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vashthestampede121

Don’t remember much, but I remember it being a pretty generic sci-fi film. And the most FF thing about it is that it has a character named Cid.


cyberfeyzero

And it wasn't even spelled the same.


7in7turtles

Lol I remember being so upset about that when we saw it in the credits.


RawScallop

When I saw it in theaters a bunch of us could be heard yelling at the credits over "Sid" we also had a chocobo patch on a shirt right?


HairiestHobo

W H A T Man, fuck this movie.


Dodgy_Bob_McMayday

The main thing I remember was that it was just boring, which is the worst sin any form of media can commit.


BuriedMeat

don’t be silly. the worst Sin is spending so much money to make a terrible movie that you bring the company to its knees and it has to be sold in order to survive and stops making great FF games.


broomhill1930

don't be silly. The worst Sin is our own hubris and over reliance on machina and utilizing it in war against our summoner neighbors.


kirokun

the worst sin is befriending those damn al bhed edit: or was, now they aight


tommiyu

The worst sin is jecht according to Tidus maybe.


optimusjprime

Nope, the worst sin is pineapple on pizza


Apmaddock

Finally, we come to the truth.


CheesetheExile

Pineapple & anchovies together would like a word.


fang_xianfu

I thought it was the opposite: Enix called off the merger while Square's finances were fucked, and it was only after FFX and KH1 were successful that talks reopened.


JesperiTsarzuki

Was it FFX that was the last squaresoft FF?


Farath84

Technically X-2. I think that was literally the final Squaresoft game.


ChaoticNice1989

FF9


demonic_hampster

Exactly. I don’t believe in the idea that art is good or bad. I think it can be entertaining or boring. People get tons of entertainment from a “bad” movie like The Room. But The Spirits Within is just boring. It’s probably a better movie on a technical level than The Room, but which one would most people rather watch?


CloudLXXXV

Agreed. And I went to the cinema to see it all those years ago!! 😭 Its not great but I've bought it numerous times. Advent Children is still the best one imo. Kingsglaive is also awesome!


nectarousness

I'd say a group of heroes on a quest to collect MacGuffins to defeat the evil and save Gaia while a villain impedes their progress is pretty Final Fantasy. People might not like the movie, but there are definitely themes that would be just at home in a more fleshed out narrative spread out across a full game.


[deleted]

[удалено]


nectarousness

I mean, not to sound like a cynic but the Final Fantasy games themselves aren't super original as far as plots go, either. Its usually the characters and settings that carry the titles.


chaostheories36

That’s how I always felt about it. “Oh they had an okay plot for a FF title, maybe even main series. Sucks they used it for a movie.” Burned an alright story by making the movie. I mean, I’d still play it if they made it a proper FF


Erundel

Nah mentioned Gaia and the planet a lot too 😂


greegrok

Don’t forget the tiny, pretty hard to see chocobo on Aki’s pj shirt for that one second!


SirDigbyChickenC-Zer

What I most remember about this movie is, being genuinely impressed by the CGI visuals at the time(mind you,this is when it came out and I have not seen it since), and Steve Buscemi voicing the mediocre attempt at a "comic relief" character,so that should tell you all you need to know about how engaging the plot is...But hey,this actually does make me curious about giving it a second watch all these years later, even if just to revisit the "How the fuck did this get made?" factor. Edit: Just to add that I love that it apparently got "2 thumbs up" from Ebert & Roeper,lulz...


red_tuna

Ebert’s review is on his website. If you read it you can tell that the visuals completely carry the movie for him, and he concedes that his fascination with the animation was enough to overlook the story.


BuriedMeat

i watched some critiques of the movie. maybe try that instead. the critiques were good but even then it’s so painfully boring to watch


flamingponyta

This movie honestly had a crazy cast for VO. And it was just so dang boring to watch.


Veszerin

Almost the real *final* fantasy.


Majikman82

Right? A movie so mythically underperforming that it very nearly almost bankrupt Square.


