Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is set in a barren wasteland: the post-apocalyptic aftermath of an alien meteor that struck the planet forty years ago. We then meet Dr Aki Ross (voiced by Ming Na) who is studying the aliens (called phantoms) who instantly suck the life-force out of any living thing they come into contact with. Dr. Ross is searching for spirits to put together to make a neutral “spirit wave” to rid the planet of the phantoms. She then teams up with a group of soldiers voiced by Alec Baldwin, Steve Bucemi, Ving Rames, and Peri Gilpin to help stop the invasion and restore life to the planet.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within attempts to have a check list for what makes a movie dramatic. Every scene in the film feels like some kind of ill conceived listing of concepts that were supposed to have been met so that an animated movie could be taken seriously (the exception being that it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Final Fantasy videogame series). Right from the opening we have the tragic romance seeking to be rekindled, as well as a misguided militarist who thinks he is doing the “right” thing (avenging the lost lives of his wife and child) when it is clearly not. This imaginary list creates a veritable clusterfuck in the plot of the movie and progresses too quickly to be taken seriously. What plot actually exists in the story turns out to be a sappy story about how everything is connected by a universal force called Gaia; oh and those phantoms that have been terrorizing the planet, they’re actually the ghosts of life forms from another planet. Even the characters in the film find this concept to be improbable and silly.
One of the better parts of the film is the star studded voice cast most notably the ruthless general Hein (James Woods) who is the main detractor from the Gaia argument, as well as the creator of the Gaia theory Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland). Both actors give excellent performances despite the horrible script. Alec Baldwin’s character Captain Grey is also notable purely on the basis that he looks exactly like Ben Affleck in the film.
The breathtaking photo realistic CGI used to make the film was the first of its kind and really deserves a nod, but overall the story and writing are very shallow and didn’t hold my attention.
Bottom line: See it if you like animated movies, otherwise don’t waste your time.
2 out of 5
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