Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Fantasy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Reminiscence Of Final Fantasy VII Deleted Scenes Featurette-Venice Film Festival Footage Featurette-Making Of Theatrical Trailer-8 Trailer-Sneak Peek Of Upcoming Final Fantasy VII Games
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	101:01
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Tetsuya Nomura Takeshi Nozue
Studio Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	Takahiro Sakurai Ayumi Ito Tsuduruhara Miyuu
Case	?
RPI	$39.95	Music	Nobuo Uematsu Yusuke Naora Takayuki Takeya

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Italian Dutch Arabic Bulgarian Croatian Czech Danish Estonian Finnish Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Latvian Lithuanian Norwegian Polish Romanian Russian Serbian Slovenian Swedish Turkish English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a by-product of the role playing game Final Fantasy VII. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children debuted at the 61st Venice International Film Festival and this direct-to-DVD sequel of the phenomenally successful PlayStation saga was featured as part of "Venezia Digitale," the new digital image category of the Festival.

This anticipated film feels like the ultimate synthesis of video game and film, a genre which has been formed with the likes of Super Mario Bros. (1993), Street Fighter (1994), Double Dragon (1994), Mortal Kombat (1995), Wing Commander (1999), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Resident Evil (2002), Alone in the Dark (2005), Doom (2005) and Silent Hill (2006). Consequently this modern trend is the cause of the popular debate that the two mediums should remain separate, simply because a video game is based on the user’s interaction with the medium and one has to follow plot points and is capable of changing the narrative. As for film, the viewer simply watches the filmmaker’s vision and has no such control of the medium.

The mentioned films have not had a good critical record but there is no doubt there is a large audience dedicated to this subgenre of film which is continuously progressive as it is reliant on new technology and new ways to view the unimaginable.

Final Fantasy’s previous cinematic incarnation was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) which was in production for four years. The film boasted an A-list cast which on release threatened the death of the actor in modern film as the photo-realistic computer-generated "actors" were thought to revolutionise movie making. Yet the premonition was too early as the film’s failure left its production company, Square Pictures, to retreat and return some years later to make the short film Final Flight of the Osiris (2003) which was inspired by The Matrix Trilogy for the successful Animatrix (2003) collected works.

Although I am unfamiliar with the Final Fantasy universe, I found Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children an astonishing experience as there is much love and attention to detail within this production. There is a multipart narrative within this film which is set two years after the events of Final Fantasy VII in which an infection known as Geostigma is spreading across the post-apocalyptic planet. The ruined land of Midgar is a place where everyone is at risk, especially the young, and it is now the battle ground of good versus evil as a recluse mercenary named Cloud Strife must unravel the cause of a mysterious plague. Other characters are antagonist Sephiroth, master of martial arts Tifa Lockheart, the infected Marlene Wallace, Barret Wallace, Rufus Shinra, gunman Vincent Valentine, Yazoo, airship pilot Cid Higwind, the sword wielding Kadaj, Reno, Rude, Reeve Tuesti, Turks, Red XIII, Cait Sith and Yuffie Kisaragi. If one is familiar with these characters I am sure they will enjoy this film on another level in addition to the visceral battle scenes.

The English talent cast is satisfactory. Often, effectively dubbing an animation in a foreign language can either very good, as demonstrated in Kurenai no buta (1992) (Porco rosso) and Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) (Miyazaki's Spirited Away) or stereotypically flawed. However, in the case of the English track for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children it is by no means inadequate but it isn’t on par with the given successful examples. The voice talent includes Dave Wittenberg, Crispin Freeman, Steve Staley, Steven Jay Blum, Greg Ellis, Liam O'Brien, Grace Rolek, Steve Burton, Rachael Leigh Cook, Wally Wingert, Beau Billingslea, Steve Blum and Mena Suvari. All are satisfactory in their roles but I do think the Japanese soundtrack is superior.

For the many loyal fans of the Final Fantasy Saga I am sure you will enjoy this production; for curious newcomers the animation is a wonder to behold. This straight to DVD release was hugely successful in Japan and while it isn’t in the same cinematic league as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) it certainly is indicative of the diminishing line between video game and cinema.

Video

At the moment I would assume this is a NTSC-PAL conversion as the R2 and R4 release share the same softness of the image and lack of smoothness,both which may be a result of this issue. Also I am not confident in saying this transfer is PAL considering it has the same run-time as the NTSC R1 release. Unless the distributor can confirm it is a PAL, I would suggest it is safe to consider the R4 transfer is a NTSC-PAL conversion.

Presented in 1.78:1 enhanced 16x9 widescreen the picture quality as expected is pristine with excellent shadow detail and skin textures. There is a soft glow to the whole image with smooth, richly defined colour. The environments in the film are produced flawlessly and consequently it is possible for the viewer to forget one is watching an animated film.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

Audio as expected is an engrossing experience with great sound design. The encompassing experience is in full effect with modest use of the subwoofer during the numerous battle sequences. Utilising the music of Nobuo Uematsu who is affectionately renowned as the Japanese 'John Williams' of the video game world, the soundtrack is contemporary and glorifies the already attractive images and sequences.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII.

A look back at the video game specifically included to help the viewer refresh themselves with the pre-story. (23:55)

Deleted Scenes

11 Deleted Scenes: In Japanese with optional subtitles (total 2:18)

The Venice Film Festival footage

The rough edited footage of the film is presented in Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital with optional subtitles (23:47)

Distance: The Making of Advent Children

In lieu of a commentary this documentary recalls the beginnings of the production with key interviews with crew. This Japanese feature has optional subtitle options. This is an excellent feature which demonstrates the motive for the production and the filmmakers’ connection to the narrative. (36:23)

Theatrical Trailers

8 promotional trailers are included: 4 are from 2003, 3 from 2004 and 1 from 2005. As such it gives the viewer an indication of just how long it takes to make animated feature length films.

Sneak peeks

A compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Before Crisis; Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core; Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus; Final Fantasy VII; and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

The R4 and R1 DVD releases are identical in terms of features. The Japanese version has the same specifications as our local release plus, a Director's Commentary and Last Order, a short anime (30 minutes) which features Zack and Cloud during the time of the Nibelheim incident. A limited Japanese release also includes; Advent Children standard DVD, Special Disc, Cloud and Fenrir figures, Cap with cap container, Numbered keychain, T-shirt, Script and Final Fantasy VII International display stand. Please note that this R2 NTSC release does NOT include English subtitles.

A film which will most likely be enjoyed by Final Fantasy enthusiasts and admirers of CGI animation. The DVD has been produced with care and thankfully proves to be an engrossing experience with a top notch transfer and satisfying audio. The direct to DVD release has a number of extra features which demonstrate the determination of the crew in bringing this narrative to the screen. If one is expecting something along the lines of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) you may be disappointed as the strength of the film is based on the direct nature of the video game and action battle sequences. In all, a well executed film which will be most noted among the Final Fantasy fan base and a DVD produced with care and attention to detail.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall