Rating: 
Summary: Watchable on a lazy Sunday afternoon
Review: Let's get down to the nitty gritty. I'll hit the good points before the bad. For one thing, probably the most entertaining thing you'll see rendered in Final Fantasy is the futuristic technology. From the intricately designed translucent computer displays, to the gelatinous blobs the soldiers land in sans parachutes, it shows the imagination and artistry of the designers -- not to mention the engineering that went into it.Another great piece of eye candy you'll see throughout the movie is the "phantoms", or what is known as the aliens. These are semitransparent luminous creatures that wouldn't be so spectacular if they were regular old opaque creepies, but something about making things look like gummy bears on acid really ups the "cool" factor. Of course, the most hyped and anticipated visual in Final Fantasy is the human characters themselves. Here, we begin to cross over to the bad points of the movie -- but let's not jump to conclusions. I must say that the characters look real so real you can swear they were real people... sometimes. The animators did a great job, just great. I've head Chris Lee, the producer, say that their intent was not to create a totally realistic depiction of people, but rather a stylized representation. That I think is just an excuse. I believe that they really went for a realistic approach but once they saw that they failed in the case of the human characters, Mr. Lee had to lower audience expectations a bit. There are other times where unfortunately, Aki, the heroin looks like a muppet from the Dark Crystal. At times, her lips move awkwardly and her face looks like a great rendering of a synthetic mask. You'll notice this especially during the scenes that actually require acting. One of these scenes is when Aki and her romantic interest are stranded together in a lift. For some reason all of her gestures look exaggerated and - yes - muppet-like. Her animators overacted. I guess when you can control every nuance of a character that can happen. It is hard to maintain your suspense of disbelief when you're not sure whether to believe the characters as real or just a stylized representation. That said, everything else from the soldiers (in full gear) and the armored flying ships to the landscapes and the special effects (can I call them that?) are extraordinarily realistic. Speaking of overacting, let me just quickly mention the score. Yes, even it overacted. When you watch it, listen for the moment in the opening action sequence where the soldier is being pulled out of harms way by his comrades. For some reason, the score raises to such a crescendo that you wonder whether the movie has just hit its highest climax. After, that it did seem to tone down to appropriate levels. I guess the conductor had a little too much caffeine that day. Anyway, let's cut to the plot. Hey, if anyone's played Final Fantasy, they know that there's always a message, often very heavy handed. It's no different than the movie, except you don't have a month to move through the plot playing your Playstation at all hours of the night. The result is, everything is crammed in an hour and a half. It seems exposition comes with every moment, but trails off at the very end (I'll get to that later). In fact, that may be one of the main elements that contribute to a major drawback to this movie: it seems like Final Fantasy is about twenty minutes too long. Within all the action scenes and wonderful eye candy visuals, for some reason you'll wonder why the end hasn't come yet. It drags and the only reason I can think of is the screenplay. Too many times we cut to Aki saying "Did you hear what I said..." and she explains the reason why she's working on something critical. Exposition, exposition, exposition. Then there's the false endings that add to the sense of the plot dragging out. By false endings I mean the scenes that seem to draw from endings from every other action movie made. There are scenes that would typically mark the end of a movie that in Final Fantasy are just minor plot points: the hero on her death bed, the death of other "good guys," the big exploding bad guy. These plot points lead up to a climax that is very disappointing in comparison. In fact, the climax leaves the audience wondering. Through this whole film, you are force fed the details and reasons why things are done and sought after; then at the end, the fate of the entire world can be accomplished by one sacrificial action that the audience had no idea needs to be done. No one told the audience, for all we know it wasn't mentioned, but somehow - somehow -- the characters knew exactly what needed to be done. Oh well. Final Fantasy asks you to think deeply about life, but not too deeply that you realize you are being asked to ignore holes in the plot and care for two-dimensional characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Misunderstanding
Review: Myth #1. This movie is supposed to be photorealistic -Incorrect. As Sakaguchi states in "Time" Magazine, he is intending to create something between real and unreal. Myth #2. This movie's Sci-fi setting makes it not Final Fantasy -Partially incorrect. A meteor crashing into the planet(FF7). Spirit absorbing beasts(Espers, FF6) You see alot of people commenting about the bad dialgue in this movie. Well, games do have bad dialogue, but it rarely hurts the story. The movie is getting a dark shadow by cynical critics and some final fantasy fans who are too stuck in their own delusions who can't accept a futuristic setting. I think having both types is a nice variety that brings depth to an ongoing series. Get your heads from out of your behind and enjoy whats being given to you and stop crying over little details you don't like. Your letting spilled milk ruin a great experience. - Many points are taken from "Lengchay" at Dark Horizons. I would quote directly but url's aren't allowed. It is the most fair FF review I have seen.
