Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
April 7th 2008 22:42
Category: Videos
Director: Tetsuya Nomura.
Producers: Yoshinori Kitase & Shinji Hashimoto.
Scenario: Kazushige Nojima.
Starring: Steve Burton (Cloud Strife), Rachael Leigh Cook (Tifa Lockhart), Steve Staley (Kadaj), Wally Wingert (Rufus Shinra), Quinton Flynn (Reno), Crispin Freeman (Rude), Dave Wittenberg (Yazoo), Fred Tatasciore (Loz) and George Newbern (Sephiroth).
Produced by: 2005 Square Enix.
Released by: 2008 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia.
Running Time: 101 minutes. Rating: PG.
Firstly this anime film takes the whole concept of anime to another whole new level which is what you would expect from major Japanese anime/manga producers Square Enix and Sony who have for years been churning out the Final Fantasy games on their various game console platforms. The other amazing thing about this film is that it has some of the most incredible fight scenes I have ever seen in a film, forget the Matrix, forget the Seven Swordsman or even the Bulletproof Monk; this film’s action sequences are truly amazing. But as I have said before on this website flashy special effects and you beaut combat does not a great film make, you need something more than just the smoke and mirrors to make a good and enduring film. Does Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children have the right ingredients to make a fine feature movie?
Events open with several large red furred wolf like animals racing through an arid canyon landscape, they leap up a steep cliffside and are suddenly overlooking a verdant ruin filled valley. From this scene the drama then flicks back to four hundred and ninety eight years back into the past, here the scene is one of a Blackhawk helicopter hovering over a snow filled mountainous terrain, the pilot a bright red haired guy by the name of Reno is listening to the chatter of his compatriots who are exploring a cave on the mountainside beneath the chopper. After a while the chopper descends and it seems that all hell breaks loose as it vanishes beneath the cloud cover.
Essentially what is happening here is the makers of this film have decided to go with the concept of in media res, starting the action in the middle of something at the very outset rather than opting to go with a straight forward explanation of what is happening and what might happen. Now the whole Final Fantasy franchise is big, it’s not just limited to computer games there has been several movies of which this is only one and there is a Final Fantasy Unlimited anime as well, something that I’ve only seen as a preview when I managed to watch and later review the mecha anime Gasaraki. As with previous incarnations the production values have all stops pulled out in terms of animation and setting, it’s a very lush and well defined and no doubt would have taken forever and a day to get done in terms of time. But despite the high tech imaging there is something rather stilted about the characters, they seem to lack just that little bit of oomph when it comes to the simple things. Like Appleseed motion capture techniques were used to enhance the movement of the various characters in the film, and to a certain degree this works very well but as you watch the film there are little moments where things just jar, a certain small action that just seems that little bit stilted. Kind of like a character in a computer game that just goes through certain motions and doesn’t deviate from them one bit.
So what is happening in this film, what is the driving force behind it all? As I said earlier the story starts in media res, the pivotal point on which the drama revolves has already occurred and from that one event everything else flows onwards to the conclusion, or at least the conclusion of this particular drama. Year ago it seems scientists and researchers discovered something called the life stream, the source of all life that flows and revolves around the world. It was determined that if you could tap into this stream you would be tapping into a source of truly immense and beneficial power, something that the Shinra Corporation procceded to do. Naturally even though the world had cheap power and peoples lifestyle improved there were those who posited that this was due to the fact that the very life blood of the world was being tapped and in doing this Shinra was in effect tampering with the natural balance of both the world and life itself.
Like any good evil villainous mega corporation that has a mega monopoly on some resource Shinra opted for the time mannered prerogative of silencing the opposition in a terminal and often brutal manner. They had an elite cadre of genetically engineered operatives known as Soldiers that they employed to suppress opposition to the Shinra. Of course these Soldiers were not just some kind of biologically or cybernetically enhanced grunts with big guns and other bits of lethal ironmongery. No Shinra had to go that one step better; they had somehow gotten their hands on an entity known as Jenova, a female alien who had crashed onto Earth many many years ago. Genetic material taken from Jenova is used to give the Soldiers their enhance capabilities and amongst their number the greatest was the Soldier known as Sephiroth. Unfortunately for Shinra in their experiments and training of the Soldiers they had come to create their own destruction; Sephiroth grew to hate Shinra and eventually all life itself. As a result this once minion of the company literally blazed his own path and became the threat to all that existed on the face of the planet, until finally the very world itself used the life stream as a weapon to defeat him.
