Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi
Release Date: July 13, 2001
Starring (voice): Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Ming-Na, James Woods, Donald Sutherland, Annie Wu

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Final Fantasy games, books, art, and soundtracks sell like mad, appealing to fans of classic and nontraditional RPGs as well as to those who don't play many games but appreciate the epic feel of the series and its enigmatic characters and scenarios. So it's high time that Square moves the series to the big screen. Square Pictures and Columbia Pictures first announced the Final Fantasy animated feature film in late 1998, and while the past couple of years have revealed a fair number of trailers, cast lists, and images from the film, only recently was a block of actual footage shown to an eager public.

The movie is Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and Columbia and Square promise it to be a "cinematic breakthrough, where the most sophisticated effects imaginable are invisibly woven into an unforgettable story about adventure, survival, and the eternal spirit of humankind." Hollywood typically hangs a hefty price tagon cinematic "breakthroughs," metering the level of revolutionary film mastery on the amount of cash executive producers and investors dump into the project. Yet, reviewers of the 17-minute sneak preview shown in March 2001 say believe the hype--for the most part.

The animated film stars the capable vox of headlining actors such as Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, and James Woods, and takes place on Earth in the year 2065, shortly after an invasion by the Phantoms, an alien race hell bent on destruction. True to the Final Fantasy style, the story will depict the relationship between life and death and the lessons one learns in the balance between the two. As cited on Square's Final Fantasy Web site, "Beyond the riveting battle scenes, Final Fantasy will take you on a journey of personal discovery into both the real and fantasy worlds, drawing you deep into its characterizations and themes: love, friendship, dreams, adventure, life, and death."

However, from all accounts, the real story with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within lies in the graphics and sound effects. Square said early on that the company's goal with the film was for viewers to not be able to discern computer-generated imagery from the real thing--as filmed with a camera. Critics who saw the 17-minute preview agreed unanimously that the dialogue is the film's weakest link thus far. While the film is intended for adult audiences, the script comes off rather scripted and overexplained, as if for a younger audience. There's still time for that to change, though, as the film, which is being made in Honolulu, Hawaii, won't hit US theaters until July 2001.

Next: Take me to the tombs