Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

2001 "Unleash a new reality"
6.4| 1h46m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 02 July 2001 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Led by a strange dream, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squadron and her mentor, Dr. Sid, Aki must save the Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the spirits within.

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Reviews

Micransix Crappy film
Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Dabaens It's not very usual that a movie based on a game turns out to be a stunning movie. But Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, however, is just that. The incredibly realistic characters and beautifully rendered backdrops in this movie make it a fascinating work of CGI. Unfortunately, its story falls short of anything but a rather boring Sci-Fi plot, which I'm sure is what caused it to be such a failure in the box-office.The Spirits Within follows a young scientist named Aki Ross, who shares a belief with her colleague Dr. Sid that with the collection of 7 spirits they can stop an invading alien race and save the earth. Being a fan of the video game series of the same name, I remember getting pretty excited for this movie when it first came out. After seeing it for the first time, I could not figure out why in the world they would call this movie "Final Fantasy". Aside from a few subtle references to characters and themes from the video game series, it does not contain enough blatant similarities to possess the Final Fantasy title, and I feel like this should have been a more important goal in directing this movie. It was a great choice to have done this movie in CGI rather than in live-action, as one of the most captivating things about the Final Fantasy series are its fantastic cinematic scenes. To have a whole movie based on the quality of an epic Final Fantasy cinematic really shows the hard work that goes into creating all of these scenes. Every model in the movie displays a high level of detail from the main characters to the ships that they fly in. The freckles on Ross's face allow for intense close-ups. The subtle movements of their facial structures make them more interesting to look at. It's an art form that was very well presented in this film. In fact, this was the first full CGI film to feature fully realistic characters, modeled to look like real actors. The fact that it is a computer generated movie allows more freedom to conduct scenes and also set camera angles in places that would be impossible to get if it were shot in real life.Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within portrays a mastery of computer generated imagery for its time. It's a fine tribute to the wonderful cinematics of the Final Fantasy series. But it doesn't possess a very original plot line, which doesn't even portray enough references to be called Final Fantasy, and should have just been another Sci-fi called "The Spirits Within".
yasenkiranov First of all,I would like to point out,that I haven't played any of the "Final Fantasy" games,so I don't know how much this movie follows them.On it's own however the movie is very well made and it's much,much better than a lot of other video game based films like "Street Fighter" or "Super Mario Brothers".A lot of people complain that the characters are less-then-riveting.In my opinion,that is not the case.I mean,Captain Edwards' squad members were kinda flat,but the other characters were alright.Our protagonist- Aki was very well developed.At first glance General Hein seemed like a stereotypical bad guy,but we get an explanation as to why he is taking such radical measures.Again,I don't know if the plot has anything to do with the video games,but it was,in opinion,very original and well thought-out.Some may think it's your cliché "aliens have taken over the world and the survivors must fight back with what little they have" plot,but that is not the case.The movie has both fantasy elements(the "spirits")and sci- fi elements(the technology).Sure,you have seen that in other movies,like the force in "Star Wars" and so on,but the idea they went with here is completely different."Final Fantasy:The Spirits Within" is most famous for it's animation-and I can see why.This is the first movie to actually use CGI to create genuine looking human beings.It's still good,even by today's standards.The visuals and music work together to create some very amazing and powerful scenes,especially in the ending."Final Fantasy:The Spirits Within" is a truly amazing movie.I strongly recommend it.
Nexus Engel 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.
Kalle_it Just like the title hinted, Final Fantasy would have been better had it been a video game...Computer Graphics at its peak, sure. But the plot?A far-fetched blend of sci-fi and new-age clichés... a bit too dry for something that relies on visual polish only. Real-life acting can somewhat salvage a mediocre plot, but CGI surely can't, no matter how hard voice-actors try.Just imagine playing a visually impressive video game saddled with an average plot and with 90mins of unskippable intro... That's Final Fantasy for you.