Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Underrated and Underappreciated by Gamers...
Review: (*review of theatrical release*)
I was impressed very much with this work. I have a hard time with the criticism that I have heard about this film, especially from Final Fantasy fans. I admit it was far from perfect, but it was the best movie I've seen all summer. One thing some forget is that "Final Fantasy" has always been a concept, an excercise. The game series always changes in fudamentals with every new installment, ranging from traditional fantasy to "age-of-enlightenment/industrial revolution & magic" to hard-core sci-fi or an odd melange of all three. Why should the films be any different? I anxiously await the DVD release and the next VG installment as well. At least it has a plot more feasable than the last Star Wars flick (eeww!).
Rating:
Summary: Touching
Review: This movie has its flaws, no doubt. But still I'm not convinced that it does not hold on its own. I cannot follow other critics' arguments, like: "it has nothing to do with the games" -- or: "the figures cannot show emotion".As for the games, as far as I know, each new Final Fantasy game was (almost) completely unrelated to its predecessor. Why should the movie be an exception? It's a great science fiction movie. I expected something like this, and was not disappointed. As usual CGI is a gift for displaying space ships, planets, odd visual phenomena. And Square knows how to exploit this. The really new thing: announced as the first realistic computerized depiction of human beings. I was sceptical about this. And still I appreciated the effort. It shows. There are some jarring moments, but I was especially impressed by the character Aki Ross. And that was NOT because of Maxim. I hope and expect to see more of her. I've seen the movie four times now. Once in the English dubbed version and thrice the German one. I still feel like going to watch it one more time. I know that it has commercially bombed and the story is cut a bit short. There could have been so much more! Nevertheless I feel the movie has some poetic quality. At least for me.
Rating: 
Summary: The gamers expected a game and not a movie.
Review: It is my opinion that the reviews before this one were written by pure gamers who just wanted to go crazy over their favorite game characters on screen. I am a game fan as well and it is a fact that every Final Fantasy game had different characters and different stories. The movie was no different. It held pure to the game with it's concepts of spirits and life. But held it's own twists and plot. The animation was spellbinding and the story was riviting. The characters persona's in the movie were also surprisingly relatable which is hard to find in a film these days. So if you are a sci fi fan who wants to see a great movie with adult concepts this is for you. If you are a gamer who wants to see a new twist just like ever Final Fantasy game has provided it is also for you. If you are a gamer who just wants to see the same game he played on screen without playing then get another movie this will not please you.
Rating:
Summary: why have it follow one of the games?
Review: Yes, the movie didn't follow any of the games, but if it did wouldn't that kind of ruin the point? I mean none of the games flow with each other. Personally I found the story to be quite interesting. It seemed to follow the basic plot of any of the games: save the world with a twist of romance. I thought it was cool because the story was told through a woman instead of a man and they weren't a couple of teenagers with a complete understanding of the world. The story displayed seemed more realistic. It was kind of disappointing that magic wasn't any where in the movie, but the awesome technology the characters had at their fingertips made up for it. The CGI was...the best I've ever seen. It was too realistic looking sometimes, it was almost freaky. I found it the best movie I have seen in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: Just a few comments.
Review: I personally enjoyed "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" very much, and was rather disappointed by the responses of American audiences and critics. Despite several comments stating otherwise, "Final Fantasy" is not slow. Indeed, a surprisingly small percentage of the film is comprised of action sequences, but action has nothing to do with character or plot development. "Final Fantasy's" plot may not be for all audiences, but that doesn't mean that it lacks one, entirely. Those who appreciate the Japanese style of storytelling will surely understand the plot's depth. Interestingly enough, die-hard fans of the video games have commented that "The Spirits Within" is nothing like the games that preceded it, and thus is unworthy of the title, "Final Fantasy." While I, for one, disagree with that statement, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I should, however, comment that each FF game is unique in its plot, characters (save Cid,) and world. What do people expect? An interactive battle system in the movie? Guest appearances by Cecil, Terra, Cloud, or some other character from the game series? I'm just writing this review in defense of the movie, because I feel that some people, whose attention spans have been rotted by too many hours of MTV, have been overly-bashing it. Remember that a review, mine included, is just an opinion. Though you may read several reviews that say, "This is the poopiest movie I've ever seen! It's stupid and I hate it!" or something to that effect, you should really pay more attention to the film's overall rating. At the present, as I am writing this, the movie has an average rating of four stars. That's quite a bit better than "poop," in my estimation. All in all, I recommend this movie. Give it a chance. Though it may seem melodramatic at times, that's typical of the Japanese style of storytelling. If you liked "Princess Mononoke," you'll at least appreciate the film's message. *****/***** (5/5 stars.)
