Most helpful customer reviews
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must buy!, Jul 14 2009
If you saw the original movie and liked it, you're going to ADORE this version!!! An amazing version!
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9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Are sins ever forgiven?, Jun 5 2009
"Final Fantasy VII" is one of the most groundbreaking, most popular video games of all time -- the adventures of flawed hero Cloud Strife and his companions, struggling to save a very self-aware planet.
Turns out that the battle isn't QUITE over. "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" picks up a couple years later with new threats to the planet and new silver-haired foes (plus one old one). It's an absolutely stunning piece of work -- though the plot takes awhile to fully sink in, it's awash in beautifully precise, slightly luminous animation, slam-bang action scenes, and some beautifully complex characters,
People are falling ill with a mysterious disease called Geostigma. And while Cloud is tooling around in the desert, he's suddenly attacked by a trio of silver-haired youths (Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo) who demand to know where "Mother" is. Weirdly enough, they also call him "brother." Plagued by guilt and geostigma, Cloud isn't terribly interested in finding out about the trio or their connection to Jenova's missing head.
But then Loz savagely beats up Tifa in the cathedral, and kidnaps Marlene -- along with all the geostigma-riddled children in Midgar. Unfortunately, Cloud's attempt to get back the kids meets with more failure. And as the brother lay waste to Midgar with materia-generated beasts, Cloud's friends reunite to stop them. And when Kadaj gets his hands on the head, it resurrects an old enemy who may be able to destroy the entire planet...
"Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" is one of those movies that takes awhile to sink in, and which (at first glance) seems much more complex than it actually is. It's actually a pretty straightforward tale of a hero overcoming his doubts and trying to save the world. But that story is swathed in a heavy dose of symbolism, and many reflections about how you should live for your friends, not mope about the dead.
The writing generally tends toward meditative and slightly poetic ("What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this planet as my vessel..."), wit a sprinkling of dry humor ("Where can I buy a phone?"). And it's crammed with top-notch action scenes -- treetop sword fights, acrobatic motorcycle chases, and a citywide attack from the monstrous Bahamut Sin. The climactic fight is the best: the city is enveloped in a vast cloud of dust and crumbling ruins, as Cloud battles physically and emotionally with his old nemesis Sephiroth.
And the animation is a thing of pure beauty. Square Enix outdid themselves with the clarity and vibrancy of the CGI -- luminous flowers and trees, a grey sky, a ruined city, and eerie smoky monsters that rise up and attack. Even the tiny details -- like the texture of Kadaj's leather coat -- are rendered in beautiful detail.
Cloud is a likable tortured hero, who works up from despair to quiet strength -- partly from his friends needing him, and partly from Aerith's occasional admonitions from beyond the grave ("I think... I want to be forgiven... More than anything..."). Most of his friends are cameos in the fight against Bahamut Sin, but the strong-willed Tifa and the mysterious Vincent take strong stands in dragging Cloud back to real life.
But the best characterization is in Kadaj and his brothers -- they have the minds of small children, but the knowledge and bodies of grown men. And to their minds, everything they do is perfectly reasonable. They want their mommy, dangit!
The blu-ray edition promises to be a stunner, if nothing else because the crystal-clear format should be great for the already-gorgeous visuals. The extras for the deluxe Complete edition include trailers, sneak peaks at "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" and "Agito XIII," half hour animated film "Case of Denzel", a "legacy" featurette and a pair of story digests.
"Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" takes a little while to warm up, but the exquisite animation, good writing and likable heroes keep it moving.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
À avoir absolument, Oct 6 2009
Le film est excellent, plus d'une heure et demi de supplémentaire (l'histoire de Denzel + l'histoire de Final Fantasy 7), sans compter le remake du combat mythique entre Sephiroth et Cloud.
À posséder, même si vous ne connaissez pas cette série, surtout si vous êtes fan de films en 3D
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