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Click above to purchase "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Special Edition" at amazon.com
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Special Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Running Time: 106 minutes
Starring the voices of Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, James
Woods, Ving Rhames, Donald Sutherland, Steve Buscemi, Peri
Gilpin, Keith David
Written by Al Reinert and Jeff Vintar
Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi
Co-Directed by Motonori Sakakibara
Studio: Columbia/Tristar
Retail Price: $29.95
Features:
Disc 1 - Audio Commentary with Co-Director Moto Sakakibara,
Sequence Supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida, Sets and Props Lead
Artist Tatsuro Maruyama and Phantom Supervisor Takoo
Noguchi, Audio Commentary with Animation Director Andy
Jones, Editor Chris S. Capp and Staging Director Tari
Kunitake, Isolated Score with Audio Commentary by Composer
Elliot Goldenthal, Boards/Blasts with Optional Audio
Commentary and Optional Subtitle Factoids, Theatrical
Trailers
Disc 2 - The Making Of Final Fantasy Documentary,
Character Files, Vehicle Scale Comparisons, Final Fantasy
Shuffler, Trailer Explorations, The Gray Project, More
Boards/Blasts, Matte Art Explorations, Joke Outtakes,
Composition Builds, Original Opening, Aki's Dream. DVD-ROM:
Interactive Film Exploration, Virtual Tour Of Square
Pictures, Screen Saver, Weblinks
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround,
English Closed Captions, English Subtitles, French
Subtitles, Scene Selections (28 Scenes)
Released: October 23rd, 2001
It's always hard to translate something with a specific
audience into a big screen movie. Video games, of course,
are no exception. Every single one of them seem to suck in
the story department, and it's amazing if they can actually
stay true to the game. Also, they always tend to bomb at the
box office. Why? Is it because they have small audience? Is
it because they are so poorly made? Who knows. The summer of
2001 has brought us two video game films. "Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider" that despite terrible reviews, seemed to stay true
to the game and a was a giant hit for Paramount. The other,
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" is based on the
incredibly popular role-playing video game series that has
spawned one franchise and is one of the most successful
video game series of all time. A thing to note about the
"Final Fantasy" movie though is that it is a groundbreaking
feature film with some of the most realistic CGI animation
you will ever see. The film has been in the making for a
very long time and cost a bundle to produce. The film bombed
at the box office and was one of the summer of 2001's
biggest disappointments, and it did so bad it caused Square
Pictures, who created the film, to close down. So how well
does "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" stack up in the
story department? Is it yet another movie where the effects
are more impressive then the story but yet somehow it evens
itself out? I'm a big fan of the game series myself as they
do feature some incredible stories, music, graphics and
gameplay. So let us see how the movie lives up to the
games...
The film takes place in the year 2065, on earth, where
aliens are about to take over the world completely and
destroy mankind. It's up to Dr. Aki Ross to find eight
spirits to hopefully secure a force to get rid of the aliens
and save the planet. As she re-teams with her friend Gray
Edwards and the Deep Eyes Squadron, Aki keeps having dreams.
What do they mean? However, with all this, is the evil
General Hein who has some different ideas to get rid of the
aliens, even if it means taking the whole world with him.
It should be noted that "Final Fantasy: The Spirits
Within" is not directly based one of the actual video game
titles of the series. Basically, the only thing that makes
this a "video game movie" is the fact that the company who
makes the game, Square, is directly responsible for the
film's production and the words "Final Fantasy" are in the
title. Yes, you could probably just call this "Computer
Animated Sci-Fi Movie" since there is real no direct link to
the video game as far as characters, plots or music goes.
That's right, without the name "Final Fantasy" there is no
connection whatsoever, it really could have been just any
theatrical film on the market (that could be argued, as
there is a character named "Sid" in the movie, but in the
games it's spelled "Cid" and that Sakaguci was always a
driving force in the franchise). I found that to be
bothersome personally, because they have been hyping this up
as the film of the game series and making a big deal out of
it when it really just could have been any movie out there.
