Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

Directors:

Hironobu Sakaguchi
Moto Sakakibara (co-director)

Writers:

Hironobu Sakaguchi (story)
Al Reinert (written by) ...

Release Date:

11 July 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Unleash a new reality

Plot:

A female scientist makes a last stand on Earth with the help of a ragtag team of soldiers against an invasion of alien phantoms.

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | General | Quest | Spirit | Final Fantasy

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Ming-Na	...	Doctor Aki Ross (voice)
Alec Baldwin	...	Captain Gray Edwards (voice)
Ving Rhames	...	Ryan (voice)
Steve Buscemi	...	Neil (voice)
Peri Gilpin	...	Jane (voice)
Donald Sutherland	...	Dr. Sid (voice)
James Woods	...	General Hein (voice)
Keith David	...	Council Member #1 (voice)
Jean Simmons	...	Council Member #2 (voice)
Matt McKenzie	...	Major Elliot (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matt Adler	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Steve Alterman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David Arnott	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Andrea Baker	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Andrea Taylor)
Cathy Cavadini	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Catherine Cavadini)
Lanei Chapman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Vicki Davis	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Judi M. Durand	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Judi Durand)
Greg Finley	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Jack Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Julia Fletcher	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Barbara Harris	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Barbara Iley)
David McCharen	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Tracy Metro	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David Michie	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Richard Penn	...	Additional Voices (voice)
David Randolph	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Also Known As:

Fainaru fantaji (Japan)
Final Fantasy (USA) (working title)
Final Fantasy: The Movie (USA) (working title)
Gaia: Final Fantasy (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37629) | Malaysia:U | Japan:PG-12 | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Company:

Chris Lee Productions

Trivia:

This was the first Final Fantasy not scored by series composer Nobuo Uematsu, the man behind the music of all ten FF games (excluding FF Tactics, composed by Masanari Iwata/Hitoshi Sakimoto). His music is so loved by fans that it is often released on separate CDs by popular demand.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Aki removes the phantom particles from Gray, she picks up a canister that's hovering in the air, when she originally placed it on the table further away.

Quotes:

Doctor Sid: Remember what happened to Galileo? They threw him in jail because he said the earth was not the center of the universe. That could happen to us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kingdom Hearts (2002) (VG)

Soundtrack:

The Dream Within

Most will be impressed, some disappointed, but it's worth the price of a ticket for all...

I've waited for this one for quite a while, as have most of Square's fans. There is a lot riding on this film, including the future direction of CG in movies, the proud heritage of a name brand, and the chance to release a worthwhile movie during a string of bad summer flicks. So, does Final Fantasy live up to it's hype?

Mostly.

First, the bad. No, it has nothing to do with the games other than name, but then the majority of the storylines of the games had nothing to do with each other, either. The plot is not necessarily original, with marauding aliens nearly vanquishing humanity while a desperate band of outsiders hold the key to winning (tired sci-fi, to be sure) and even the animation has it's faults, mostly with the mouth movements and a few emotions lacking, as the eyes and lips, and even hair had detail but no-one's cheeks or throats moved, giving the characters a bit of a puppetry feel at times. The movement of humans in CG is still not quite fluid, but getting much better. Also, the movie slows down considerably during the last twenty or thirty minutes, which is perhaps necessary for the plot, but the change in pace was notable, even with the awe that the movie's end was aspiring too.

But enough nit-picking.

The Good. The imagery in this movie is startling, imaginative, complex, even awesome at times. It's amazing that while the machines, vehicles, and mechanics in the movie are so realistic and detailed, so too are the organic forms such as the alien presence (sometimes seemingly more fluidly animated than the humans!) and the incredible landscapes. It is obvious how much imagination went in to so many aspects of this movie. The soundtrack, while not exceptional, is very complimentary and captures the dark feel with the fast action and triumphant climaxes. The characters were distinct, like-able, and voiced very well (even if the digital mouths don't quite match up most of the time). The emotional scenes, while certainly not perfect and a bit awkward, should be given grand credit for achieving the level they do convey. If you let yourself go, it's not impossible to be entranced by all that this movie actually manages to pull off. If nothing else, then the effects alone are worth seeing, if the somewhat hokey spiritual elements of the plot turn you off. (If you consider the Force to be hokey, don't bother.)

The Surprising. Well, I was a bit put off by the simplistic way the characters would look at each situation and then spell it out to the audience, though there is more to the plot than casual sci-fi fare. Because of this, the dialogue was a bit goofy at times, but at least it usually fit the characters. But every good thing you've heard about the quality of the CG work in this movie is true- it really is a site to behold, if nothing else than for the effects. As I mentioned earlier, if you consider how much this movie is trying to do, it's amazing that it pulled off everything nearly as well as it does.

So, I think that most will be pleased, some will critique it heavily on the negatives and not be as impressed, but the bottom line is that it is definitely worth seeing. Quality work in most areas, even story and screenplay in my opinion (though that's certainly the most debatable point.) I left the theater without being disappointed, something I cannot say for the majority of cinema fare.