Takes itself way too seriously

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

For a movie based on a video game franchise, it wasn't atrocious. But it still was a wasted opportunity of what could have been a really good film. Before this movie, the Final Fantasy CGI cutscenes were really cool to sit through have reaching certain points in the video game. However it doesn't really work in movie form. As a matter of fact, this would have worked fine as a video game. With more development with the background, more in-depth with the with the story and the characters and such. But it doesn't really work when if feels like your watching a really slow video game with characters trying to collect items to achieve something. I really liked the stylish and cool futuristic design of the world created in this. It's actually one of the coolest sci-fi design I have seen in a movie. The CGI was topnotch when it came to a animated movie and the effects still even hold up today. A lot of effort was put into this film, with top of the line technology to achieve the visuals. I mean just look at the facial animation. Although the dialogue is flat, it didn't get super corny either. But that is basically the only positive things I can say about this movie. It's a shame that this movie cost as much as a Pixar movie to make, but far from it being a box office hit like Pixar films. And there are reasons for that, because although it's a CGI animated movie it will not appeal to little kids. Mainly because they won't be able to understand what is exactly going on, even some adults might get confused with this. Despite it having a really straightforward and simple story, which isn't a good thing. This is just my opinion, but this movie was taken too seriously. A bit of good humor then and there amongst the characters and situation would have made it at least more gratifying to sit through. Despite the serious situation the characters are in, but I think it would have worked. Overall this movie is a wasted potential. However if you are a fan of the Final Fantasy or anime this might be worth a watch. I think Hironobu Sakaguchi is a good game director, but his efforts to make a full length movie faltered. I could tell what direction he was trying to go with this. And it might have worked if it went in a full Japanese direction or an anime with 12 episodes or so to flesh things out. Nice effort though.6.4/10

*Spoiler/plot- 2001, The year is 2065 AD. Uncontrollable alien spirits have invaded Earth. These aliens are killing humans and controlling large areas of the planet. The last of the human race is in a doomed protective city. The Earth's military are trying to fight the invaders. Lead by a strange dream and guided by her brilliant mentor Dr Sid, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect eight spirits with the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. A secret scientist group has found the spiritual answer to stopping and understanding the aliens, their alien origins, and their power to keeping the Earth surviving intact. Aki must save Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the beneficial spirits within.*Special Stars- featuring the voices of Alex Baldwin, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi. Director- Hironobu Sakaguki *Theme- Nature and spirit are twin forces for good, always. Humans only upset the natural balance in their ignorance.*Based on- Several previous 'Final Fantasy' film plots and Video Game genre. The film has obvious Eastern and Green religious and political themes.*Trivia/location/goofs- Last recent release from a notable series of feature science fiction films. Animated CGI film.*Emotion- While the animation in production values of this film are viewable and good, the plot is too simplistic and clichéd. The few dramatic plot instances have been better explored by other western live-action and bigger budget films writers. The voice actors dialog is disappointing and so predictable. It's full of trite western clichés and boring. IMHO: Also the basic principle of not using live action performers on camera in such narrative film is flawed. Only using their voices to get ticket sales and not allowing the whole performer to be seen and enjoyed on camera is only using half of the actor's innate art or talents. This film suffers greatly.

Honestly! Most people hate this movie because it doesn't go along with the video games! Lots of Final Fantasy video game fans hate this movie and some other fans of the game series love this movie, me included. One of the greatest things about this movie, actually, is how DIFFERENT it is from the games. It actually tries to make its own story and in my opinion succeeds. The animation is awesome, I thought I was watching a live action movie at some scenes, the story is great with a "non- clichéd" twist near the end, and it does pick up quite a bit of momentum towards the end. Hell, it even goes with the games by having a party of five people! What more can you want?Now, for the degrading to begin. Some scenes did look a bit puppet-like or a little cartoony for the animation used. The movie wouldn't be for kids who can't sit still for half an hour since they would feel a little bit bored when it *gasp!* actually takes the time to explain things, but those scenes are important! Also, some stuff might scare the smaller kiddies with a bit of the imagery.Overall, 8 outta 10. It's an awesome, underrated movie that must be watched and is worth a lot more than 5 bucks at Zellers.

Final Fantasy, as many know, is a series of video games that has spanned over two decades and is arguably the most successful video game franchise of all time. Final Fantasy (the original) was released in 1987 and since then 13 games have been released, including one sequel as well as countless spin-offs and two in-development projects. Growing up with Final Fantasy I grew to love everything about the series. The stories, the game play, everything little thing. When Squaresoft (now Square Enix) released Final Fantasy VIII I was given a copy for Christmas '99. It was the first FF game that I played through entirely and since has been my favorite of the FF games. I've played em all, beat em all and loved em all.When I first saw the trailer for this film my first thought was (I was only ten) "OMG! MOM! WE HAVE TO GO AND SEE THIS!" On the day of its release, July 11th, 2001 I believe my mother took me to see this at the beautiful Cinemark in Moosic. Even at that age I wasn't deceived by Hollywood in that they merely took the name Final Fantasy in order to market a product that had no relation to its source whatsoever.The movie follows Aki Ross, a scientist in a future Earth inhabited by Phantoms. Phantoms are alien like creatures. Remaining survivors live in "barrier cities" as they struggle to save humanity and the planet. In certain Final Fantasy games, especially FF VII, saving a dying planet is the main problem you face. Oddly enough this is the only relation The Spirits Within has to the Final Fantasy gaming series. Also there is a power hungry military man named Hein who is dead set on using a space cannon to destroy the Phantoms. Problem with this is the cannon would cause extreme harm to the planet and probably kill it but he's from the military so we can excuse him for lacking intelligence or humanity.Like I said before, the creators of this film only took the name Final Fantasy to help sell this movie to fans of the series. As a stand alone film it is exceptional in its class of CGI/sci-fi blend. Unfortunately I have to give this film a low rating because of its failure to rely on source material or follow any story in the FF galaxy. Even the story to FFX (which IMO was the weakest of the games) would have served this film much better. I always think about Stephen King's novels when I watch this movie. King has written very, very great novels in his time but the majority that are made into films are just crap. Why, because they don't follow the story of the original and they try to make it "Hollywood-style" and it just doesn't work. If a book is a national bestseller, why change it for a movie? If a game is an international bestseller like FF, why make a movie called Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within if the film is devoid of any spirit that was within the games? A five for a film that is great on its own but with a name of something entirely different.