I guess it's to bring in an audience. Yes, I did know when
walking in it wouldn't be based on any of the games, but at
a much earlier time Square was planning to make "Final
Fantasy X" a game that would be based on the movie to
tie-in, but those plans were obviously scrapped to my major
disappointment. That would have worked so much better for
me, and I'm sure for a lot of other fans of the game series.
It would have a direct feeling that it is based on an actual
game. Of course, they would have had to GREATLY expand the
plot from a near two hour film which I guess could be tricky
to do, but I bet they could have done it. Oh well, that ends
that.
I mentioned the computer animation earlier, and how
groundbreaking the film is in that sense. Sure, there have
been a few computer animated films before this, but nothing
that resembles "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" at all.
It took quite a few years to create, and the result is
amazing. The animation is rendered beautifully and looks so
realistic, it's pretty scary what they can now do in films
these days. Just the backgrounds, the settings and actual
characters have incredible textures and motions that make
them come to life, it just blew my mind how amazing the
movie visually looks. The colors, the movements in
characters... just jaw-dropping to say the least. You have
to experience this movie just for the animation, it gives
off one fabulous effect (always go to a theater for the best
experience). I'm sorry I can't really go much further into
the animation, you just have to see it and experience it.
Then and only then you'll know how I feel, the gorgeous
visuals really can't be put into words. They must be checked
out by yourself (in full motion) to have the full effect.
Simply put, no other animated film can be compared to how
"Final Fantasy" looks. While Square Pictures maybe dead,
perhaps other animation studios will follow suit with more
groundbreaking CGI.
The production values here are top-notch. The one who
began the franchise in video games, Hironobu Sakaguchi,
directs the movie and does a terrific job manipulating it
all. This movie has great shots and is well edited to
capture a ton of the visual experience it creates and wants
you to check out in wonder. Elliot Goldenthal creates a
moving, dramatic, intense and very memorable score that fits
so well with the movie and its scenes. It goes hand in hand,
and it's worth listening to on its own. His work is superb,
and should not go unnoticed by Academy Award® voters.
And giving the characters their heart and soul are the voice
actors. The cast is top-notch, and everyone here is superb.
The voices make it all seem even more real. Ming-Na makes a
great Aki, while Woods as the notorious Hein is incredible.
Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Donald Sutherland and Ving
Rhames are also superb and give it some depth with their
acting. A lot of brilliance to found in here, in my opinion.
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" has so much going for
it... incredible animation, great voice-acting, great shots,
an incredible musical score and just a great experience. But
all of it is ruined by one thing: the script. If they spent
more time on creating a decent story, maybe something even
closer to the game and something not so confusing and
standard, this would have been a true classic. Alas, it's
not. The script basically ruins it. A good deal of it plays
like a standard science fiction story, complete with it's
predictable and unoriginal character personas and corny
subplots. It's not perfect, but it does have it's moments.
It has some nice touches of dialogue and meaningful scenes
that are beautiful, but some overuse of new age mentality,
and with scenes and ideas that are never explained in full
can be frustrating and hard to follow.
I still have hope in "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within."
Perhaps it's more like a test of what future animated movies
can be. Despite Square Pictures going out of business, I
hope this does not stop other studios and production
companies to use really advanced computer animation
techniques to create a movie. While this movie is not for
everyone, and fans of the game will be disappointed (yes,
many still need to see it since none turned out for the
movie! bwahahah), it's worth checking out to see how
groundbreaking much of it is. Don't blink or you'll miss
something... this movie is worth repeated viewings, and
perhaps, may get better with them.
"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" uses a transfer from
the original digital files, making for quite an amazing
visual experience and shows off what DVD was essentially
born to do. Unfortunately, this transfer is not perfect and
near reference quality. While it uses the digital files,
this looked a little like a film transfer to be with a thin
line of mist during some key scenes. I also noticed some
muted background colors here and there, as well as noise and
some artifacting. Other than those little annoyances, this
transfer is solid. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen, the film is spotless. No dirt, no blemishes, no
scratches, no little annoyances popping up. Colors are well
saturated, and give off a deep, daring bold look making the
incredible animation come to pure life that will take
anyone's breath away. Detail and black levels are great too.
A great transfer worth showing off all around that really
shows the incredible visuals of the movie.
"Final Fantasy" also includes a brilliant 5.1 mix in
addition to it's stunning visual presentation. This track is
rich in sound and doesn't seem to stop.Surrounds are well
mixed and are very deep. Explosions, all sorts of vehicles
moving and taking-off, guns firing all over the place and
the phantoms themselves put you directly in the action. .1
LFE is astounding and will rattle the room you're in for
sure. Dynamic range and fidelity are high and excellent.
Goldenthal's beautiful score also sounds great here to give
more life. There's also a good balance to everything, and no
distortion in the sounds and nothing overpowers something
else. Everyone's in for a treat more or less, this is an
awesome mix. English closed captions, English subtitles,
French subtitles and Dolby Surround tracks in English and
French are also included.
Despite the film bombing, thankfully, Columbia/Tri-Star
has given "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" great
treatment in the extras department in a full two-disc set. A
special Playstation 2 version is rumored to be out in 2002,
but for now, this is more than enough that fans of the film
will eat up. I'm amazed how quickly this package was put
together.
The first disc contains no less than three commentaries
(well, maybe less depending how you look at it). The first
Audio Commentary with Co-Director Moto Sakakibara,
Sequence Supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida, Sets and Props Lead
Artist Tatsuro Maruyama and Phantom Supervisor Takoo
Noguchi is in Japanese. You can hear them and all. Since
most Region 1 viewers aren't fluent in Japanese,
Columbia/Tri-Star has provided a subtitle track in English
and French for it. I guess you don't need to listen to the
commentary, it can be more like a subtitle track. In
anycase, this commentary is quite good and worth listening
err reading if you want to know a lot of information and
technical stuff on the making of he movie. It seems the men
are watching the completed version for the first time. The
commentary discusses origins of the project, how animated
portions were accomplished and what they were going for in
all this. This track is very technical, which, believe it or
not, I did like since this movie is such an amazing
achievement. Worth checking out to learn thoughts on
creating such an amazing universe. There's even some nice,
light-hearted joking in all this.
Next, the Audio Commentary with Animation Director
Andy Jones, Editor Chris S. Capp and Staging Director Tari
Kunitake is in pure English. It's however, very dry and
a little boring. This track is also rather technical, but
isn't as fun as the first. It's a bit bland. They point out
scenes and shots they like and are amazed with, but don't
give as much insight as one would hope for. For die-hards
only.
And finally, the Isolated Score with Audio Commentary
by Composer Elliot Goldenthal. The music, as mentioned,
is great and I was thrilled to have an isolated score (in
Dolby Surround glory) here as the music is rather
breathtaking. I was even more thrilled to have Goldenthal
make comments in-between. It's not a full commentary, but
it's good enough for me. Goldenthal seems relaxed and
provides very informative and insightful thoughts on
creating the music. From taking suggestions from the
director and then creating all his own. He shows how he
accomplished things with sound to bring out emotions and all
sorts of feelings in all this. While he does talk over the
music at times, this is worth a listen for music fans alike.
Very well done. I wish there were more isolated score tracks
with commentary.
The Boards/Blasts is a very cool feature, even if
other titles have had it. You watch the movie in rough form.
This is a hybrid of sorts, where you see final film clips,
storyboards, rough animation and more. It's interesting and
fascinating to see the film go through development from
original drawings, rough to final animation. Good for
referencing. Optional Subtitled Factoids can be
turned out to read and give more info, or you can listen to
the optional Production Commentary with various crew
members that are nicely edited.