This culmination occurred two years ago before the events that unfold in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and the drama thus opens on this world where even though the main villain has been defeated and a kind of peace has returned to the world all is not well. Something is going on; something that involves the actions that occurred at the start of the movie yet in turn began farther back in the past than is depicted on the screen, the arrival of Jenova. Thus the immediate concept behind the drama in Advent Children is about consequences and how the actions of the past can directly or indirectly affect both the future and the present. A major reckoning is about to occur that will have major repercussions and this is not simply a new bad guy staking his claim this is a direct link to what has happened in the past, both near and distant.
Cloud, the primary protagonist in this film, seems to sense that this is what is happening but he is uncertain, unsure, a man who feels cast adrift and bobbing and floating upon the waves of circumstance and fortune. No longer a Soldier employed by Shinra yet still a Soldier due to his abilities and skills, the genetic makeup that is the legacy of all Soldiers created by the Shinra Corporation. Out in the badlands he is suddenly attacked by a villainous and somewhat erratic trio of Soldiers, Soldiers who are lead by a guy called Kadaj. Kadaj and his two ‘brothers’ are like Cloud the products of Shinra’s genetic manipulation and they feel that this makes them all brethren, related not so much by blood as by a shared genetic code that has transformed them. To them Cloud is an elder ‘brother’ but a brother who has betrayed his legacy and the source of that legacy; the ‘Mother’ Jenova.
Kadaj and his cronies seek a ‘Reunion’ of those who bear the legacy of Jenova with the source of that legacy and it seems that he and his two ‘brothers’ are not the only ones who bear this legacy nor is solely restricted to Soldiers either. It seems that the geostigma which has been found amongst children, Soldiers and others is an affliction tied into the genetic legacy of Jenova. Kadaj seeks to somehow reunite all those afflicted with ‘Mother’ and thus bring about a reckoning of no doubt catastrophic proportions. Our bemused protagonist has no real idea what it is that this long haired psychopath is going on about, only that it isn’t going to be good for himself our all those that he holds dear to him, but as he thinks this he is also ambiguous to whether or not this is his problem. Perhaps its because he feels that he has already fought and bled enough that this ambiguity exists, he has lost and won and it seems that still more is demanded of him.
When the dust finally settles though Cloud does take up the fight, not so much out of a sense of burden but out of a sense that he is not alone in this struggle, that others are counting upon him to do his bit and that he knows that in himself it would be a betrayal to himself and his loyal friends both living and dead. Life is precious in all its many shades and textures and it is for that reason that he finds the means to focus and draw upon his inner strength and resolve to face the challenges ahead of him. The one thing I found about this particular character is that he has to be the most laid back protagonist I’ve seen in a film, certainly with all the trouble and grief going on around him he feels concern and sorrow yet it’s a reserved feeling, not one of howling emoting or whiny moaning. Even in combat he’s cool, calm and collected despite the fact that his life is literally on the line and their doesn’t look like anyway he is going to pull through.
All in all Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a great film and well worth taking the time out to have a look at, if this is any indication of what Square Enix’s work is like then I’m looking forward to seeing more examples of this particular franchise.
Producers: Yoshinori Kitase & Shinji Hashimoto.
Scenario: Kazushige Nojima.
Starring: Steve Burton (Cloud Strife), Rachael Leigh Cook (Tifa Lockhart), Steve Staley (Kadaj), Wally Wingert (Rufus Shinra), Quinton Flynn (Reno), Crispin Freeman (Rude), Dave Wittenberg (Yazoo), Fred Tatasciore (Loz) and George Newbern (Sephiroth).
Produced by: 2005 Square Enix.
Released by: 2008 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia.
Running Time: 101 minutes. Rating: PG.
Firstly this anime film takes the whole concept of anime to another whole new level which is what you would expect from major Japanese anime/manga producers Square Enix and Sony who have for years been churning out the Final Fantasy games on their various game console platforms. The other amazing thing about this film is that it has some of the most incredible fight scenes I have ever seen in a film, forget the Matrix, forget the Seven Swordsman or even the Bulletproof Monk; this film’s action sequences are truly amazing. But as I have said before on this website flashy special effects and you beaut combat does not a great film make, you need something more than just the smoke and mirrors to make a good and enduring film. Does Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children have the right ingredients to make a fine feature movie?
So what is happening in this film, what is the driving force behind it all? As I said earlier the story starts in media res, the pivotal point on which the drama revolves has already occurred and from that one event everything else flows onwards to the conclusion, or at least the conclusion of this particular drama. Year ago it seems scientists and researchers discovered something called the life stream, the source of all life that flows and revolves around the world. It was determined that if you could tap into this stream you would be tapping into a source of truly immense and beneficial power, something that the Shinra Corporation procceded to do. Naturally even though the world had cheap power and peoples lifestyle improved there were those who posited that this was due to the fact that the very life blood of the world was being tapped and in doing this Shinra was in effect tampering with the natural balance of both the world and life itself.
