Final Fantasy: Advent Children

Is that a giant sword or are you just happy to see me?

If I had to explain FF: Advent Children in two words, I would say this: eye candy. Yes, that's right. It's a movie that's really, really pretty, but doesn't have a lot of substance to it. Not to say it's bad, it just doesn't have much of a story. And which to most Final Fantasy fans won't really matter. Did I mention it looks really, really pretty?

To explain it the best that I can, FF Advent Children starts off around 5 years after the ending of FF VII the video game. Sephiroth has been defeated and the FF gang are living out their normal everyday lives just as they did at the beginning of the video game. Well, for the most part. Tifa works at a bar and Cloud still roams the country with his motorcycle as a loner. The other characters do not appear until half-way through the movie, although they do try to contact Cloud through his cell phone several times, and although Cloud receives their messages, they remain unanswered, mainly because Cloud is still a loner. Did I mention he's a loner? He doesn't like being with other people for some reason, but that's just his character, as apparent in the video game.

After reacquainting ourselves briefly with where the characters are in the story, three Sephiroth wanna-be look-alikes attack Cloud on their motorcycles in a desert. Cloud fights them and learns that they are looking for "mother." They run-away after a brief fight. Later, the Sephiroth wannabes kidnap Marlene (Barrett's daughter) because she has the materia they're looking for, and it's up to Cloud to save her. Cloud does end up saving her, but later learns that the Sephiroth trio are out to destroy the world in the process by brainwashing a group of children. This is where the story begins to dissolve and the eye-candy enters, although this is by far the best part of the movie.

The Sephiroth group then use one of the materias to destroy Midgar with a Bahmut (and with the help of the children) in order to find "mother." All the major characters then return on-screen and help Cloud fight the Bahmut and prevent the destruction of the city. I would continue but I would spoil the rest of the movie if I did. Trust me though. The visuals at this point are stunning. The action sequences are non-stop and the appearances by practically all the characters in the FFVII game (even Aeris and Sephiroth) are priceless. If you are an avid FF VII fan, you'll enjoy this movie.

Like I said, the visuals are what makes the movie. The hair flows like real hair, the skin is nicely pigmented, and the clothing drapes perfectly on the characters. The backgrounds and action sequences are sheer beauty, and the music brings you back to those late nights on the PS1 roaming as Cloud throughout the FF towns and forests building up your HP and MPs.

If you are looking for a good storyline, FF: Advent Children is NOT the movie for you. Heck, if you've never heard of Final Fantasy before, you probably should not be watching it because you will NOT understand anything that is going on. To be honest, I barely understood it myself. If I gained anything from the story, it reaffirms my belief that Cloud and Aeris belong together (even though she's dead) rather than Tifa and Cloud, but that's about it.

All in all, Final Fantasy: Advent Children is an excellent eye-candy movie. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Enjoy!