Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [Blu-ray]
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [Blu-ray]
Continuing the storyline based on the hit Playstation® game Final Fantasy VII, two years have passed since 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 . . .The question facing any viewer of the Japanese CG feature Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is: do you have to know the games on which it’s based in order to understand the film? And the answer is: it certainly helps. But even complete novices (i.e., most parents) in the Final Fantasy world will find some entertainment in its wealth of fantasy-based action, and the animation never fails to astonish. Picking up two years after an epic battle between the forces of good (represented by brooding soldier Cloud) and evil (Cloud’s former general, Sephiroth), FFVII opens in the devastated city of Midgard, whose youthful occupants suffer from a ghastly disease known as Geostigma. A trio of brothers arrives with what appears to be a cure for the plague, but their gesture conceals a more sinister purpose: to revive Sephiroth and bring about the end of the world. Cloud and his companions must once again rise to the occasion to stop the siblings and the revived Sephiroth from unleashing total destruction. Complex and self-referential to the point of occasional incomprehension, Final Fantasy VII will definitely be most appreciated by fans of the game series, but if others can look past the numbing dialogue and frenetic action (which is a bit too intense for very young children), the film offers a carefree and action-packed viewing experience. The two-disc set contains the original Japanese language version of the film as well as an English-dubbed edition (Rachel Leigh Cook and Christy Carlson Romano, among others, provide the vocal talent) and a version edited for the Venice Film Festival. A 30-minute featurette that recaps the Final Fantasy story up to VII, as well as a making-of documentary, deleted scenes, and promotions for future Final Fantasy VII games and products round out the extras. –Paul Gaita
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars From someone who didn’t play the game
As the title suggests i did not play ff7. In fact Advent Children was my introduction to the Final Fantasy line. That was maybe four years ago, i still have not gotten my hands on a copy of FF7 but i Advent Children is one of my favorite movies of all time. This complete version of it is even better. There are a lot of reviews with a lot of good comments so i won’t repeat. But i do think its important to know that this movie is still fantastic without having played the game. And the complete version is much easier to follow considering that. Amazing movie. Definitly in my top two.
5 Stars Once Is Not Enough
Final Fantasy 7/ Advent Children, Two Disc Set (I own the Blu-ray FF7/AC Complete also) is pure CGI heaven with just the right amount of action and pathos to both rock and emote! Even the soundtrack reaches across a broad spectrum of emotions ranging from exhiliarating fun to suspenseful action to a touch of humor to deep, heavy sadness. Oh yeah, believe it!
May I also mention that I have NEVER played the game in my entire life. I’m not X,Y, or whatever generation, more like “boomer’, and as one previous reviewer predicted, I was introduced to FF7/AC in the “new millenium” via YouTube music videos. What I saw, blew me away so I continued to explore the FF franchise.
Hollywood has its Shrek, The Lion King, Toy Story, Kung Fu Panda, you name it, but Square-Enix has produced one of the most defined and humanistic ‘video game-based” full-length feature film which I have ever set my eyes upon.
Yes, I admit (like many fans/players), I felt an emotional connection to FF7/AC’s CG-animated characters, especially the main protagonist, Cloud who had suffered so much loss. Hey, would it hurt for him to crack a smile?! If you’re searching for one of the hippest, cutest, and ultra-cool video game heroes to root for, look no more. Cloud and his friends fit the description and then some. From hair to clothes to accessories (dig those wolfy doorknockers Cloud) to shoes to gestures to dialogue to the neatest fight moves, FF7/AC brings it on! Everything is so “fly” about this movie.
It certainly helps to be familiar with the prequel, FF7/Crisis Core but don’t get me wrong, FF7/AC, a true CGI marvel, can stand on its own. I personally chose to backtrack for a beginning since I have never played the FF games. Needless to say, video clips and plot synopsis are all available on line to fill in the gaps enabling a seamless storyline. BTW, the English dubbing is spot on! Thank goodness, no generic dubbing! All the characters sound the way I imagined them to be.
With the minor exception of some reverential/philosophical talk which may go over the heads of a very young audience, I of the “baby-boomer” generation got the biggest blast out of FF7/AC! Since I own the Blu-ray version as well, the technology has resulted in imagery of photographic quality. Every detail and subtle facial/physical nuance can be detected perfectly. Indeed, “not reality, but actuality”. Blu-ray also offers almost a half hour more footage and sharpness of scenes beyond compare. The regular DVD gives a more “softer” look overall but a knockout just the same. There are in-depth interviews with FF7’s creators from director, artists, composers, etc., etc., etc. in the latter disc as well. I enjoyed discovering the journey of FF7 making it one of the most influential video games ever.
Guys and gals, young and old alike will fall in love with the techno-magic and the honorable characters as they evolve to battle evil forces. Now, isn’t it so natural to root for an underdog hero in everyday life? Well what are you waiting for? Time to watch FF7/AC once, twice, thrice………………!!!!
5 Stars Best blu-ray quality I’ve seen yet!
Even if you already have the Advent Children DVD, this is DEFINITELY worth buying! Technical aspect wise, this is easily the most gorgeous blu-ray I’ve ever watched to date! I thought Pixar’s WALL-E was amazing… this is just WOW! And it’s not like the characters were rendered so real that it looks alive. No, not like that. It’s that the layers are so clean that this movie actually looked 3D on my LCD. Easily the best picture quality I’ve seen with any blu-ray! And sound processing on the original DVD was very impressive with a 5.1 setup. Audio wise, TrueDolby HD on AC Complete was awesome! Smooth transitions panning all around, excellent processing, and the music was actually changed throughout some parts and replaced with more tracks that match the original Final Fantasy VII.
It was a much much more complete version of the movie compared to the original release of FF7: Advent Children. And the ending with Sephiroth was awesome!
Story wise, for any FF fan, it’s a must.
Technical aspect wise, this is definitely reference material!
5 Stars Blown Away!!!!
Having never played the game, I did not have a reference point and I was still blown away!!! The graphics, attention to details…. WOW!!! I have seen 3d animation before but never like this. I find that I am unable to come up with adequate words to describe this movie. So here goes….
The CG dept and animators really balanced it by making it somewhat real but not too real so one could still see that it was still animation…..
The clothing on the characters moved with each step they took and if standing still in a windy area their gear would undulate on the breeze. One can distinguish texture from knit, leather, and jean material…..WOAH!!!!!
The fight scenes were out of this world!!! Those motorcycles ridden by the main characters were crazy!!!! Kind’ve reminded me of the motorcycle in the Dark Knight but over the top without looking ridiculous. The weapons, in particular, that sword of Cloud’s… INSANE!
For the most part, anyone who sees this movie will be impressed!
Highly recommend!!!
5 Stars BADASS!!!!
this movie was so cool, i had seen it once but never on blu-ray, which is way i was surprised when i got to the battle between cloud and the best villian ever Sephiroth, to find its extended on the blu-ray version, it was so cool zack fair even appears during the fight, and its way better then the average, normal battle…
get it if your a fan of one of the greatest games of all time FINAL FANTASY 7, or if you have never seen the extended ending, its worth it…
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews