Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)
Fantasy | Action | Adventure | Animation | Sci-Fi

2 Discs - All New Feature Film Based On The Hit Playstation® Game

This CG-animated action-packed feature film continues the storyline based on the PlayStation™ hit Final Fantasy VII.

Two years have passed and the ruins of Midgar stand as a testament to the sacrifices made in order to bring peace. However, the world will soon face a new menace. A mysterious illness is spreading fast. Old enemies are astir. And Cloud, who walked away from the life of a hero to live in solitude, must step forward yet again...

Storyline: Two years after the events in "Final Fantasy VII", a disease called 'Seikon-Shoukougun', or 'Geostigma', is spreading through the planet. This disease is believed to have been caused by the body fighting off foreign material that invaded the body two years earlier, at the end of "Final Fantasy VII". Guilt-ridden and haunted by his past, ex-SOLDIER Cloud Strife has decided to live a secluded, solitary life away from his friends while maintaining "Strife's Delivery Service", whose headquarters is located in Tifa Lockheart's bar, the Seventh Heaven. Tifa's bar serves as an orphanage for children stricken with Geostigma. Here, Tifa keeps an eye on Barret's six-year-old daughter, Marlene, while Barret searches the planet for an alternative energy source to the Planet's energy, Mako. One day, Cloud receives a phone call from the former Shinra, Inc. president, Rufus, asking him for protection from a mysterious man named Kadaj. Kadaj, in the meantime, along with his brothers Loz and Yazoo, are searching for their "mother", and seem to believe that Cloud knows where to find her. Meanwhile, Vincent Valentine has been wandering the planet gathering information on Kadaj's scheme, and Cloud and his friends must come together again to fight these new enemies. Written by Andrea

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Dustin Somner on May 27, 2009 -- If you're a fan of video games, you already understand the excitement that accompanies any mention of a "Final Fantasy" game. A great deal of this fame is directly related to the popularity of the 7th entry in the video game franchise, which many view as the Holy Grail of gaming excellence. Regardless of your opinion of that particular game, it's difficult to argue against the popularity of a title that has gone on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide and spawned a recent compilation of games and feature-length stories set in the world of "Final Fantasy VII".Marking it's debut as the second entry in the "Final Fantasy VII" compilation, Advent Children is a CGI film that continues the story where the game left off. Released directly to DVD in Japan during 2005, the North American release was delayed several times (much to my dismay) before finally hitting store shelves in the middle of 2006. The original runtime of Advent Children was 100 minutes, but the filmmakers felt they wanted to flesh out the story to a greater extent, and began work on an updated version of the film titled Advent Children Complete. Running 26 minutes longer than the original, the "complete" version of the film is presented on this Blu-ray edition and represents a substantial improvement over the initial cut.

Advent Children picks up two years after the events that transpired in the original game, with the inhabitants of the planet stricken by a disease known as Geostigma. Cloud Strife has become a courier for his long-time friend Tifa Lockhart, as well as protector of two young children that live under Tifa's care. While returning to Edge city one day, Cloud is attacked by three mysterious men named Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, who appear to be looking for something known as "mother". Following a Road Warrior style bike battle that ends just as abruptly as it began, Cloud is summoned by Rufus Shinra who begs Cloud to join him in stopping the mysterious trio that recently attacked him. Weary of Shinra's underlying plans, and lacking the confidence needed to step back into the hero role, Cloud refuses to join Shinra in his new-found campaign to protect the planet and expresses a desire to be left alone. Continuing his quest to find "mother", Kadaj soon makes a stop at Shinra's residence, and we learn "mother" is a reference to Jenova's remains (a powerful creature that decended on the planet long ago), which are necessary for Kadaj to form a reunion that culminates in the return of Sephiroth. Cloud reluctantly returns to the picture when the young children under his care are kidnapped by Kadaj and his goons, who use children infected by Geostigma to create a barrier around a statue they believe to contain the remnants of Jenova. After calling on multiple monsters, and an extended fight between Cloud's long-time allies (from the game) and Kadaj's crew, the climax of the film pits Cloud against Sephiroth in a battle to end all battles.Advent Children Complete has every element necessary to create an engaging experience from beginning to end. The plot is emotionally dense, the action is explosively over-the-top, and the world in which the story enfolds is rich with creativity. I enjoyed the first incarnation of Advent Children (with the shortened runtime), but this version surpasses the original in every way. I have to admit I was a little worried the plot would drag over the course of two hours, but there's still more action than four typical anime films put together and everything moves along at a nice pace. One of the supplements on the disc mentions the new cut contains over 1000 new edits in the additional 26 minute runtime, and although I don't have the old edition on DVD to compare, I'd say every minute of added content is well-placed in furthering the plot of the film. I'm a little disappointed the original cut wasn't included as well via seamless branching (for comparison purposes only), but long-time fans should feel comfortable that this is the definitive version of the Advent Children tale.For those of you who've never played the "Final Fantasy VII" video game, I'd still recommend Advent Children Complete as a worthwhile way to spend two hours of your time. Some of the plot elements may be a little confusing, and the emotional impact of the relationships between characters in the film will appear somewhat ambiguous, but the plot of the film still stands as a worthy entry in anime filmmaking and the creators did a nice job paying service to the fans, while maintaining a worthwhile experience for the uninitiated.As with any review of a CGI-animated feature, I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't take the time to mention the quality of the animation on Advent Children Complete. This is a much different film than Final Fantasy: The Spirit's Within, but the animation quality and character models are still similar in comparison. That's not a bad thing, since I love the realistic animation in both films, but as with the prior film, the animation certainly has it's strengths and weaknesses. On the weakness side, the movement of the characters (mostly walking or running), can be a little stiff and awkward at times, but it rarely detracts from the overall experience and should not be viewed as a major concern. On the positive side, the animation is highly detailed with intricate textures, and the movement and effects during the many fight sequences are choreographed to perfection. The laws of physics clearly don't apply in a film of this nature, but most viewers won't have any complaints when they see the incredible feats on display. If all anime could look this good, the market would be flooded with new recruits grasping for the latest anime release.

