Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within (DVD 2002)

I am a huge Final Fantasy fan but this movie was slightly disappointing mainly down to it not living up to its famous name and hype. There is no denying the CGI is amazing and there are some parts of the film that are jaw dropping good. But the storyline is confusing in places to average film goers and it was no surprise this movie made monumental losses at the box office. I did actually enjoy this film but in a kind of 'yeah that was ok but could have been so much better' way. The story is about a young scientist called Aki Ross who has been infected with a alien parasite and to be cured must locate the missing spirits to cure herself, save the planet and heal the pain of the afore mentioned alien beings. Confused? So were a lot of people. I look at this movie as a massive experiment to see what its makers Square could do with the technology avaliable to them, and as anyone who has seen their latest efforts (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children) as a experiment, albeit a very costly one, it was a success. As a movie that would hook and entertain the general cinema going population is fell quite short. I did watch this at the cinema but it was only the Final Fantasy name that got me there. I have got it on DVD but only as I am a collector of Final Fantasy related items. I cannot say I would actually have purchased it otherwise (£1.99 bargain from Ebay at that!) Undeniably there are a few core elements that make this film stand out, mainly the impressive use of CGI. If you do watch it a couple of times the story is understandable and to some degree enjoyable but its not one of those films you can totally love in a watch 20 times kind of way. Good but not quite good enough.

Great movie, great effects and it is great how they can take a story from a video game and turn it into a movie.