I feel so pathetic for liking this movie so much... It's disjointed, various aspects of it make no sense even to the fans, it's in your face, it's borderline nonsensical, and I loved every minute of it!
Hey everyone! It's Final Fantasy! You know what that means: Big swords, over the top aerial combat, at least one person named Sid, big swords, a preachy undertone or two, probably a romantic subplot, and did I mention big swords?
As a service to the fans of the enormously popular Final Fantasy 7, which is widely credited as ' the game that sold the PS', Mr. Nomura directed a film sequel. Before there was emo, there was FF7. You keep expecting Cloud to cut himself with that butter-knife-on-steroids that he carries around. But he doesn't. He just sits, and whines, and kicks substantial ass.
Two years after the events of FF7, Cloud is as emo as ever, and boy does he have a sexy voice ( You're probably going to think I'm a Cloud fangirl for that. Allow me to explain: I, by definition, am not a Final Fantasy fan. I don't like all the games, I certainly don't like _both_ movies, and I don't go out of my way to get the merchandise, nor do I develop unhealthy obsessions with the characters (( though I have to say: considering that they're videogame characters, most of them aren't half bad looking * shrug * )). Female fans and fangirls are different. Female fans look at the better looking characters and say, " Hmm, he's kinda handsome for a videogame character. Now, to go kick some tail with a really big sword..." Whereas fangirls plaster themselves against the screen and scream " I love you! I LOVE YOU!!" See the difference? Glad we cleared that up. )
The plot of the movie is best described in the profile. In fact, without reading the synopsis and/or extensively researching FF7, you will have no idea what the **** is supposed to be going on and why it's sigificant. There are numerous points in the film where the scene will randomly switch. and you're wondering what happened in the little gap that was left. There are some really unnecessary flashbacks, but these are ( in reality ) few and relatively far between. But they seem terribly close together, because this movie is short; either that or all the fighting made it seem to go by faster. When the credits begin to roll, you'll find yourself asking, " What? It's over? It can't be over, we just got started! That was a- that was quite- that was... gah I was, I-I was watching that..."
The battle sequences are awesome. Even if you don't like the FF series, it's worth sitting through the majority of the film just to watch the various FF7 characters duke it out with Bahamut SIN. :) Though one thing really annoys me: out of the hundred+ times Cloud and his buddies get swung or shot at, somebody only actually gets stabbed/shot... twice. >_<
The animation, as you can imagine, is eye popping. Eye candy abounds, but interesting design details are often missed in the speed of the movie. The reviewers before me have said things along the lines of: " Emoting is out the window." I don't know about that. They're much more expressive than they were in Spirits Within. Besides, it's not like these characters would've shown much emotion anyway ( though I would've liked to see Barret and Cid in full swear mode ).
The music and foley are good. However, I could have done without all the audible grunts and oofs ( they will drive you mad before long ). Much of the music is actually very, very nice. I wish the same could be said of the voice acting and dialogue. The english translation, just like that of the FF7 game, leaves much to be desired, and many of the Japanese VA's are better than the english. This brings us to the thing that brings the film down a half star: " Dilly Dally Shil-" ****ing GAH!! It's enough to make you throw a hammer at the screen.
So, seeing as my review has gotten too long, I will conclude by saying: Objectively, no, this isn't a very good film. It's disjointed, rushed, slightly confusing even to the fans, and it was over way too soon. But as for what I personally thought about it, I had a great time! It was a fun ride, and I liked it. 3 stars out of 4.