If you couldn't tell by now, I have nothing but praise for Advent Children Complete. The new version is a nice improvement on an entertaining film, and I doubt anyone will be upset by the extended runtime on this Blu-ray release. If you're a fan of the "Final Fantasy VII" video game, this should be a day-one purchase and has likely been on your Blu-ray radar for some time now. If you've never seen Advent Children, you may elect to go the rental route first, but I'd remind you to consider the near-perfect audio/video quality and perhaps take a leap of faith in adding the disc to your collection. If anything, you'll have an eye-popping example of the capabilities high-definition has to offer, with the added value of over-the-top animated action. As an anime enthusiast, this disc is highly recommended.



User Comment: piotyr from United States, 12 September 2005 • Graphics: brilliant, obviously. The most stunning things were definitely NOT given away in the trailers. Fight sequences move extremely fast, but after watching a couple of them your eyes should be used to it and it won't seem so confusing. Cloud has a wide array of swords, and I kinda wish things were moving a LITTLE slower just so we could see them, because they were each incredibly detailed. Oh, and we finally get to see exactly how one equips Materia...

Music: brilliant also. I was a bit nervous about it, since (from what I've seen) Nobuo isn't the best at writing music to go along with action (remember the Steal the Tiny Bronco sequence?), but it's brilliant and it fits perfectly. I'm glad I preordered the OST. They changed the lyrics to One Winged Angel though, so you won't be able to sing along if you know the Carmina Burana Lyrics.

Plot: the first half of the movie sets up things and introduces everyone in a fairly complex tapestry, but the second half is almost entirely fight sequences, once all the players are in place. I wouldn't call it a weak plot, but it's nowhere near as convoluted as the game's plot was. I think this is in an effort to avoid trying to overshadow the game, and I think that's a good thing...the movie is its own entity, and shouldn't try to top the original in terms of sheer plot.

I admit, I was kind of hoping that this movie would bring FF7 to a wider range of people, but this is NOT a mainstream movie. I was going to give it only nine stars, just because it doesn't even really try to explain anything to newcomers...Marlene (at least I think it was Marlene...sounded like her) gives a bit of background at the beginning, but it's more of a refresher than a crash course. But then I realized, for me this movie is a 10/10, so why should I take off points just because other people probably won't like it as well...if you've played the game, or are at least passingly familiar with it, you should see this movie. But you don't need me to tell you that. If you're not familiar with it, go out and buy it, sit there for twenty hours and beat it, and then see the movie...although even without any background, it's still stunningly beautiful. You just won't get any of the inside references...which make up 50% of the movie (that is, everything that ISN'T a fight sequence).

Summary: Excellent on all fronts...unfortunately, I doubt it will reach an audience outside of FF7 fans

[CSW] -3.1- The CG action and animation were excellent even though not being a Final Fantasy follower, I didn't completely understand the plot line.
D-Box 10/10 but you may need to turn down the intensity as the motion can get pretty intense.

--- JOYA ---


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