KineticSeoul For a movie based on a video game franchise, it wasn't atrocious. But it still was a wasted opportunity of what could have been a really good film. Before this movie, the Final Fantasy CGI cutscenes were really cool to sit through have reaching certain points in the video game. However it doesn't really work in movie form. As a matter of fact, this would have worked fine as a video game. With more development with the background, more in-depth with the with the story and the characters and such. But it doesn't really work when if feels like your watching a really slow video game with characters trying to collect items to achieve something. I really liked the stylish and cool futuristic design of the world created in this. It's actually one of the coolest sci-fi design I have seen in a movie. The CGI was topnotch when it came to a animated movie and the effects still even hold up today. A lot of effort was put into this film, with top of the line technology to achieve the visuals. I mean just look at the facial animation. Although the dialogue is flat, it didn't get super corny either. But that is basically the only positive things I can say about this movie. It's a shame that this movie cost as much as a Pixar movie to make, but far from it being a box office hit like Pixar films. And there are reasons for that, because although it's a CGI animated movie it will not appeal to little kids. Mainly because they won't be able to understand what is exactly going on, even some adults might get confused with this. Despite it having a really straightforward and simple story, which isn't a good thing. This is just my opinion, but this movie was taken too seriously. A bit of good humor then and there amongst the characters and situation would have made it at least more gratifying to sit through. Despite the serious situation the characters are in, but I think it would have worked. Overall this movie is a wasted potential. However if you are a fan of the Final Fantasy or anime this might be worth a watch. I think Hironobu Sakaguchi is a good game director, but his efforts to make a full length movie faltered. I could tell what direction he was trying to go with this. And it might have worked if it went in a full Japanese direction or an anime with 12 episodes or so to flesh things out. Nice effort though.6.4/10

Rectangular_businessman I don't even know why the people who made this film bothered to call it "Final Fantasy", when it didn't have anything to do with that franchise of video-games: They could have name it only "The Spirits Within" and it still will be the same thing, since this is something completely different (But not in a good way) I just don't know why the director of this movie Hironobu Sakaguchi (Which is the creator of the games) decided to remove all the elements that make "Final Fantasy" so popular in first place (Such as the combination of magic and steam-punk technology, the mythological characters) turning what could have been a great epic film into a boring, dull and clichéd story about an alien invasion on earth.For me, that was the main reason why this movie flopped, rather than the Uncanny Valley effect that the hyper-realistic animation from this movie had: With a good story and interesting characters, this would have been a much more enjoyable experience.And while I don't hate this movie,the truth is that I found it to be terribly disappointing: Most of the time, this film feels flat and uninspiring. There are some good scenes and the voice acting is pretty good. And the animation...Despite the fact that most of the time the movements of the characters feel robotic and lifeless, with awkward expressions on their faces...It is still quite impressive to look at, even more considering that this was one of the first animated movies that could achieve that level of realism.Sadly, the most important thing, the story, was completely neglected in order to focus in the visual aspect from this movie. It is true that not all the movies need to have a very complex story in order to be good, but I think, that at least it could have been something more entertaining: This movie is way too boring, too predictable and too predictable to be enjoyable. While the incredible CGI made it a (somewhat) worth-watching experience, the story is a complete mess, filled with the most annoying stereotypes from Hollywood films, and the worst part of it is that is not even funny. All the "intense" and emotional scenes from this movie feel demotivated. The characters are one-dimensional, being most of them are just cardboard clichés from many other movies and television shows.It is true that there are some movies that could make a good use of clichés...Unfortunately, this isn't one of them. "The Spirits Within" is merely an exercise of style over substance, where the story only follows the same pattern that appears in every other story about alien invasions on earth, expecting it to work well only because the CGI used on it was good. At the end, this only serves to proof how the lack of a good (Or at least entertaining story) are enough to destroy what could have been great film.Anyway, I think that this movie was doomed to be a flop from the very first moment in which it decided to be anything like the video-games. that was guaranteed to disappoint the fans from the "Final Fantasy" franchise, but also, it failed to attract to all the people who never played the games.Even with the best CGI, if the story doesn't appeal to anyone, the failure is something unavoidable.

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- 2001, The year is 2065 AD. Uncontrollable alien spirits have invaded Earth. These aliens are killing humans and controlling large areas of the planet. The last of the human race is in a doomed protective city. The Earth's military are trying to fight the invaders. Lead by a strange dream and guided by her brilliant mentor Dr Sid, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect eight spirits with the hope of creating a force powerful enough to protect the planet. A secret scientist group has found the spiritual answer to stopping and understanding the aliens, their alien origins, and their power to keeping the Earth surviving intact. Aki must save Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the beneficial spirits within.*Special Stars- featuring the voices of Alex Baldwin, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi. Director- Hironobu Sakaguki *Theme- Nature and spirit are twin forces for good, always. Humans only upset the natural balance in their ignorance.*Based on- Several previous 'Final Fantasy' film plots and Video Game genre. The film has obvious Eastern and Green religious and political themes.*Trivia/location/goofs- Last recent release from a notable series of feature science fiction films. Animated CGI film.*Emotion- While the animation in production values of this film are viewable and good, the plot is too simplistic and clichéd. The few dramatic plot instances have been better explored by other western live-action and bigger budget films writers. The voice actors dialog is disappointing and so predictable. It's full of trite western clichés and boring. IMHO: Also the basic principle of not using live action performers on camera in such narrative film is flawed. Only using their voices to get ticket sales and not allowing the whole performer to be seen and enjoyed on camera is only using half of the actor's innate art or talents. This film suffers greatly.

Jaymz13 This movie was some serious eye-candy. Other than that, however, it was a waste of time. Too bad good movie making has gone out of style. It preached and nagged about gaia/mother earth to the point of making me sick. Go push your religion down someone else's throat. I'm sick of it. Anyway, that seemed to be the whole point of the movie was to convince me that the earth is some sort of living being. its a huge rock covered with water and air, okay? Volcanos are destructive to the environment and all life around them. Does that mean gaia is a wrist-cutting, self-mutilator? In that case, she needs rehab and counselling. In short, this movie sucked! ...but it looked good doing it.