Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)

Movie Info

Things are attacking Cloud and his big ass sword about stuff and I hope he’s saved by things..

Cloud and the people are trying to recover after the defeat of Sephiroth and the destruction of Midgar.  A new plague is sweeping the planet called Geostigma and Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo are collecting children infected with Geostigma to try to resurrect Sephiroth.  It could take Cloud and all of his allies to defeat the evil once and for all…and heal the planet!

Directed by Tetsuya Nomura, Final Fantasy VII:  Advent Children (ファイナルファンタジーVII アドベントチルドレン or Fainaru Fantajī Sebun Adobento Chirudoren) is a spin-off of the popular Final Fantasy VII of 1997.  The movie was released in Japan in 2005 and 2006 in America with an enhanced and extended HD version called Final Fantasy VII:  Advent Children Complete being released 2009.  The movie was met with mixed reviews but strong sales.

I hate kids…

I tried to watch Final Fantasy VII:  Advent Children multiple times.  I played Final Fantasy VII when it was new (but actually forgot most of the plot) and knowing Final Fantasy VII is central to understanding this movie…and even then, it is really hard to follow.

The plot is almost non-existent and it feels like set-up for big fight scenes.  I guess if you played through the game and immediately put in this movie it might mean more but most of the story and dialogue really seems pretty flimsy.  It could have been better with deeper meaning but the movie expected too much from casual Final Fantasy gamers.

The voice actors also don’t carry much weight.  The movie has traditional language on an English dub.  The English dub reminds me of the video game with video game voices.  They might work on a video game, but as a major motion picture, they are too weak to hold the drama and action (especially some of the female voice actors).

Yes! The fight about the thing we’ve all been waiting for to resolve the plot about the stuff…

Visually, the movie is both very good, but it is also like watching a very long cutscene (but with good animation).  The fights are very well choreographed and filmed, but the movie doesn’t seem to have much substance.  The movie does have little fun adds like Loz’s phone ringtone being the music from after winning a fight in Final Fantasy…but that and other visual cues aren’t enough to save the movie.

Final Fantasy VII:  Advent Children is for hardcore fans only.  The movie asks a lot of its viewers and at points goes to show how random and bizarre Final Fantasy games really are.  I can’t really recommend the film but some of the visuals are very unique…if you can tolerate a plot that is barely a plot, you might want to check it out.

Related Links:

Final Fantasy:  The Spirits Within (2001)