Rounding the first disc off are the Theatrical
Teaser and Theatrical Trailer in 1.85 anamorphic
widescreen and 5.1 Dolby Digital, plus trailers for "Men In
Black," "Starship Troopers" and "Metropolis" (gotta love
sci-fi movies and promoting them). Plus, a non-anamorphic
widescreen trailer in 5.1 for the upcoming North American
Playstation 2 release of "Final Fantasy X."
Moving on to the second disc, we have even more in-depth
supplements, a majority even in anamorphic widescreen
(yes!). I suppose a worthwhile watch is The Making Of
Final Fantasy Documentary. Divided into nineteen
chapters and running a half-hour, this is a pretty good
documentary. Filled with film clips and interviews, this
documentary talks about the story, the animation and a lot
of initial thoughts and feelings dealing with what the movie
offers. It's a good watch. And it's yet another DVD
documentary where at times you can click something and it'll
take you somewhere else and bring you back to the
documentary. You can access the "highlights" in a separate
menu. So let's go through them, shall we?
Character Files present some well made profiles on
the film's characters: Aki, Gray, Dr. Sid, Hein, Ryan, Jane
and Neil. These clips, in anamorphic widescreen, feature
footage of the film, narration about the character, rough
animation and some interviews with the voice talent and
creators. Very entertaining and a good recap and
introduction of sorts to the film.
Vehicle Scale Comparisons are also in anamorphic
widescreen, and play like shorter versions of the character
files. See info on "Bandit," "Black Boa" and "Quatro."
The rather neat, though somewhat clunky Final Fantasy
Shuffler is a good addition. I love when you can edit
scenes, and this is what that is. You edit the conference
scene to your liking, and then watch it. All in anamorphic
widescreen, of course.
I really liked the featurette Trailer
Explorations. Who doesn't like a good trailer (well,
except the ones that spoil the movie... which seems to be
about all of them these days)? With an interview and peeks
at the trailers, it's interesting to view small thoughts on
it.
The Gray Project, in full frame (NOOOO!), has
narration (that is not specified), rough animation and a guy
talking about this animation tests as they tried to
establish the look and feel of the character of Gray
Edwards. This is pretty cool and lasts about five and a half
minutes.
More Boards/Blasts seems to be an extended scene,
and is another mix of final animation and rough art.
Matte Art Explorations is in full frame, and has film
clips plus a demo of sorts of how a person adds more detail
to a shot. It lasts a little over six minutes. While Joke
Outtakes are roughly animated and were obviously made
for that purpose only, but feature some decent chuckles. It
lasts a minute and forty-three seconds.
Compositing Builds (in anamorphic widescreen) is
some artsy music video of sorts I guess, where shots and
modified film clips run. I guess it's some sort of
experiment or some good goofing around. There are worse ways
to spend eight minutes.
The Original Opening is in non-anamorphic
widescreen, but is completed and really spiffy to look at
and watch. It's a little under five minutes. While Aki's
Dream rounds out these supplements in anamorphic
widescreen and 5.1 Dolby Digital. This dream collection
doesn't seem to be new, but sure holds up.
On the DVD-ROM side, there's a nice Interactive
Film Exploration feature that has the screenplay, while
a pretty cool Virtual Tour Of Square Pictures is
featured. You also have your usual Screensaver and
Weblinks.
It should be noted that there are a bounty full of great
Easter Eggs, plus some great CGI menus created
especially for this DVD release by Square Pictures. The
menus are wonderful, and hold in the film's style, and even
pokes fun a little at Hollywood on the second disc.
Despite how groundbreaking the movie is and how much
talent was involved, "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within"
proves you can have the best things in the world, but a
story still matters. This DVD is superb, with a rocking
presentation and tons of extras. Worth a rent for the
curious, and must-buy for die-hard fans of the film.
 (3.5/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
(4.5/5)
(4.5/5)
(4.5/5, NOT an average)
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