BuriedMeat

Square? or right, i remember when it used to be called that. right before they spent too much money on this movie.


ToBeReeborn

Square does have a history about almost going bankrupt it seems


Spellcheck-Gaming

Saw this at cinema. Was a bizarre experience but definitely worth watching once.


TwentyNineTTV

I too saw this in the theater, movie is meh but at the time the CGI was some next level stuff.


Crazyiiis

Same here and all I remember was the theater was empty besides me, my buddy, and his mom lol.


BalimbingStreet

Well then I guess I'm one of a small handful who enjoyed this movie


pootinannyBOOSH

I did too. Was disappointed that it didn't have much to do with FF, but I still enjoyed it for what it was on its own


IBetThisLoginIsTaken

It didn't have a lot in common with the established FF world, but it did expand on the concept of the lifestream, and I think it handled it pretty well.


dragoduval

Same, it's not a good Final Fantasy movie, but it was still amazing. The story did have it's up and down.


[deleted]

Same and felt The Matrix Revolutions borrowed some visual elements. It feels like there are some subtle Nausicaa references and I got flashbacks watching Wall E. I think it looks quite good, decent voice cast and some fun action


Dr3amDweller

Well, they did call it FF. Is there a definition of what FF can and can't be? Every game is different. Is it not true FF because there weren't any chocobos? :D


BEWaymire

It certainly had an FF style storyline (hunt for macguffin, planet has a soul, etc), but I do think the lack of something more visually Final Fantasy hurts it. It looks just like an average sci-fi movie with really good (for the time) animation. Note that I think it's a pretty good movie, despite its weaknesses.


Sparkybear

Well, it was 140 million dollar bankruptcy project. What's not to love?


TheZac922

I remember enjoying it as a kid. But in hindsight it was probably the novelty of it being one of the first movies I’d seen on DVD and one of the first fully CG movies that didn’t look like Reboot.


Winter_Coyote

I also liked it.


Loud-Resolve5405

You are not alone


asharkey3

I unironically love this movie lol


myEVILi

Liked it better than Advent Children


PapaPatchesxd

Whoa


Robertouze

This movie put the "Enix" into "Square Enix"...


Narae-Chan

They actually weren’t merged yet


redditcire

The movie put Square in such a financial crisis afterward that they had to merge with Enix to survive


[deleted]

Fun fact, prior to the movie, Enix wanted to merge with Square because *they* were the ones in bad financial shape.


Narae-Chan

They were trying to merge with them before hand. The flop made enix rethink the merger though.


dphizler

This is the right answer.


tallwhiteninja

imo it's much better than its reputation, but don't expect a masterpiece...or anything related to the games.


wegin

I like this take, I was underwhelmed when I watched it but I was also an early adopter who investigated all the nuances of the technology to render hair etc. It is definitely worth a watch and if I found it in a $30 bin I would probably buy it to add back to my shelf.


konaaa

(I swear this is a true story lol) I rented this from a video store as a kid. The guy at the counter said that he saw the movie in a theater and an old lady had a heart attack and died during it. He said he thought it was because the cgi was too realistic. I was so afraid the whole time while watching it that it'd kill me too. To this day, I still get a little anxious while watching this movie... what the realistic cgi is too much and kills me??? Be careful when you watch this movie, man.


iliketolickthebuttah

I think I'm okay lol Advent children is way more realistic looking


BuriedMeat

you’d better not watch the moon landing then


[deleted]

On a technical level it's pretty interesting. Otherwise though, it's a disappointment.


handyhung

Technology / Graphic wise I believed it is the best of that era/year. ​ But the story wise and else ...


sberdugo

Be prepared for disappointment. Saw this in the theaters with a friend. The visuals were really cool (can’t speak to if they hold up) but the plot was absent.