Rating:
Summary: some things need to be addressed
Review: The reason I am posting this is to cancel out the ... before me who posted one star "just to spite you people". Based merely on the trailers I've seen I know at the very least that this WILL be a pivotal movie. Maybe not for the technology, but by God definately for the artistry. It is the first attempt to portray a realistic world that has been generated entirely by computers, and by the looks of the trailers, they succeeded. Shrek was a nice appetizer, but the feast is coming July 11th. Anyone remember Jurassic Park? That was one of the first CG ventures to turn out some shockingly realistic animation, and we remember it mostly for that aspect. Think, what would it have been if there was no breakthrough CG? Just another movie that people would complain paled to the experience of the book. No matter what the story is, final fantasy will be a movie to see. Even if your favorite game in the series isn't being portrayed, even if you don't think they're doing anything new, even if you don't think that a breakthrough CG movie can be evaluated (somewhat) by sneak previews and teasers, you will see this movie. There is no avoiding it. I'll be there, too.
Rating:
Summary: I have not seen the movie - and neither have you!
Review: Disregard the five stars. How can we jump to conclusions from the trailer? Here is my opinion... 1) NOT an Alien's rippoff. Yes, I am aware it resembles this movie from the trailer, but it is very different. 2) How can you say that the animation has been done before? Rendering Aki's 60,000 strands of hare took 20 percent of production time and cost 8 million. The technology in this film is unparalled even by the games. Nope, it's not just a normal FMV with more textures... saying that is pure ignorance. 3) Ebert and Roeper just gave this movie 2 thumbs up and mentioned that the story was great. Later you can see the review at ebert-roeper-movies.com, but it's not up yet. 4) Hironobu Sakaguchi can't let us down. I am confident that the movie will keep the tradition of the Fantasy. It may not look like the games, but if you look deeper, you can find the same story themes. I have read the novelization, and it is definetely Final Fantasy. 5) For all I know the people bashing this movie are just servants of Steven Speilburg spreading untrue rumours about this movie.... See for yourself July 11th.... Once again, the 5 stars mean nothing, but this movie will be good. Don't judge it before it comes out, the ignorance is offensive.
Rating:
Summary: Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh!
Review: I've heard people say "it looks like FF8" or what-have-you, but think for a second.. have any of the games been all that similar? Again, you might say "that's just it, Square makes games, not movies!" Well, what exactly is an rpg? To me it's basically a movie that you control, fyi: the story is already drawn up. I know being sucessful in the gaming industry doesn't necessarily promise a score in the box office, but no matter what other's may say, I think that the movie will be pretty damn sweet. My dad, who's never played any of the Fantasies, says that he's going to see it, just because it has awesome animation. This movie is going to be great eye candy, no doubt, (it took them like five days to make one second of the actual on screen film) and it will probably have a roller coaster of a story to back it up, being that the brilliance of it's background. So, in closing, I've got my popcorn ready baby. ... , but I think it will be good.
