...a technological marvel and a better-than-average movie
Video game-based movies have received a bum rap ever since the horribly bad "Super Mario Bros." made its debut way back in 1993. It was followed up by a string of what I would like to call, movie beat-em-ups: "Fatal Fury," "Double Dragon," "Street Fighter" and "Mortal Kombat." For a while, it seemed as if the only video game genre worth translating to celluloid was the fighting one.
In the video gaming community, one of the most beloved RPGs (role-playing games) is Square Company´s (later, the company became Square Enix) "Final Fantasy" series. The first game in that series made its North American debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) back in 1990. Since then, Square has made eleven other games that bear the same "Final Fantasy" moniker, culminating in 2006´s "Final Fantasy XII." From "Final Fantasy VII" onwards, Square has released its FF games exclusively for Sony´s Playstation game consoles (not taking into account the numerous remakes later on). As you can see, Sony has had a close working relationship with Square since the mid-90s. So, when Square Pictures, the computer animation film division of Square Company began work on a feature-length CG film based on the "Final Fantasy" world, it was only natural that Sony stepped in to distribute and market the resulting film through its Columbia Pictures arm.
Despite Sony´s best efforts in aggressively marketing it, "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" bombed big time at the box office, losing well over $100 million, effectively bankrupting Square Pictures. With the massive loss, so too went Sony´s big hopes of creating a new film franchise based on the commercially viable "Final Fantasy" brand name. This was rather was unfortunate because "FF:TSW" had a great gimmick (if you can call it that) that it could tout. This film was to be the vehicle used to usher in a new era in computer animation technology by creating photorealistic computer-generated human beings. There was even speculation within certain circles that this technology might be eventually used to replace human actors! For the most part, the animation technology used by the animators at Square Pictures is quite astounding. Some might complain that the characters had a wax figure-like look to them but I have to disagree--just look at the realistic strands of hair on each character and one would be hard pressed not to be blown away. Without a doubt, Square Pictures did an amazing job and from a technical standpoint and they probably achieved their goal of creating photorealistic human characters. "The Polar Express" tried to achieve the same goal with a different animation process several years later and it probably looked worse than what we saw on "FF:TSW."
Setting aside debate about the animation technology for a moment, the question becomes, is the film really that bad? Contrary to the general consensus, it really isn´t. Now, it certainly is not an Oscar-worthy film but the sci-fi laden story is engaging enough to hold my attention. Well, at least until the final act when all the mystery behind the alien invasion that had been building up till then is simply wasted on a rather predictable and run of the mill ending.
While it may carry the "Final Fantasy" name, "FF:TSW" is actually an entirely new narrative and thematically, has nothing to do with any of the already released video games. Set in the year 2065, "FF:TSW" tells the story of an Earth that has been mostly destroyed by an invading alien race known as the Phantoms. What remains of the human race are now barricaded within cities that are protected by powerful shields that help keep the marauding Phantoms out. These Phantoms kill by taking the lifeforce out of every living thing that it comes in contact with.
Two scientists, Dr. Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) and her mentor, Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland) are working on a controversial hypothesis called the Gaia Theory that seeks to explain how the planet´s lifeforce or spirit, the Gaia, is somehow intertwined with the aliens´. Their theory states that if the Phantoms were destroyed, the Earth´s Gaia would also be destroyed as well. Both scientists are on a mission to track down a total of eight "spirits" that, when brought together would create a contradictory "waveform" to counter the aliens´ lifeforce. I know what you are thinking--just take it with a pinch of salt. As you can imagine, this mumbo-jumbo is hardly a very popular theory with the military wing of the government. Led by General Hein (James Woods), the military has just finished constructing the Zeus cannon, a weapon designed to finally destroy the Phantoms once and for all. Assisted by Ross´ former beau, Captain Gray Edwards (Alec Baldwin) and his squad of loyal soldiers, Ross must now battle both time and the military and find the remaining "spirits" before Hein is able to unleash Zeus and possibly destroy the planet and mankind itself.
Now, the movie´s premise may be a bit far-fetched and hard to wrap your head around but it really boils down to the basic sci-fi tenets of misunderstood invading creatures and science versus military might. If you break it down that way then it may sound simple yet there is an underlying complexity with the origins of the Phantoms and the Gaia theory that provides an aura of mystery to pique one´s interest. This is my third time watching this movie and although I got a little more cynical about the plot with each subsequent viewing, the animation and visuals continue to wow me, especially now that it is in high-definition. For those who didn´t like the movie the first time round, maybe it is time to give it another go. Like a lot of the high-definition re-releases of older movies, the level of enjoyment seems to increase in parallel with the increase of the picture´s resolution.
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