The Bottom Line
- Stunning CGI animation.
- Rich musical score.
- Audio in 2 languages, subtitles in 25 languages.
- Very little backstory for non-FF fans.
- Story mostly an excuse for nice action sequences.
- No special features.
Description
- Title: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
- Studio: Square Enix and Sony
- Date: 2005 (movie), 2006 (UMD)
- Producer: Yoshinori Kitase and Shinji Hashimoto
- Director: Tetsuya Nomura and Takeshi Nozue
- Principal Actors: voices of Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese version), Steve Burton (English version)
- Rating: PG-13
Guide Review - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (UMD)
Once the Dazzle Wears Off
It quickly becomes apparent, though, that FFVII: Advent Children exists to show off the FFVII characters doing cool things. There are stylish stunts and cool fights galore, though not, perhaps, enough to make up for the movie's failings.
And, I'm sad to say, it does have failings. Fans of the game will likely not be as critical, as they are already familiar with the characters and their backstory, but if you haven't played FFVII the game, you'll likely be a little lost, and you'll certainly have difficulty feeling empathy for any of the characters. That's my main problem with Advent Children, that it doesn't provide enough backstory for the non-fan, and there isn't much characterization to make up for it. In other words, it's a movie made for people already familiar with the FFVII world and its people.
Where's the Story?
My other main criticism is that the story seems to exist only to provide a frame for the action sequences. I certainly don't have anything against action, but I like it to have more of a point than making the characters look cool.
After all that, I will admit that I enjoyed watching Advent Children, but I can't really recommend it to anyone but rabid fans.