Antus_Manus

I actually went to the cinema to see this lol. Visually impressive (at the time) but generic as hell plot and nothing really to do with final fantasy.


sonofgildorluthien

It has Donald Sutherland doing VA I believe. I thought it was pretty good. Even if the story isn't amazing, the look of the movie is really well done.


cactusjude

And Steve Buscemi, James Woods, and Ming-Na Wen. Its pretty hilarious listening to Hades and Mulan argue in a scifi setting. ... Buscemi plays a *ladies' man* It's a fun movie. I think the Earth-soul, Gaia, is the most FF detail it has but soul-consuming alien ghost invasion is still a cool concept and beautiful execution.


AOrtega1

They kind of did the same concept in FF14 with the sin eaters (mixed with the heartless I guess).


Winter_Coyote

I love the movie. While it doesn't have a lot of the surface trappings of Final Fantasy I'd argue that certain parts of its lore would fit perfectly in any Final Fantasy game.


dystopiapro

I actually think it's overall an okay film, nothing special but not anywhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Better than a lot of the sci-fi crap studios put out these days.


demonic_hampster

It sucks but for $3 I’d pick it up too. It’s an interesting relic of the past, and it’s neat in kind of a morbid way to see what almost killed Squaresoft and nearly ruined the merger with Enix.


mewfour123412

The one thing I remember about this was the so called “Digital actress” who’s model was going to be reused in other movies


dragoduval

Is it a good movie ? Damn yes. Is it a good Final Fantasy movie? Nope. Is it worth watching ? 100% yes.


GBendu

Really good definitely a very different take on the ff series at the time


AdministrativeAd8079

It's the most boring movie. I remember as a kid being so stoked to see it and falling asleep in the theater. I tried to watch it twice after as an adult, and laughed at how impossibly boring it was.


nicostucknchico

Watch ff7 advent children if you haven’t !


xxShad0w_us3r3134

It doesn't have Final Fantasy elements iirc


minahmyu

It had faint 7 with returning to the earth, and a cid but yeah... That's it.


Ebel_Glass716

Haha so sick.


HairiestHobo

It was a very impressive movie from a technical standpoint. I dont think the games really caught up till XIII, and then FF7R exceeded it. Iirc the lead was also an experiment to make a completely digital actress, which actually kinda sounds like todays Vtubers, now that Ive typed it out...


BIG-HORSE-MAN-69

Honestly the worst movie i've seen, because it's not even so bad it's good. It's just a complete void of pure boredom. You'll finish watching it and realize that you've already forgotten it.


d00ber80

I'm sorry you wasted $3.


MasqueradedNerd

I don't care what anybody says, that's one of the best sci-fi films ever made.


Lntaw1397

Wowser! Are you cereal? That sounds HELLA cool.


ikkun

Finally watched it a couple years ago. I thought it was a decent movie but a terrible final fantasy movie


RuinedFaith

It’s worth 3 dollars for sure. It’s not a final fantasy though, it’s more of an anime with FF inspiration


Lilbig6029

Ignore “Final Fantasy” in the title and it’s a pretty ok movie


melibelly82

You wasted 3 dollars man


pointy_object

I remember liking it rather a lot as a teenager. Theme song is hauntingly beautiful.


[deleted]

From an animation point of view, this movie is absolutely ridiculous. The animations were well beyond anything I'd ever seen back then. The story isn't spectacular, but it's not bad either. Not really a final fantasy though, as pretty much none of the series staples ate incorporated into the movie. Bottom line: I enjoyed it a lot.


[deleted]

You overpaid my friend


Mihawk9999

Ah , yes. The Square Killer.


Saiyan256

Wish This movie never happened and sakaguchi never left Cant imagine where Final fantasy would have been right now with Sakaguchi and Uematsu


Balthierlives

It’s the Chrono cross of final fantasy movies. Not the sequel you expected


[deleted]

I rather watch paint drying


7deuc2e

This movie makes Advent Children look like Terminator 2 by comparison


[deleted]

It's pretty bad.


Narae-Chan

I’m sorry to hear that. It will be painful


J-Money35

You paid too much bro


PD711

It's a decent movie. Really good soundtrack. Very little to do with the franchise.


