, but honestly because I was not thinking of it as animation! (Only very rarely, with the movement of a single character (Neil) was the realism ever broken--fans of animated films will know that different characters are created by different animators.) Equally fascinating was the imagery itself--the alien worlds and alien beings (with a single exception--a flying, snakelike dragon which was rather typically and disappointingly commonplace Oriental) were highly imaginative and the colors and tone of the film superbly stylistic. The creatures take their inspiration from the microscopic world--imagine dust mites expanded thousands of times, with tentacles! Some viewers might be reminded of the bio-mechanical worlds of H. R. Giger (Alien), and there is certainly an influence, but no more than that. In terms of visuals, this movie should win many Oscars, or there is no justice.

Plotwise, the film does not quite meet the same high standards. The story is somewhat like a more mature version of Titan A.E. (Earth destroyed by non-material evil aliens, wicked military-type human in position of authority almost ruins everything, hero[ine] on a quest with friends to find the one weapon which can destroy the evil aliens in a single blow), with a touch of The Fifth Element and Captain Planet thrown in for good measure. Sensitive preteens may well find the story too frightening and intense--most of the important characters die, and unlike in a Disney film, don't come back to life. But there isn't much blood--instead we get to see the souls of the characters ripped from their bodies depicted with an almost Leonardo da Vinci-esque skill. My eleven year old daughter was upset by the failure of certain main characters to come back to life, ala Pinocchio or Beast.

The summer of 2001 was a milestone in the history of animation, with FF and Shrek. We are clearly going to have a lot to look forward to.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fantastic animation, story left me wanting something more
Review: I loved the animation, sometimes it was so realistic you could even see the pores in the character's skin, although occaisionally the people seemed to move somewhat awkwardly. From a technical standpoint this movie makes Planetary Traveler or Infinity's Child look like Saturday morning cartoons (imagine what computer animation will look like in 5-10 years time)but the plot and script needed something I can't put my finger on, more background details maybe?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 90%
Review: Forget about the story, it wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't great. The story was however a good medium to showcase the incredible animation that went into this film. The animators deserve a high five with the job they did. I'd say that most of the things tackled were at least 90% successful. The texturing of skin, the cloth, the hair, the kinematics, the dynamic forces, ... very believable for the most part. Watch it just for a glimpse of the future. Next time around, expect more emotional content from the characters and a better story.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Eye-popping... and sleep inducing
Review: About 75 minutes into this thing, I began to fight the urge to doze off. I found it boring as all heck but, (...), I wanted a resolution, even though I didn't understand (...) -all of what was going on and couldn't bring myself to care about the stereotyped characters or such silly talk about the "Earth-Gaea" and the "Alien-Gaea" and silly dialogue such as when Dr. Aki and the Ben Affleck look-alike tell the other, in turns, "Trust me." YAWN! Still, I managed to see the overlong, confusing mess. Yeah, it was a very pretty, overlong, confusing mess but if this is a fantasy, please wake me (...) up; I would only hope it is, indeed, the FINAL fantasy (yeah, I know *groan*;). But seriously, perhaps the makers of this film need the definition of 'fantasy' clarified. Basically, the story involves Gaea, and the spirits of the Earth and such and such and yadda yadda yadda... but is that a fantasy or a philosophy? And is it a fantasy to have your soul sucked out of you by transluscent alien spirits? I've never played the video games, (to which the movie seems to bear no relation) but from what I've seen in commercials - dragons, swordfights and what have you - the plots in the games look like they might have made a much more fun movie than what we have in this movie and more in keeping with the title.

To be fair to the film, even though it's plot seems heavily borrowed from Aliens, it does attempt a twist, not only with the hokum about the 8 Earth Spirits, but in presenting the attacking aliens as not really malignant, just lost and confused. But it's not really enough.

Considering the look of the film, since that's what most of the creative force was invested in, yeah there are a lot of stunning sequences here, but not everything works. Some characters look better than others, so, overall, it's not terribly consistent. Characters' faces look convincing enough, but none show more than one emotion whether it be mild amazement, as with Dr. Aki, stolid determination, in Gray Edwards, or sneering contempt, as in the villain Dr. Hein. This character, in fact, would seem to work quite well as a parody. Unfortunately, this movie is presented all too seriouly. There's hardly any humor to speak of.

Also, the voice actors often don't match the digital actors. Ming-Na Wen's voice isn't easily identifiable, so her voice is apt for the character of Dr. Aki (who, nevertheless looks a bit like Bridget Fonda), but Gray Edwards looks like a cross between Ben Affleck and George Clooney but is voiced by Alec Baldwin. The most jarring of all is the voice of Steve Buscemi, who sounds even more nasal than he usually does and his voice doesn't match the character - who looks more like Jason Priestly or Billy Joe(of Green Day) - at all.

Overall, a disappointment. Glad I didn't pay $9 to see this in a movie theater.


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