Like any good evil villainous mega corporation that has a mega monopoly on some resource Shinra opted for the time mannered prerogative of silencing the opposition in a terminal and often brutal manner. They had an elite cadre of genetically engineered operatives known as Soldiers that they employed to suppress opposition to the Shinra. Of course these Soldiers were not just some kind of biologically or cybernetically enhanced grunts with big guns and other bits of lethal ironmongery. No Shinra had to go that one step better; they had somehow gotten their hands on an entity known as Jenova, a female alien who had crashed onto Earth many many years ago. Genetic material taken from Jenova is used to give the Soldiers their enhance capabilities and amongst their number the greatest was the Soldier known as Sephiroth. Unfortunately for Shinra in their experiments and training of the Soldiers they had come to create their own destruction; Sephiroth grew to hate Shinra and eventually all life itself. As a result this once minion of the company literally blazed his own path and became the threat to all that existed on the face of the planet, until finally the very world itself used the life stream as a weapon to defeat him.
This culmination occurred two years ago before the events that unfold in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and the drama thus opens on this world where even though the main villain has been defeated and a kind of peace has returned to the world all is not well. Something is going on; something that involves the actions that occurred at the start of the movie yet in turn began farther back in the past than is depicted on the screen, the arrival of Jenova. Thus the immediate concept behind the drama in Advent Children is about consequences and how the actions of the past can directly or indirectly affect both the future and the present. A major reckoning is about to occur that will have major repercussions and this is not simply a new bad guy staking his claim this is a direct link to what has happened in the past, both near and distant.
Cloud, the primary protagonist in this film, seems to sense that this is what is happening but he is uncertain, unsure, a man who feels cast adrift and bobbing and floating upon the waves of circumstance and fortune. No longer a Soldier employed by Shinra yet still a Soldier due to his abilities and skills, the genetic makeup that is the legacy of all Soldiers created by the Shinra Corporation. Out in the badlands he is suddenly attacked by a villainous and somewhat erratic trio of Soldiers, Soldiers who are lead by a guy called Kadaj. Kadaj and his two ‘brothers’ are like Cloud the products of Shinra’s genetic manipulation and they feel that this makes them all brethren, related not so much by blood as by a shared genetic code that has transformed them. To them Cloud is an elder ‘brother’ but a brother who has betrayed his legacy and the source of that legacy; the ‘Mother’ Jenova.
Kadaj and his cronies seek a ‘Reunion’ of those who bear the legacy of Jenova with the source of that legacy and it seems that he and his two ‘brothers’ are not the only ones who bear this legacy nor is solely restricted to Soldiers either. It seems that the geostigma which has been found amongst children, Soldiers and others is an affliction tied into the genetic legacy of Jenova. Kadaj seeks to somehow reunite all those afflicted with ‘Mother’ and thus bring about a reckoning of no doubt catastrophic proportions. Our bemused protagonist has no real idea what it is that this long haired psychopath is going on about, only that it isn’t going to be good for himself our all those that he holds dear to him, but as he thinks this he is also ambiguous to whether or not this is his problem. Perhaps its because he feels that he has already fought and bled enough that this ambiguity exists, he has lost and won and it seems that still more is demanded of him.
When the dust finally settles though Cloud does take up the fight, not so much out of a sense of burden but out of a sense that he is not alone in this struggle, that others are counting upon him to do his bit and that he knows that in himself it would be a betrayal to himself and his loyal friends both living and dead. Life is precious in all its many shades and textures and it is for that reason that he finds the means to focus and draw upon his inner strength and resolve to face the challenges ahead of him. The one thing I found about this particular character is that he has to be the most laid back protagonist I’ve seen in a film, certainly with all the trouble and grief going on around him he feels concern and sorrow yet it’s a reserved feeling, not one of howling emoting or whiny moaning. Even in combat he’s cool, calm and collected despite the fact that his life is literally on the line and their doesn’t look like anyway he is going to pull through.
All in all Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a great film and well worth taking the time out to have a look at, if this is any indication of what Square Enix’s work is like then I’m looking forward to seeing more examples of this particular franchise.
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Comment by Cymry
Musicality
So. Much.
Something indefinable about it that just latched right on and had me back over and over again.
Oh, and Cloud! *hot* I don't care if he's all pixels, he can drop by my house anytime.
Seriously, anyone who hasn't seen it and is thinking about it, do it.