Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi, Motonori Sakakibara
Starring: Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi

Synopsis:
A scientist clashes with the military as she works on a solution to the alien infestation overrunning the Earth.

Impressions:
I remember seeing this movie in theaters rather distinctly. After all, After all, it was in the middle of AIT and my family had come to visit on the first weekend off I got. I certainly felt like I could've used the time better. Not seeing much connection to the franchise, not liking the male lead, and finding some disturbing uncanny valley moments, I was fairly turned off on the whole thing and wouldn't have revisited it were it not for this whole review business. Well, 14 years have passed since that fateful day in July of '01. How does it look now?

First off, I think we can all acknowledge the technical accomplishments of the film. Even today, the visuals hold up rather well. It really is some groundbreaking work. Oddly, I don't get as much of an uncanny valley vibe now as I did back then. However, what I do get is the feeling that this movie is little more than an extended FMV. It feels more like a game masquerading as a movie. I could almost see the seams where the gameplay segments would fit in. Given that Sakaguchi's background is in games, I suppose it should be little surprise.

The story and the characters are okay but not outstanding. There's an all-star voice cast, but the delivery is off in a lot of places. I don't know where I should lay the blame, on the actors, the director, the script or any combination of the above. The overall weakness of the substance of the film leaves it all feeling rather hollow once you look past the visuals.

I personally abandoned the Final Fantasy franchise quite a few years ago, so I really don't know how current fans think. As such, maybe the perceived disconnect doesn't exist so much anymore. I know the series has moved increasingly toward scifi and given the negative perception of XIII and its sequels, this may actually compare favorably. For me, however, this movie remains disappointing. There's still merit to it as a landmark in CG, but there may not be enough else to make for a compelling watch.

Rating:
50/50