Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

The first thing you are going to notice is the absolutely gorgeous graphics on the screen. If you are watching it on a cheap HDTV or a standard television then you are missing one of the best things of this movie, the visuals. It is all done with computer graphics (with some matte paintings). I do not know of any other movie that emulates the real world in CG form that is this beautiful.

This is yet again another post apocalyptic movie. The movie takes place in space and North America of the future. Most life is dead and humans are forced to live in shielded cities to protect themselves from the enemy. Earth is pretty much just a barren wasteland with virtually nothing left that is living.
Several decades ago the Earth was attached by a bunch of aliens. They are so deadly that even if they only touch you then your dead. They also can’t be seen without special equipment. They appear to be creatures of energy and not of physical form like you and me.

The story is well done and entertaining. It slowly reveals things to you at the same time that the characters discovered them. So you see through the characters eyes. The story centers around a young woman name Dr. Aki Ross. She and here mentor Dr. Sid are trying to find a solution to cleanse Earth of this threat but in a non-militaristic way. They are both scientists but they are following some unconventional theories. The belief in Gaia and that we are spiritual creatures. And the only way to cure the conflict is to heal….oh wait…opps, I said too much.

General Hein is also trying to cleanse the earth also but through force. And that is force through the military and their weapons, the only thing he understands. He is a very scarred man and in a way you feel his pain. But this pain has also blinded him to the point that he is constantly in rage and wants vengeance against this invading force. He completely disagrees with Aki and Dr. Sid and thinks that the spirits have somehow influenced their decisions.

Ultimately the council decides which way to go.

The voice acting I feel is very well done. There is a great deal of emotion and anger with these characters. I feel those emotions really come out and impact you as the viewer. You really start to believe that the years of being at war has taken a toll on the characters in the story. Some of them really have reached the end of the rope and will do anything to escape from this barren world they feel trapped on. Others are more light hearted about the current situation and add a bit of humor to the movie, especially in parts that it needed it.

The music is average. This is neither good nor bad, it’s just there to play it’s own role of bringing out emotion, creating tension, accentuating suspension, etc. So it does what it is required to do. But I would not buy the soundtrack at full price (nor have I looked for it.)

The DVD extras.
Commentaries- Co-director and crew do one in Japanese, but you do have subtitles for them.
Animation director, staging director, and editor do one in English.
Isolate score with composer commentary- This one just focuses on the music and the composer talks it.
Boards/Blasts See the movie with storyboards and simple renderings. Kind of a neat concept. There is commentary as an option but their comments are pretty limited. You also have an option for subtitled
Theatrical Trailers- 2 trailers for the movie, one for metropolis, and one for spiderman.
AKI photoshoot- A series of rendering of AKI (the female lead) in seductive poses. Kind of silly and very tame. Piano music plays in the background.

Movie length
1:45:52

Subtitles
English and French

The key players
Produced by: Chris Lee, Jun Aida, Hironobu Sakaguchi
Directed by: Colin Fong, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Sakakibara Motonori

Who is this for?
This would only be for older children/teenagers and adults. I think it would be too scary for young children plus there is some cursing throughout the movie (typical cussing you would find in most military movies.)

Rating
PG-13

Summary
This is a pure CGI movie. It is both well done visually as well as in the writing. One of the things this movie does do well is it captures your emotions. You really feel for the characters and the horrible world they live in. If you buy this movie do yourself a favor and buy a nice HDTV television, it will amaze you.

You may also want to check out
My 10 favorite anime
My top 10 Sci-Fi
My top 50 movies reviewed

Or some of my individual Anime movie reviews.
Akira.
Ghost in the Shell.
Vampire Hunter.
Ninja Scroll.
Fists of the Northstar.
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away