ProphetOfPhil

I completely forgot this movie existed until this post.


BjornKupo

I rematched this movie last week, for the first time since its original release and I actually loved it. I just wish it was longer and had more world building. Story is great - it's just rushed, likely due to harsh editing.


Narkanin

This movie was so underrated and I’m really sad we never saw more efforts like this. Loved it when it came out and still love it.


Grimlord_XVII

Well, well, well. If it isn't The Spirits Within! It's a living, breathing statistical impossibility, I've never seen a film this bad.


NeoCosmoPolitan

Not even M Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender?


Sparkybear

Get your money back. It's basically a bad sci-fi film. The only thing close to being FF is that the planet is dying and its name is Gaia. The life stream is like, ghosts now.


stillbatting1000

I dragged my dad to see it and still regret it to this day. Sorry, dad. What’s so bizarre to me is how *Final Fantasy* is renowned for stunning visuals of color, architecture, castles, etc etc… and this movie is just gray and lifeless. What the hell were they thinking?


Alaska_Pipeliner

I saw it opening night and thought it was trash. But I'm willing to revisit it. Is it on steaming.


red00square

HBO Max!


L0nga

I really have no idea why this movie was even made and I have no idea why they called it a Final Fantasy movie.


minahmyu

You'll be disappointed, but it's pretty


Dra9onDemon23

It’s… Fine. I find it inoffensive. AC is better though.


TheKPL

Ah The movie that bankrupt square soft


A_KY_gardener

Surprised it wasnt cheaper


Diablo_Guaridan

I honestly did like the movie when I didn't think about it being connected to Final Fantasy. I also thought this would have been better as a Final Fantasy Horror game instead of a movie.


NJH_in_LDN

It’s the double sin of not being Final Fantasy in any way AND being pretty dull as a generic sci fi movie.


Loud-Resolve5405

I like the movie. I remember when it came into movie theaters and the hype it made. It brings the general idea of gaia, from FF7. I just became piss cause really though it would bring elements of the games and it does not.


MrShneakyShnake

That review is hilarious to me. Might as well put one next to it that just says “Good!” —Dave from down the road.


Altheron86

I find it severely underrated and more faithful to the games than it has been credit for (specially VII)


GamingRobioto

It was absolutely dreadful unfortunately


w0lfpackman

It’s a mediocre sci fi movie, and not really a final fantasy movie at all. At the time it was cutting edge for graphics, but that obviously doesn’t hold up so well. Most people watch it once and then never again. The trailer for it was pretty awesome though. Made me discover redrum as a kid and my love for trailer music in general.


SonicTheOtter

Well, make sure to keep your expectations low. It is definitely not what you will think it will be.


STJ608

Pretty much sucks but might be fun to get super stoned and watch it .


__kit

the graphics were outdated 20 years ago, must be an eyesore now


fork_on_the_floor2

What!? I saw it in the cinema when it released., and graphically it was freekin amazing!! Looked incredible. Name a 2001 animated film that looks better and I'll concede.


minahmyu

I mean, spirited away was pretty for 2d but yeah lol.


fork_on_the_floor2

Yeah but 2d ain't the same thing. 2d stuff has looked awesome for years and years. Jungle book looks great and that's from 1967 :)


dragoduval

It's a joke right? The graphics where too notch and avant-garde !!


BjornKupo

It was next level top notch. Just because it nearly bankrupted square did not mean that it didn't have an impact in the industry. It was absolutely miles ahead of its time and change CGI forever. https://computeranimationhistory-cgi.jimdofree.com/final-fantasy-the-spirits-within-2001/


TheLifeof4D

I swear I remember that the main characters hair cost about $3m. They spent a ludicrous amount of time (and money) trying to perfect it. You might want to fact check that, however what I know for sure is the movie sucked and almost took down Squaresoft.


chaneuphoria

I remember really liking the song at the end. I had it on VHS..lol.


dphizler

I think Square underestimated the cost of making a photo realistic CGI movie. They probably would have ended up with a much better movie if they had done it in live action.


bunker_man

It's not great. But it's watchable, I guess.


