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After sitting here for the last hour and a half watching a movie that took 11 hours to "buy" the only question one needs to ask... was it worth it?
The movie opens with the events that took place after the credits in FVII, Red XIII and his two cubs finding their way to Midgar 500 years in the future. The city covered with plant growth, shows no sign of life..
a flock of birds flies overhead. The faint sound of children can be heard...
flash to 498 years earlier.
In the days following the destruction of sephiroth and the saving of the planet, a strange infection known as geostigma has swept across the land. It infects and eventually kills all those who come down with it. This of course hits the children the hardest, especially the countless children orphaned after the events at the end of FFVII. Our hero Cloud, hopeless depressed and lost in himself has taken up a delivery service, but as of recent has been missing. In his absence, 3 strange men appear offering the people of the world hope to fight off the geostigma. All they require is that mother be returned to them. Who are these men? Who is mother?
And what is their real purpose?
There is alot here to absorb as a viewer, especially since there is no explination or background except a short summary of the very last events in FFVII by Marlene (Barret's daughter). But even with that, the person watching who has never seen/played FFVII will be lost from the first frame. This same thing effects the introduction of characters like Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, etc..etc..
I think the only one actually mentioned by name is Vincent.
But then again who am I kidding, anyone watching this is most likely a fan of the game anyway.
As for actual characters, Cloud and Tifa take up much of the screen time, followed very closely by Reno and Rude. Why Reno and Rude? Well aside from being essential to the plot, these two litterally steal the show. From humor to just downright ass-woopin' they make the movie 100000x more enjoyable. My hat goes off to Squarenix for developing these two characters more. Alas the other turks are in it for like 1 minute total, but eh... who cares about them
Other minor characters include Marlene, the daughter of Barret (who's off scouting for oil most of the movie), and Denzel. Denzel, a new character to the series is a orphan who at one point calls Tifa mom. But I'm gonna assume since this is 2 years later and tifa wasn't pregnant during FFVII that it's not the love child of tifa and cloud...considering the kid is older than marlene. While they play an important role in the story, they aren't really main characters. More of a motivation for the leads.
As for the villians, Kadaj and his 2 "brothers" are mysterious and evil. I won't go into them too much.
Some pro and con stuff..
Pros:
-I was thrilled to see the addition of materia into the story. It's good to see they actually used it just like in the game too.
-The addition of locations outside of Midgar. Seeing them fully rendered is simply beautiful.
-GOOD ANIMATION - the characters don't feel cold. FF:Spirits within had a problem where even in their most touching moments the characters didn't feel real. Here, there are times with expressions say it all.
There is a moment where Reno steps on Rude's glasses and the expression on Rude's face is priceless.
-The music, while rehashes of the FFVII music, was used in some clever ways, especially when at a key moment a cell phone rings with the Final Fantasy victory music. Very clever.
Cons:
-the plot... I don't know why..but it just didn't seem as fulfilling as it should have been. It was good...but I don't know why it didn't seem great..
maybe I was too excited for it? "The star wars effect"?
SO...after all that, was it worth it. I have to say, the trip back to a world which ended so many years ago was totally worth it. It's like meeting an your best friend you haven't seen since highschool. Alittle strange at first, but by the end it's a wonderful experience to add to a collection of great memories.
anyway, if you have comments, questions... I'd love to hear/answer them.
Kerri OUT!
The movie opens with the events that took place after the credits in FVII, Red XIII and his two cubs finding their way to Midgar 500 years in the future. The city covered with plant growth, shows no sign of life..
a flock of birds flies overhead. The faint sound of children can be heard...
flash to 498 years earlier.
In the days following the destruction of sephiroth and the saving of the planet, a strange infection known as geostigma has swept across the land. It infects and eventually kills all those who come down with it. This of course hits the children the hardest, especially the countless children orphaned after the events at the end of FFVII. Our hero Cloud, hopeless depressed and lost in himself has taken up a delivery service, but as of recent has been missing. In his absence, 3 strange men appear offering the people of the world hope to fight off the geostigma. All they require is that mother be returned to them. Who are these men? Who is mother?
And what is their real purpose?
There is alot here to absorb as a viewer, especially since there is no explination or background except a short summary of the very last events in FFVII by Marlene (Barret's daughter). But even with that, the person watching who has never seen/played FFVII will be lost from the first frame. This same thing effects the introduction of characters like Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, etc..etc..
I think the only one actually mentioned by name is Vincent.
But then again who am I kidding, anyone watching this is most likely a fan of the game anyway.
As for actual characters, Cloud and Tifa take up much of the screen time, followed very closely by Reno and Rude. Why Reno and Rude? Well aside from being essential to the plot, these two litterally steal the show. From humor to just downright ass-woopin' they make the movie 100000x more enjoyable. My hat goes off to Squarenix for developing these two characters more. Alas the other turks are in it for like 1 minute total, but eh... who cares about them
Other minor characters include Marlene, the daughter of Barret (who's off scouting for oil most of the movie), and Denzel. Denzel, a new character to the series is a orphan who at one point calls Tifa mom. But I'm gonna assume since this is 2 years later and tifa wasn't pregnant during FFVII that it's not the love child of tifa and cloud...considering the kid is older than marlene. While they play an important role in the story, they aren't really main characters. More of a motivation for the leads.
As for the villians, Kadaj and his 2 "brothers" are mysterious and evil. I won't go into them too much.
Some pro and con stuff..
Pros:
-I was thrilled to see the addition of materia into the story. It's good to see they actually used it just like in the game too.
-The addition of locations outside of Midgar. Seeing them fully rendered is simply beautiful.
-GOOD ANIMATION - the characters don't feel cold. FF:Spirits within had a problem where even in their most touching moments the characters didn't feel real. Here, there are times with expressions say it all.
There is a moment where Reno steps on Rude's glasses and the expression on Rude's face is priceless.
-The music, while rehashes of the FFVII music, was used in some clever ways, especially when at a key moment a cell phone rings with the Final Fantasy victory music. Very clever.
Cons:
-the plot... I don't know why..but it just didn't seem as fulfilling as it should have been. It was good...but I don't know why it didn't seem great..
maybe I was too excited for it? "The star wars effect"?
SO...after all that, was it worth it. I have to say, the trip back to a world which ended so many years ago was totally worth it. It's like meeting an your best friend you haven't seen since highschool. Alittle strange at first, but by the end it's a wonderful experience to add to a collection of great memories.
anyway, if you have comments, questions... I'd love to hear/answer them.
Kerri OUT!
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