Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

A textbook example of style trumping substance, Tetsuya Nomura's often stunning looking Final Fantasy VII continues the storyline of the titular video game from Square's popular and long-running role-playing series. Two years after blond-maned hero Cloud Strife defeated the evil Sephiroth on an unnamed Gaia-like planet (powered by something called the “lifestream”), a mysterious illness called “geostigma” is spreading through the populace, targeting young people. While trying to solve the mystery of the geostigma along with his friend Tifa, who runs a bar-cum-orphanage, Cloud is chased by a trio of motorcycle-riding clones of Sephiroth looking for the head of their “mother” Jenova (an alien being whose DNA Cloud and Sephiroth share), ultimately leading to a huge face-off as Cloud and other FF characters (including Vincent Valentine) battle Sephiroth and his minions in an action-packed fight finale (although, truth be told, the whole second half of the film feels like one long extended fight scene). Fans of the series or of 2001's Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within—a CGI cinematic landmark—will be able to look past the muddled narrative and appreciate the state of the art character animation and fluidly choreographed scenes, but others are likely to be baffled and/or bored. Rated PG-13, and presented on a dual-language disc (featuring the voice talents of Steve Burton, Mena Suvari, and Rachael Leigh Cook), extras here include a long “prologue” consisting of primitively animated cut scenes from the original Playstation game, deleted scenes, and a “making-of” featurette. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Feb. 20, 2007—Sony, 2 discs, 101 min., PG-13, $49.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2005's Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (Limited Edition Collector's Set) features the original two-disc DVD edition of the film packaged inside a collector's box that includes 10 postcards, an English-language script, and a 72-page novel featuring the side story of each character. Bottom line: the addition of a couple of paperbacks and a handful of postcards hardly seems worth the $23 extra for the upgrade; stick with the original release.][Blu-ray Review—May 26, 2009—Sony, 126 min., not rated, $38.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2005's Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete sports a stunning transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound. Revised and extended by nearly a half-hour, Blu-ray extras include the 24-minute “Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII” original story digest, the half-hour “Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Compilation” story digest, the 28-minute “On the Way to a Smile—Episode: Denzel” animated film, the “Legacy” featurette (7 min.), a sneak peek at the upcoming video game Final Fantasy XIII (7 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: this beautifully animated film makes a visually impressive debut on Blu-ray.]