Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)

An ex-mercenary is forced out of isolation when three mysterious men kidnap and brainwash the city's children afflicted with the Geostigma disease.

Directors:

Tetsuya Nomura, Takeshi Nozue (co-director)

Writers:

Kazushige Nojima, Brian Gray (English screenplay)

Stars:

Takahiro Sakurai, Ayumi Itô, Shôtarô Morikubo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takahiro Sakurai	...	Cloud Strife (voice)
Ayumi Itô	...	Tifa Lockhart (voice)
Shôtarô Morikubo	...	Kadaj (voice) (as Shoutarou Morikubo)
Maaya Sakamoto	...	Aerith Gainsborough (voice)
Keiji Fujiwara	...	Reno (voice)
Taiten Kusunoki	...	Rude (voice)
Yûji Kishi	...	Yazoo (voice) (as Yuuji Kishi)
Kenji Nomura	...	Loz (voice)
Shôgo Suzuki	...	Vincent Valentine (voice) (as Shougo Suzuki)
Masahiro Kobayashi	...	Barret Wallace (voice)
Kazuyuki Yama	...	Cid Highwind (voice) (as Kazuyuki Yamaji)
Yumi Kakazu	...	Yuffie Kisaragi (voice)
Hideo Ishikawa	...	Cait Sith (voice)
Masachika Ichimura	...	Red XIII / Nanaki (voice)
Miyû Tsuzurahara	...	Marlene Wallace (voice) (as Miyuu Tsuzuhara)

Storyline

Two years after the events in "Final Fantasy VII", a disease called 'Seikon-Shoukougun', or 'Geostigma', is spreading through the planet. This disease is believed to have been caused by the body fighting off foreign material that invaded the body two years earlier, at the end of "Final Fantasy VII". Guilt-ridden and haunted by his past, ex-SOLDIER Cloud Strife has decided to live a secluded, solitary life away from his friends while maintaining "Strife's Delivery Service", whose headquarters is located in Tifa Lockheart's bar, the Seventh Heaven. Tifa's bar serves as an orphanage for children stricken with Geostigma. Here, Tifa keeps an eye on Barret's six-year-old daughter, Marlene, while Barret searches the planet for an alternative energy source to the Planet's energy, Mako. One day, Cloud receives a phone call from the former Shinra, Inc. president, Rufus, asking him for protection from a mysterious man named Kadaj. Kadaj, in the meantime, along with his brothers Loz and Yazoo, ...

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Plot Keywords:

based on video game | profanity | disease | silver hair | phone | 

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Taglines:

Is this the pain you felt before, Cloud?

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The creators of the film had no prior knowledge of how to make a movie, so it was based on their knowledge of in-game movies.

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Goofs

In the original version, when Sephiroth beats down Cloud, Cloud is resting against a wall. Just before Sephiroth stabs him, notice Cloud's ear and turtle neck. His turtle neck goes through his ear.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Elena: Tseng! Look at this.
Tseng: Pay dirt.

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Crazy Credits

During the last half of the end credits, as the credits roll there's a video of a CGI cloud zooming along real roadways on his motorcycle. At the very end, there's a shot of his delivery service office desk, with a new photo on it.

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Alternate Versions

'Advent Children Complete' contains 26 minutes of additional footage. This includes:

