Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (Blu-ray)

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Let me begin with a disclaimer: I am not a gamer, and I've never attempted the Playstation game (Final Fantasy VII) that spawned this film. I'm a movie critic, and this is a movie, and so my comments are geared for movie fans. But I do know this: "Final Fantasy" has quite a backstory. Launched as an attempt to keep Square Enix from having to file bankruptcy, the 1987 Final Fantasy game was an immediate hit that quickly spawned Final Fantasy II and III. Later Playstation got involved, and subsequently the 1997 Final Fantasy VII game left 2-D animation behind and went 3-D, using realistic pre-rendered backgrounds.

The first full-length film version --"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" (2001), a futuristic sci-fi tale of aliens in different form attacking earth--was also the first attempt to depict humans using 3-D photorealism, but it didn't fare well with audiences. "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" (2005) shows how far the techniques have come, because the humans are so realistic-looking that there are times you have to remind yourself it's animation. Then again, "The Spirits Within" had an art department consisting of two artists and nine animators, while 14 artists, six animators, and more than a hundred visual effects artists worked on "Advent Children." This was a big project, and it shows. The human figures in "Advent Children" make the ones in "The Polar Express" (2004) look pale and sickly by comparison. The mouths are more natural-looking, the skin less porcelain, and the movement more fluid. And the figures are even more amazing to watch in the battle sequences. Surprisingly, though, for a title like this, the first action doesn't occur until around the 35-minute mark, and the story (such as it is) unfolds so slowly when there are no battle scenes that it's almost painful to watch if you're not a hardcore fan of the games.

It's two years after Sephiroth's attempts at mass genocide resulted in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with Midgar in ruins and bike-riding thugs that will evoke memories of "Blade Runner" (1982). Survivors now live literally on the Edge of town, located near the ruins of the city. The Shinra Power Company has learned how to harness the power of the lightstream, and to protect the technology they've created a group of SOLDIERS. But the biggest threat is a mysterious disease dubbed Geostigma, which is causing widespread panic. Cloud Strife (Takahiro Sakurai/Steve Burton in the dubbed version), apparently one of the series' main characters, is now partnered with Tifa Lockhart (Ayumi Ito/Rachael Leigh Cook) in a delivery service. We're not supposed to wonder what sort of commerce is possible in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, just roll with it. And so here goes: Cloud is attacked by three bikers and stumbles upon a plot to resurrect his nemesis, Sephiroth (Toshiyuki Morikawa/George Newbern), and suspicions mount that Sephiroth may have something to do with the Geostigma that's invading from within again. Children are dying and children are disappearing, kidnapped. Then Rufus Shinra (Toru Okawa/Wally Wingert)turns up in a wheelchair with a robe over his head, kind of like the Emperor in "Star Wars," and Kadaj (Shotaro Morikubo/Steve Staley) is learning that their "mother" is somehow what's left of a character called Jenova, and she might be linked to the current Geostigma plague.

I watched this with two boys, a 13 year old and an 11 year old, and they turned to me at one point and asked what was going on. I started to explain, and then realized that everything is just a little bit murky--so much so that there's really no strong and clear storyline. I found myself thinking, heck, I had a hard time figuring out whether "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" and "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete" were the same or two completely different movies. Why not "Director's Cut," or "Extended Edition," or something that's instantly clear to consumers? But apparently clarity is not their strong suit. You would hope, for example, that when 26 minutes of additional footage are added to a film that it would clarify things, but that's not the case here. Over a thousand scenes were revised, but that only helps the technical aspects of this film. From a narrative aspect, it's a mess, and I have to say that I don't envy film editor Keiichi Kojima, who must be still pulling out his hair over this one. It feels like bits and pieces of different films cobbled together. And the dialogue? Either it's used for clumsy exposition, or else all that numerous characters seem to say is, "Hmmmm." Well, that ultimately was my response, too.