Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children
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Released:27/07/2009
More Details
Studio:Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Director:Tetsuya Nomura
Amazon.co.uk
The question facing any viewer of the Japanese CG feature Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is: do you have to know the games on which it's based in order to understand the film? And the answer is: it certainly helps. But even complete novices (i.e., most parents) in the Final Fantasy world will find some entertainment in its wealth of fantasy-based action, and the animation never fails to astonish. Picking up two years after an epic battle between the forces of good (represented by brooding soldier Cloud) and evil (Cloud's former general, Sephiroth), FFVII opens in the devastated city of Midgard, whose youthful occupants suffer from a ghastly disease known as Geostigma. A trio of brothers arrives with what appears to be a cure for the plague, but their gesture conceals a more sinister purpose: to revive Sephiroth and bring about the end of the world. Cloud and his companions must once again rise to the occasion to stop the siblings and the revived Sephiroth from unleashing total destruction. Complex and self-referential to the point of occasional incomprehension, Final Fantasy VII will definitely be most appreciated by fans of the game series, but if others can look past the numbing dialogue and frenetic action (which is a bit too intense for very young children), the film offers a carefree and action-packed viewing experience. The two-disc set contains the original Japanese language version of the film as well as an English-dubbed edition (Rachel Leigh Cook and Christy Carlson Romano, among others, provide the vocal talent) and a version edited for the Venice Film Festival. A 30-minute featurette that recaps the Final Fantasy story up to VII, as well as a making-of documentary, deleted scenes, and promotions for future Final Fantasy VII games and products round out the extras. --Paul Gaita
Tags
General, Science Fiction
Reviews
I got this on import from Japan when it was released, and my reaction to the quality was something like... "wow..." followed by more wows, until I finally got into watching the movie. For anyone who has seen the movie already, this is the new "complete" edition of the film with an additional 30 minutes added to it. In a way, it is a sort of Director's Cut - and it flows a lot better than the original release. The additional scenes are all fantastic, and it begs the question why they were taken out in the first place.
Usually I am not partial to these re-releases with additional scenes, I just feel that they should release the whole film the first time. This time, however, it is re-released on blu-ray so it makes it worth the re-purchasing for me. The picture is absolutely crystal clear. There's no snow in any of the scenes, it is just perfect. The blacks are deep, and the whites are really bright, and they fade from one to the other with elegant ease. The sound is what you will have come to expect from Blu-Ray - perfect, Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack is absolutely stunning during the heavy action scenes.
If you haven't seen the movie then it follows the story of Cloud (following from the Playstation game Final Fantasy VII). Two years have passed since the city of Midgar was left to ransom and to stand as a testament to the sacrifices made by friends in order to bring peace. However an illness is spreading fast, putting thousands of peoples lives at risk, and so Cloud, who walked away from being the hero before to a life of solitude, is asked to step forward once more to fix the wrongs of the world. Old friends and enemies alike are reintroduced, and the film is full of action and absolutely stunning animation that you have come to expect from Square Enix.
People will ask whether you need to have played the game to understand the film? Well, I would say it would help if you want to understand everything, because it can be left quite vague. But that doesn't mean you won't enjoy the movie if you haven't played the game. There is lots of action, and some of the best animation seen yet, and it's been done wonderfully. There is also a Reminiscence section in the bonus features which tells you the entire story of the original game if you wish to see it. All in all, this is a package you don't want to miss.
ADDITIONAL: The UK and US release of this does NOT come with the Final Fantasy XIII demo which came with the first Japanese printing - however Square have announced that the demo MAY be available on the Playstation Network at some point in the future.
ADDITIONAL: This DOES come with Japanese Audio if that is what you would prefer, and yes it is locked to Region 2, sadly.
I know the title says you need to complete the game and you are probably wondering why such a film exists if it doesn't attempt to explore the original game's backstory.
Well 'advent children' is the sequel that fans of the multi-million selling RPG have been campaigning for. After eight years the fans can finally gain closure on a game which had a delightful if highly frustrating ambiguous ending, that left lots of questions and no answers.
For fans this film is phenomenal, it has tons of references back to the original game, some that are extremely obvious and others that are rather obscure (a good one for you all to get started, watch closely right at the end). Not only this they have amalgamised the original game soundtrack with some new pieces of music and also updated versions, some which have been spliced superbly into a new score while playing the old at the same time. (this is a poor description, see it and you'll know what I mean).
The animation in this film is nothing less than exquisite and the action sequences flash by at such hyper active speed that when a scene ends your eyes are bulging and your adrenaline pumping. Speaking of the action sequences, they have a very 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon' nature to them, so if you enjoyed high flying martial arts, you'll really dig this!