Rating:
Summary: looks cool
Review: i,ve been playing final fantasy games since i could remember ive played nine seven eight tactics yeah the movie dosent have meny things that the games had but that dosnet mean that you have to curse its name its like the resident evil movie yeah the res evil movie might still have the zombies and monsters but a super computer that kills people now that tiwists the storie
Rating:
Summary: Reviewers who havent seen the movie yet
Review: Reading all the reviews below, I got a little angry. These people havent seen the movie yet and they are bad mouthing it already! From the PREVIEWS I have seen, It looks to have a very indepth story line just as the game series. Sure, they took the futuristic rout to the movie. Isn't there a bit of futuristic elements in the game series? YES. I am more partcial to the fantasy theme than sci fi, but I will not be judgemental. No it doesnt look like an aliens rip off!!! Just because its a planet full of a differnet species doesnt mean its a rip off. You have not seen this movie; just because you see creatures that vaugly ressemble the "Alien" look, doesnt say anything about the story. Im sure it will be a little different than the game, How can they fit 40 hours + of game play into an hour and a half movie? They did what they could do. In the game series, each one begins with a new story, new characters, and new world. That is what they have done with the movie. So quite whinning! Sure im as big of a FF7 fan as the next , but get over it, this is what we get. Well I look forward to seeing the movie next week, hopefully minds will change. I expect a decent movie. One last thing. FF8...With this game, It gave me a differnt feel than any other game in the series...and because of it, I loved it. The military nature of the theme was great, as was the "Love" theme. Definatly the hardest game in the series! Im not going to say its my favorite, but still! GREAT GAME!
Rating:
Summary: It's beautiful
Review: Its the most beautiful trailer I've ever seen. I'm taking about 25 people to see it on the 11th. All hail Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Rating:
Summary: Read the Story
Review: Most of the people giving bad reviews of the movie dont even know what the story is about. The story is a sci fi version of the games. The story is: The year is 2065 and Earth is under siege. A meteor has crashed onto the planet, unleashing millions of alien creatures which roam the Earth. Decimating field and city alike, these predators are threatening to extinguish all life on the planet. The survivors of the initial onslaught have retreated to barrier cities built to protect the inhabitants of Earth from the marauding invaders. But the few cities around the globe are in decline and time is running out. Yet, the sprit of humankind is resilient and embodied in the brilliant and beautiful Dr. Aki Ross. Determined and capable, Aki strives as EarthÅfs last hope against extinction. With the guidance of her scientific mentor, Dr. Sid, and the aid of the Deep Eyes military squadron led by the courageous Captain Gray Edwards, Aki races to save both the Earth and herself. Terminally infected by an alien, Aki holds the key to discovering the secret to defeating the alien predators. But her quest is jeopardized by the militant opposition of General Hein, who plots to unleash a massive space cannon that will annihilate the aliens and possibly the Earth. As the clock ticks down, Aki searches within her dreams to find an answer to the alien mystery, while scouring the Earth to collect the eight spirit waves she believes will save the planet. Fighting both the enemy within and the scheming General Hein, who would destroy the Earth in order to save it, Aki valiantly pursues her Final Fantasy So... You see it is a real final fantasy story. Sure none of the games follow the same story line but it still has the approach of the final fantasy franchise.
Rating:
Summary: History In the making..
Review: Im sorry, but basing this movie off the games is a bad way to approach this film. My personal favorite was FF IV.(2 in the US) Granted yes, the company itself has known to produce astounding surreal and interestingly intricate plots within the games, but there is also the concern with the production company 'compromising' the film to fit the intellect of the 'American' audience. American audiences are known to enjoy explicitly ignorant films ie. Legally Blonde, Dude Where's my car... etc.. I think the best approach to look at this film as the first film in history to simulate real actors and reality in a rendered enviroment. Something George Lucas and his team of ILM artists were talking about, yet Square accomplished. This is a groundbreaking film for cinema in general and even if the plot isn't up to snuff and has been 'dumified' for American audiences. Think of it as poety and artistry in motion and history in the making. Enjoy
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