An FF Fanboys Wet Dream!
A MASSIVE departure from the last Final Fantasy film (Final Fantasy: Spirits Within), this is possibly one of the best 'animated' films ever created. Actually scratch that, it possibly one of the best FILMS ever created. Read on true believers...
****MAY CONTAIN SLIGHT SPOILERS!!!!****
Graphics (10/10): The most FANTASTIC graphics I have ever seen, so realistic that at points you will forget you're watching a CG movie. There is nothing that can be faulted in this department.
Action (10/10): Again, fantastically good. Completely OTT fight scenes + amazing graphics = FF7 fan boy's wet dream. Most notable fight scenes are the fight with a Bahamut type monster, the motorbike chase on the highway and the final battle with Kadaj and.... someone else ;o)
Story (7/10) Now, the reason for the 7 is that while the story itself is OK, there are a few plot holes and almost no back story for the 3 main bad guys. Now I can probably guess who they are and where they come from, but thats all, there is NO explanation as to if they really are more Sephiroth clones or something completely different. Also we don't get to find out where they got their neat toys from either (one has a GUNBLADE! Nice homage to FF8 there). Nevertheless, there are 2 main plots and while for the first half of the movie its a little hard to grasp whats going on, it does become clear by the middle of the movie, although by that time you'll be to busy picking your jaw up from the floor after seeing the amazing action (did I mention that already? Thought not)
Characters (8/10): Hmmm, little bit peeved here, but not too much. Of course Cloud and Tifa get covered pretty well, but the rest of the main characters don't really get much screen time. Vincent has a little more than the rest, but thats not saying much. Red XIII and Cait Sith come as pretty much one entity in this, Yuffie comes across as a dumb kid, Barret is pretty cool with his new hand gun and Cid doesn't really do much at all. President Rufus makes a return, along with Reno and Rude of the Turks, but those two seem to be pretty much comic relief. The other two Turks (can't remember their names at the moment) makes a very quick appearance near then end of the film. There are two other special appearances by Aeris and Zak throughout the film in some very touching moments.
Music (10/10): Ooooooh the music! So good I cried in some parts and creamed in the others lol. Seriously though, the music here is taken straight from the game and given a severe shot of juice up the a$$! The moment you hear the opening bars of JENOVA starting up you get a shiver run right through you (well, I did anyway), and when One Winged Angel kicks in... well, words cant describe it. At the other end of the spectrum, the piano tunes go right to the heart and flip all the right switches, I really did get tears in my eyes near the end of the film.
Overall (10/10): For me, this has instantly become one of my favourite films of all time. Non FF7 fans will probably not get it, but that may not mean they wont like it. I'm not gonna bother saying that anyone who wants to see it but hasn't played the game should research the background first, cuz I know that people wont. But I can pretty much guarantee that those people will look up the back story once the credits roll. Fans of the game, if you haven't already seen the movie, what the hell are you waiting for!? Go to it b!tches!Read full review
