Imagine the year 2065 on Earth. An Alien life form that landed over thirty years ago has devastated life as we know it. Cities destroyed, countless life lost and no one understands how to prevent further casualties. Now enter Dr. Aki Ross, a young lady who may hold the key to the mysterious ghostly life forms that inhabit Earth. Aki, along with her mentor Dr. Sid, are working on a rather controversial idea. The Earth and everything living on it is filled with "Gaia". The Alien's too are filled with Gaia and when spirit meets spirit, according to the theory, the result is the end of Earth's misery. Or so theorizes the two Doctors.
Final Fantasy: The Spirit's Within is one of those movies that take several digestions for it to set in. The movie's use of suggestion and imagination tempered with superb dialog bring wonderful fiction that audiences will no doubt expand with their own take on the deep meaning. Having watched several times, I still take away new meaning each time I see the movie.
Aki, voiced by the wonderful Ming Na, is a character that can easily be loved. It's hard to imagine a virtual, digital, computer created character emitting such emotions to the audience. However Square and Ming Na accomplished this despite confusing dialog. At one point in the movie, Aki is interacting with her on-again off-again boyfriend and co-star Gray in a very touching human way. The two are quarreling like only two lovers can and yet I had to remind myself these were not humans on the screen.
The movie's biggest problem is that it really is neither Final Fantasy enough for hardcore fans of the series, nor is it mainstream enough for mainstream audiences. This is mainly due to the movie's title, for one, and and the fact that mainstream audiences felt that you had to know something about the game to enjoy the movie. A companion of mine in fact had that very preconception, which prevented her from seeing the movie in theaters. Unfortunately it's a misconception as one can enjoy the movie without knowing anything about the game.
The most stunning portion of Final Fantasy The Spirits Within is no doubt the visuals. Never before has a theatrical production made entirely of computer generated graphics come anywhere close to what Square and their team have done. Seeing Dr. Sid move around so fluidly, so lifelike with minute details such as veins in his forehead is nothing short of amazing. Each character was specially designed by different teams and each is beautiful and unique in their own right.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the look and characters of the movie, the voice acting and the general plot, FFTSW suffers from freshman syndrome that many first time filmmakers catch. However as far as first films go, I put this near the top of great attempts as Square's proven they can do more than games.
The Disc:
The disc is a DVD owner's dream come true. Columbia Tri-Star has presented consumers with two discs packed with extras to accompany the movie. Disc one has the movie in a widescreen anamorphic form that looks flawless when compared to the theatrical original.
Perhaps the most important addition is that of the commentary which is wide in scope. I can't stress how important the inclusion of feature-length commentary by co-director Motonori Sakakibara, sequence supervisor Hiroyuki Hayashida, sets & props lead artist Tatsuro Maruyama, and Phantom supervisor Takao Noguchi (in Japanese with English or French subtitles) is to helping the movie make more sense.
The second disc, though, is the real deal with hours more of extras that really prove just how superior DVD is to VHS. The Final Fantasy Shuffler(TM) is a neat addition that actually allows users to rearrange a certain scene within the movie. It's somewhat basic but a good idea of what Columbia and Square might be planning for the rumored PS2 exclusive version.
The character profiles also go deep on not only the fiction characters but also the men and women behind the voices. I must also mention that Square created a special opening sequence that features Aki in a more everyday role walking across the movie set as if she had just finished filming a scene for the movie. And you know what? It's very believable!
As far as sound goes, the disc offers home theater users a wide assortment of choices. It really only depends on your setup and boy does it sound good. The PS2 as a DVD player is more than capable of handling the job and we continue to be pleased with its performance.
bottom line:
Although a PS2 special version MAY still be on the way, we suggest you go right out and pick this version up. It's a DVD users dream come true. The somewhat generic writing is supplemented by engaging characters, an interesting plot, beautiful visuals and some of the finest voice acting ever for computer generated graphics. Columbia Tri-Star has this disc out somewhat quick but this is by no means a rush job. Definitely a PS2 owners dream come true.