But as I have stated at the start of this review, this film is purely for the fans who have actually finished FF7. You need to know who the characters are, how the plotline played out and other factors that non-fans will not know. If you hear all the hype about this film on the net and want to enjoy it fully, then I suggest picking up a copy of the game (there are loads used these days, should barely cost £10 max!)
On the whole a throughly awesome film, much better than the dire 'spirits within', spike up your hair, dig out your buster sword and prepare for an awesome Final fantasy experience!
Advent Children is a film that while obviously appealing mostly to fans of the game, is likely destined to be underrated as a film in its own right. Despite its heavy reliance on some appreciation of Final Fantasy, I believe someone with no knowledge of the game could both greatly enjoy this, and understand it.
It essentially feels more like an added adventure or sequence of events following those of the game, than some sort of conclusion or ending -- in many ways, this is one of its strongest points. Importantly, AC makes no attempt to alter either the characters or the past events; it develops them, yes, but it does nothing that many fans of the game might consider blasphemous. There are of course key moments that anyone with a place in their heart for the game will love, and of course the visuals are absolutely superb. The DVD cover suggests that Sephiroth makes at least an appearance, and viewers will not be disappointed. Cloud is brilliantly portrayed as the brooding, reluctant hero he always was, and is accompanied by all of the playable characters in the game, a fact that all fans will love. As mentioned earlier, though, those without particular interest in or knowledge of the game will also find themselves enjoying the characters and locations; in many ways, AC has a lot of the qualities that made people love the game in the first place.
Battles form the main events of the film, as expected, and they disappoint in no way. The animation is fluid and beautiful, voice-acting is exactly what fans would expect and hope for (though some might wonder at Cait Sith's accent, heh heh); this is what Final Fantasy VII probably looked like in fans' imaginations while playing. The soundtrack is similarly fantastic, and includes enough similarity to give that feeling of nostalgia from the game, without simply using the game's soundtrack. A heavy metal One Winged Angel? Yes. It's more than good enough to be worth listening to in its own right, on CD. There are quite a few extra features on the DVDs, most of which I haven't watched more than once, and are of secondary quality next to the film itself.
Those without prior experience of FF VII may still find the beautiful visuals, characters, battles, and soundtrack of Advent Children enjoyable; fans of the game will absolutely love every moment of this.
Set two years after the events of the hit Playstation game Final Fantasy VII, we are brought back to the adventures of Cloud and co on another mission to save their world from the ravages of a disease known as "Geostigma".
This film is an absolutely amazing piece of work, and has to be seen to be believed! The CGI effects are the best ever seen in any film up to date - even far surpassing Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The Story is a hell of a lot better too!
As for the music, those of you who know of Nobuo Uematsu, the compsoser of all Final Fantasy music, you will be happy to know he makes a return, with a stunning soundtrack to go with the film. This is available for seperate purchase.
The story itself is not very complex of you have played the game. Those who have not may need to watch the film a few times before you get what is going on.
As for the scenes, everything is wonderful! Beautifully rendered back and foregrounds make this film very realistic! Some people have even reported forgetting this is an animated film!!!
The only complaint I could have is that it is too short! We want to see more!
Look out for more titles from the Final Fantasy 7 Compilation, including:
Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII (6 years before the game)
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus (3 years after the game)
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (not much is known about this title yet)
I think this may be the first review of the UK version of this brilliant Blu Ray, so here it goes.
First of all, the packaging is great. The Blu Ray comes with a box cover over its case, with the artwork shown above (which in my view is a lot better than the artwork used for the original DVD release). An impressive start to a long awaited film.
The film itself IS noticably better. It retains the same awesome story, whilst extra scenes add more understanding and enjoyment. Some people said that it isn't worth buying for an extra 25 minutes, but add this to the great quality of the HD film and you are left with a film that should be in every Final Fantasy VII fan's collection! The sound quality is even better than the original, which is big claim seeing is it was great already. The extras included are all worth a view, especially "On The Way To A Smile", which was previously a written story.
Finally, I can confirm that this DOES NOT come with a playable Final Fantasy XIII demo, which is slightly disappointing, yet what is included is a mouth-watering extended trailer. Still, I got this Blu Ray as a fan of the Final Fantasy VII Compilation, so it didn't really bother me that we couldn't experience the new gameplay of number XIII. All that does bother me is that they release XIII and get started on remaking Final Fantasy VII (however unlikley that may seem!).