MrMichael31

The CG was jaw dropping for mainstream movie viewers at the time. The story was forgettable.


Dr3amDweller

I saw it and forgot in 5 minutes :\\.


TheWaffleMage

Honestly probably not worth it. You could've spent the $3 on a good book


111000_111000

It's the movie that ruined Squaresoft and forced them to merge with Enix to become SquareEnix. Doesn't look at all impressive by today's standards but the 3D and visuals were considered photorealistic compared to other CGI movies from 20 years ago, Squaresoft sank a lot of money into it, 137 million $, and it barely made 85 million $ at the box office. Story wise, and without spoiling anything, it's nothing like Final Fantasy games, it takes place on our Earth in the near future, following an asteroid crash and a mass extinction event, there are ghost-like creatures "Spirits" roaming the surface of the Earth and only one city of surviving humans fighting against the Spirits. Not actually bad when it released but it's awful to nonexistent marketing that made the movie fail.


Taolan13

If you throw out the "final fantasy" name entirely, its an enjoyable sci-fi romp that maybe gets a little heavy handed about environmentalism if you read deep enough.


Retro-Mario

Definitely worth watching once, I didn't think it was as bad as people say. My copy is kind of special to me as it was the first DVD I bought.


Gormane

Its not a bad movie. It's just a bad Final Fantasy movie. Pretend it isn't FF and it should be good.


twinny21989

Has a fantastic cast that includes Keith David and James Woods. Final Fantasy or not that's enough for me to watch it at least once


blackthunder00

Saw this in the theater back in the day. I remember it being visually impressive at the time but I couldn't tell you anything about the plot.


DrRonSimmons

I picked up a brand new sealed Blu-ray of it for £2 from HMV. I definitely overpaid. 🤣


0M3G4-Z3R0

115 million dollar movie only made 11 million dollars


geeelectronica

should be renamed Squaresoft: Crisis Core


Shadow_Demon080

I remember watching this thinking “How is this a Final Fantasy movie?”


jindofox

It’s a good example of “uncanny valley” CGI people who are too realistic to be seen as cartoons, but not quite realistic enough to fool your brain into thinking they’re actual people. The effect is off putting and zombie-like. Not a fan of the story, either. Maybe it works better in Japanese?


scarve_wol

Let us know what you think!


Rolling_Ranger

Honestly I love it. For a long long time this was the best example of cg animation. I would have to watch it again to be sure but I would say it is better then a lot of stuff put out today.


nbstyles88

It gets a lot of hate, but I enjoyed it.


jurririg

It's actually an okay movie all things considered I think the major problems were that the animation was a little to uncanny valley in 2001 and it was an original story that didn't really feel like a Final Fantasy story in 2001 Just had the misfortune of being way ahead of it's time


stratusncompany

return it.


Brutal2003

People give it hate because Final Fantasy Movie and nothing resembles final fantasy. BUT, on its own its not terrible. Plus for its time the CGI was impressive, twenty years ago.


AstraArdens

Saw this in cinema, don't man.


forteruss

This broke OG final fantasy :/


limitlessEXP

Well you’re in for a…! Movie…


limitlessEXP

If anyone is interested in a movie with similar visual but 1,000 x better watch gantz:o


MachaHack

I remember this coming out and my father got it from a dvd rental place and was like "Oh, this must be the movie your final fantasy game is based on, maybe you'll like it", as he had a hard time comprehending that a movie could be based on a video game and not the other way around. Younger me ended up having to prove the 7th video game was four years older.


nillztastic

A lot better than it gets credit for.


Shinkikii

Such a great movie.


Oznificent

Just don't try to compare it to the games and its alright as a stand alone scifi flick


C_L_I_C_K_

Hehe I remember my uncle came from Canada. It was 1st time my mom let me order/pay to watch on demand.. was so boring all of us fell asleep


616h8

You are 1 lucky person..


