2
(nothing substantial)
6
(questionable language and a naked creature)
4
(you need to have a strong interest to enjoy this one)
Some people swear by Final Fantasy. I’m not one of those. I have barely a passing knowledge of the series from a little bit of game-playing and a love for the piano adaptations of the soundtrack, but mostly I know it from friends who live and breathe this stuff. So this review comes from an outsider.
I was not a fan of the first Final Fantasy ("The Spirits Within") movie and only saw the second one upon the urging of those friends I mentioned. This one at least has a tie to the games whereas the first one didn’t. This second one, "Advent Children," is a sequel to the 7th Final Fantasy game.
I found the movie hard to follow. I assume that’s because I haven’t played the game. I’m not familiar with the characters or the events that lead up to the movie. That being the case I don’t know how good my plot summary will be, but I’ll give it a shot.
A bunch of people are ill as the result of the events of the game. This is an incurable and supposedly fatal disease though I don’t remember it ever actually killing anyone; actually I don’t remember the exact effects of the thing ever being explained at all, but maybe I missed them. The heroes (I assume they are the same ones from the game) are getting on with their lives which don’t seem to be particularly exciting until a mysterious gang shows up claiming to be searching for their mother.
Cloud’s old comrades, or at least that’s what I assume they are, return up to help him fight the monsters attacking the city and stop the nefarious villains. Who or what the villains’ mother is as well as the nature and origin of the strange disease not to mention its ties to the gang are part of what make the story hard to follow. There is misdirection on the parts of several of the characters and mystery surrounding most of them which doesn’t help if you’re already lost.
On the other hand, there are some very fun action scenes. I was never really clear on just what kinds of abilities these people have or where they came from. Clearly they have some sort of supernatural powers, but the extent of them is not established. Cloud, I gather, was once part of some sort of experiment (maybe a Captain America kind of thing?) which I guess explains why he is ahead of the curve and the one to face off against the main villain. But he can fall from the upper atmosphere without injury so it has to be more than some strength and endurance enhancement.
Given their powers, though, the action gets into some fast and unusual moves. In a way it’s Matrix-like, but at the same time it feels original and not like a rip-off like some other movies. Not to mention that Cloud’s sword is a lot of fun to watch in its various incarnations. If not for the great action I’m sure I would have gotten bored with the movie since I kept getting lost in the plot.
Another help is the great animation. The level of detail and smooth motion is very impressive. It’s not as photorealistic as the first movie, there is a cartoony aspect to it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. Of course, the super powered moves are unrealistic, but they still have a great feel to them. Though I was lost in the plot I was rarely if ever lost in the action.
Morality
There is a lot of fighting, but it’s very fantasized. It might be too much at times for very young children, but I don’t imagine many parents would take issue with it for their teens.
The strong language depends on the version. The more Americanized version seems to have a fair amount of questionable words while the Japanese version has almost none.
There is no sex and the nudity amounts to a very short shot of... well it’s a female form with visible breasts, but she’s like a creature in a tank with tubes and stuff so it's more like monster breasts that resemble a woman's.
Spirituality
There is a thread of spirituality in Final Fantasy, but it's not really religion. It's hard to explain especially since I'm not into the series as a whole enough to be able to discuss its various points. It's very clearly all fantasy with the characters being more like super heroes and villains than anything supernatural the way we in the U.S. might think of spirituality in the way of angels and demons.
Final Thoughts
On the plus side is some great animation and action, but those only do so much with a confusing story. You might want to check it out if you're a fan of the games, but otherwise I wouldn't bother.
Buying Guide
There are a number of versions of "Final Fantasy Advent Children" out there so I will attempt to make some sense of them for you.
While there are multiple listings for the movie on Blu-ray the only one that appears to be legit, at least for American audiences, is the “Complete” version from Sony.
I found some info on a limited edition collector's set with a script, a book, and some postcards, but I couldn't find an actual listing for the product (you can get something similar on DVD, though). I did see a Thai steelbook import, but I couldn't find enough details on it to recommend spending over $100 on it without knowing for sure what the region and format are just to get a metal case.
DVD versions include a single disc release, a 2 disc Special Edition, and a limited collector's set. You should be able to find a box set or bundle with the first Final Fantasy movie as well. I have not seen a listing for the “Complete” version on DVD. There are a lot of listings out there so if you think you have found a good deal on one be sure you check the region and format first.
Blu:
The “Complete” version on Blu is not the one I've seen myself so I can only tell you what I've read in the few scant reviews I saw. This version contains nearly 30 minutes of new material plus improved music and other changes that make the movie watching experience completely different (and supposedly greatly improved) from the previous ones. You get 1080p video and lossless HD sound that are supposedly very good. There are a number of extras listed including an additional animated movie, a couple of “story digests,” a couple of featurettes, a peek at Final Fantasy XIII, and some trailers.
Other DVD's:
If you don't care about the extras you might want to go with the 1 disc version. Notes say that it includes the Japanese audio track with English subtitles. It is listed as being widescreen. Beyond that details are lacking.
The limited collector's set appears to be the 2 disc version I'll detail below with some addition physical goodies including a script, book, and postcards.
Final Recommendation:
The DVD seems pretty light on features for a 2 disc set, but if you're a Final Fantasy fan they're probably worth checking out. The “complete” version appears to have more to offer, but I can't speak to how good those features are. If you want the “complete” version on DVD or the original version on Blu it looks like you're out of luck.
The 2 disc Special Edition DVD is the one I got my hands on.
Video
1.85 widescreen:
It looks good with a sharp, clear image.
Audio
5.1 Dolby surround:
The sound is clean and clear.
The English dubbed acting is pretty bad despite some known actors in the roles, but thankfully the original Japanese audio track is available with English subtitles.
Packaging
The case is standard plastic
This is the original cut of the film.
Extras
-Game Story Recap: Disc 1 has a special feature that looks at the storyline of the video game. It is clips of the game animation set to music. Since the dialogue is all text there is no need for actual game audio. I’ve never played the game so I don’t know how well this goes through the story, but it goes by so fast with so little introduction to the characters that it’s hard to follow.
-Deleted Scenes: Disc 2 starts with a collection of 11 deleted scenes with a play all option. They are generally short, some of them literally just a few seconds long, and not particularly impressive. But then, I guess if they were better they would have been in the movie.
-Venice Film Festival: Next is some Venice Film Festival footage. This appears to be nothing more than movie clips put together I guess to show off at the festival not a look at the fest itself.
-Behind The Scenes: A behind the scenes bit looks at the history of the series and game 7 then gets into various aspects of the movie: animation, motion capture, and lots more. It’s over half an hour long.
-Trailers: There is a collection of 8 movie trailers as well as 5 Final Fantasy 7 game previews.