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible animation, but unfortunately that's it
Review: I really wanted to like this movie because the animation is so far above anything Disney has ever done - I'm not sure they will be able to match the technical achievements that highlight this film any time in the near future. That said, animation still has far to go to match the complexities of human emotion. You won't see digital actors replacing real ones for a while, with perhaps the exception of Alec Baldwin whose CGI counterpart can act better than he does. Unfortunately, aside from the mind-blowing visuals the movie falls flat. It's only been a short time since I've seen the movie, but I've already forgotten the characters' names. The plot had some new-age, tree-hugging, worship Mother Earth theme and the ending was incomprehensible. Were they trying to tie up all the loose ends or did they just give up? Meanwhile, all the gamers are disappointed because this movie has nothing to do with the actual video games. It's too bad that with all the money they spent on the animation, they didn't spend a few dollars on a decent script.
Rating: 
Summary: FINAL Fantasy
Review: Well, it wasn't as good plotline as most movies or even the games that Square has come out with, but it was beautiful nonetheless. That is what I think they were stressing...why else would they pump so much money into Square Pictures?(except some equipment for game graphics, but games make so much more money...), and they succeeded at that. Only when Woodie is climbing on the sleeping collecter in Toy Story 2 did we ever get lifelike aimation from CG(the collector, not Woodie), but now with this one, the tone has been set for lifelike movie animation. What did this movie in was that it tried to please everyone, and in doing so offended everyone just a bit..bad story, talking, no ties to "Fantasy"(my own peeve as a gamer).But then again, it has the FINAL, which means that they take a risk that it could be thier "final" peice(doubtful with the game quality Square has acheived). So overall, I think they acheived their pupose, and got everyone aquainted with the power of CG, and put themselves as a lead in that style entertainment(they're already top of games).
Rating:
Summary: One of this year's best movies
Review: While many people complain that this movie has nothing to do with the final fantasy game series published by squaresoft, i have to say that this movie has a storyline and special effects that will leave you begging for more. This trully is a must have.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid!! Superb!!
Review: I've already seen this movie twice and I'm going to see it a third time.
When the film ended the first time I went to see, everybody was still sitting at the end-credits. There're a few movies that i've seen that hve the same effect. The second time was as great as the first. It's not just a movie it's an experience.
I read about people breaking down the movie because it's like the game! WRONG. Of all the Final Fantasy games not one is alike.
It's always a different story with different characters.
The story told in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a great story. The kind of story that pops up in the game series.
I would've loved anyway if the title was only The spirits within!
Those people who compare the movie and the game are just dumb idiots. If all of us did that we would always condemn a movie based on a book or viceversa!
Look at the movie and feel it with you whole being don't just watch it. You even might learn a little more respect about the earth! Aki is a great character and I would like to see her in more CG-movies. And loved this one and I'm hoping for another one.
Rating:
Summary: Great Sci-Fi
Review: Final Fantasy may have nothing to do with the overrated series of games of the same name, but it stands very well by itself. This movie is classic sci-fi, earth is threatened by alien creatures and somebody must save it, and the heroes in this totally CGI movie do it with style. The story moves a little slow at times, but if it were nothing but action there would be not plot or character development.
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