• An opening scene with Kadaj talking to Rufus and asking why humanity even bothers to continue on.
• Marlene's opening monologue features new effects for the Lifestream, Meteor, and the background fire for Sephiroth.
• Numerous new shots have been added to the introduction to Edge City, including a scene showing a man dying from Geostigma in an alley while some children watch.
• A new radio voice-over during Tifa's opening scene.
• When Cloud first meets with Rufus, a scene is shown from Elena's point of view, which explains what happened when Reno's helicopter landed in North Cave and where Kadaj and his brothers originally came from.
• A small scene between Reno and Rude, where Reno wonders if they'll ever be forgiven for the things they did for Shinra in the past, and if they'll be able to find Tseng and Elena.
• A flashback showing how Denzel first met Cloud.
• As the girl with the moogle is carrying her brother through the streets, some people try to help her, but when they see that her brother is in the advanced stages of Geostigma, they back away. She drops her moogle and Denzel picks it up and holds it out to her. She angrily takes it back and continues on.
• Extended flashback sequence of Zack, including his death, where he tells Cloud, "You'll be my living legacy," and gives him the Buster Sword.
• Dirt, blood, and bruises are added to Tifa's fight with Loz.
• The young girl later apologizes for getting angry with Denzel, and tells him that her brother is dead. She then notices that he is infected with Geostigma, and tells him that someone has found a way to cure it, taking him to where the children are being loaded into the back of Yazoo's truck.
• Another flashback, where Cloud puts Denzel on his bike and leaves the church.
• A scene of Denzel and the girl talking in the back of the truck.
• When Kadaj loads his new materia in the Forgotten City, he tries it out by destroying a tree, scaring Marlene and shocking Loz.
• A scene of Cloud and Marlene arriving back in Edge City, where she asks him why he left and whether or not there is a cure for Geostigma.
• Dirt, blood, and bruises are added to Reno and Rude's fight with Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz.
• A scene where Denzel defeats one of the monsters by breaking a fire hydrant which shoots out a stream of water.
• During the fight between Tifa and the monsters, Cloud rushes in to save her and Denzel at the last minute.
• During the chase out of Edge, Reno and Rude's helicopter crashes and they are picked up by Elena and Tseng.
• The fight between Cloud and Sephorith is longer, and includes a scene where Sephiroth stabs Cloud in the stomach and holds him in the air on his blade, mirroring the famous scene in the game. A lot of blood has also been added.
• During the battle with Sepiroth, Cloud has a vision of Zack.
• After the battle, all the children of Edge afflicted with Geostigma receive a phone-call telling them to go to the Sector 5 church.
• After the credits roll, Cloud takes Denzel to the cliff where Zack was killed. Flowers are growing on the spot Zack died, and Denzel asks if it is a grave. Cloud says no, that it is where a hero began his journey. We then cut to the altar of the church, where the Buster Sword has been restored and placed in Aeris' flowerbed.

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Connections

Referenced in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (2014)

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Soundtracks

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children End Credits
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Arranged and orchestrated by Kazuhiko Toyama
Conducted by Taizo Takemoto
Recorded & mixed by Toru Kamekawa (uncredited)

User Reviews

Awesome spectacle and great adventure

Just watched it then. It is pretty damn awesome. The fights are fantastic and the magic is really cool! It's totally like a video-game in parts, with some amazing hand-to-hand combat in there.

This film is for the fans: "To those who loved this world once before and spent time with its friends, gather again and devote your time..." Besides this ominous opening, the story was not very hard to follow, and Ihave never played a Final Fantasy game. I think it pays to be familiar with Role Playing Games in general; knowledge of the genre kinda helps you grasp some of it better. I think though that if you pay attention, and accept what the film throws at you, it's quite easy to understand. There is a lot that isn't explicitly explained, and if you demand that it should be then you will probably be confused and irritated.

Watching the film is like being dropped into the middle of some grand saga, and having to put as much of the puzzle together as possible. I like that approach; you get caught up in the mystery and confusion that all the characters are going through. But like I said, just be accepting. If a weird red lion thing that talks, turns up and starts kicking ass and taking names, and the other characters just say he's an old friend, accept it and move on; you don't need a biopic flashback, or a tell-all sit-me-down. You are an observer here, of something beyond your experience and undestanding.

So: fantastic graphics and animation, great voice acting, cool video game styled music, involving story and characters, and maybe some of the coolest fights you'll see in a while. It's worth seeing, and while it IS for the fans, it is perfectly accessible for people like me that have never played the games.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

14 September 2005 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Company Credits

Production Co:

Square Enix Company, Square USA

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 126 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1