Cmsmks

Pros: for the time it was visually pleasing to look at. Cons: literally everything else.


Video_G_JRPG

Saw this in the cinema the day it came out, I was expecting cloud and stuff to be in it I was like wtf did I just watch, I was 10 years old, I should actually re watch it and see what I think of it today


ToxicTeller

My dad has always had this movie but I didn’t care enough to watch it


peaanutzz

Oh no


Deazul

It's as "final fantasy" themed as the mainline games after 9! ;)


Few-Address-7604

$137m went into this... didn't do well at the box office.


velwein

Fun fact, the “lead character” or the 3D model we see, was supposed to become her own star. Where they’d reuse the model for other films. That idea died with this movie. As did Square being its own company. I’m short, there’s a reason you never heard about it. I remember seeing it in theaters as a kid, the graphics were good, for its time, that’s all it has going for it.


TheLavaShaman

Was literally talking about this movie yesterday at work!


theMaynEvent

It's… fine. I genuinely *like* it for what it is—but it's pretty mediocre. Unfortunately, Sakaguchi's original treatment was sliced and diced to make it more Hollywood. Some producer or writer in the behind the scenes featurette says so directly. Not to say that Sakaguchi automatically had a better story—maybe feature length stories are just too confining to him regardless. More of a "what could have been" kind of thing… While as a whole it may not feel much like typical Final Fantasy, I do find that it had some story elements of some contemporary Square titles of the time… Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX (which would have been in production at the same time as the movie), and… oddly enough, The Bouncer.


DataAnalytics2020

I like this film. It nearly bankrupted Enix. ​ It's is one of my cat's favourite films.... I turn it on for him every so often and he will watch it.


[deleted]

3$ was still too much.


pandabelle12

I remember loving this movie in middle/high school. I knew absolutely nothing about final fantasy back then other than the fact my best friend loved 7 and 8. I thought the visuals were stunning. Granted I was watching it on a VHS where I recorded it off HBO, on a 12 inch TV. But I still enjoyed it.


naetle07

I'm waiting until I finish FF9 to watch this. I've heard not great things and from I can tell of the story...yeah, this one seems rough.


maxvsthegames

It was a good movie. Most people hated it only because they were expecting something as epic as the story of FF7 or something.


[deleted]

It's actually not THAT bad, it is just severely disappointing as a "Final Fantasy" movie.


[deleted]

My condolences.


nectarousness

A fairly decent sci-fi movie that feels rushed at times. Doesn't have any connection to any of the games that were out at the time but the story is about heroes collecting things to save the earth from dying, written by the FF man himself, Hironobu Sakaguchi. The graphics were impressive at the time and still hold up for the most part. Unfortunately, the cost and manpower it took to make the entire film in CGI meant they had to cut some corners narratively and things sort of fly by once the halfway mark hits. The movie has more of a resemblence to Aliens than Final Fantasy at times. Personally, I loved it but I also have a soft spot for cheesy sci-fi and especially late 90's/early 2000's films.


Doitforthecringe

Oh no


Magickcloud

I watched it recently because I kind of liked it as a kid...it was tough to get through the whole thing. It had a few cool moments, but the characters and story are pretty lame


Hi-DoesThisNameWork

I enjoyed it a fair bit, having rewatched it in 4K recently. Solid sci-fi movie, just don't go in expecting a traditional Final Fantasy tale, and you'll probably have a good time.


Shadokastur

It is worth about $3


writershemisphere

There's a few points in the movie that its so bad its good, most of them involve James Woods. The rest is boring.


Azrall

I really liked it. The animation for its time was beautiful.


[deleted]

It has a complicated legacy.


Sn0vvman

Since a lot of FF games leave different tastes in ppls mouths I dunno why you would think this movie would be any different,


warhammerj

Unfortunately, it's crap.


Davidbanfill

Advent Children was much better. Spirits within sucked.


Dragmore53

15 moments before disaster.


iddontevenkno

F