Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

I saw this film in the cinema on August 14, 2001, and here is what I wrote:-

I actually quite enjoyed Final Fantasy – The Spirits Within. Technically astounding, though only for the moment. Soon, it will look hopelessly outdated and mannequinesque. But it’s a bold step forward towards the ultimate in pointlessness – photorealistic animation.

However, this one was marred by a weak plot and stilted dialogue. It wasn’t bad, though. Some characters, like Dr. Sid, approached a realism that I wasn’t expecting. Some voice actors, like Steve Buscemi, were able to successfully escape their distinctive looks, if not personalities

Almost a decade later, it’s not a film I would watch again. The best of today’s games look almost as good as The Spirits Within during their in-game graphics, and cutscenes of higher quality are par for the course. The film not only failed to break even at the box office, but cost Square millions – and Square Pictures collapsed soon after. Square Enix since produced Final Fantasy: Advent Children, which in all honesty was what the first film should have been, tying in the Final Fantasy brand with one of the worlds from the games, instead of making up some obscure and totally unmemorable sci-fi world. Today, about the only thing that people seem to think of fondly when remembering The Spirits Within is a short clip on the extras DVD of the characters doing the dance from ‘Thriller’.

An interesting footnote to the history of Squeenix and CG movies, it was nonetheless a disappointment and dated quickly. These things would have been excusable with a stunning story, but sadly, it was a dull, soulless letdown.