Subject: Review: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

From: Rose 'Bams' Cooper <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 06:14:22 -0000

'3BlackChicks Review...'

FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN (2001)
Rated PG-13; running time 100 minutes
Genre: Animated (CGI)
Seen at: Jack Lokes' Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.finalfantasy.com/
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0173840
Written by: Al Reinert, Jeff Vintar, Hironobu Sakaguchi
Directed by: Hironobu Sakaguchi
Cast: voices of Ming-na, Alec Baldwin, James Woods, Donald Sutherland,
Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Peri Gilpin

Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001
Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsbabyboy.html

Many of the tech and entertainment web pages I read regularly have been
gushing about the leaps and bounds that computer generated imaging has
taken as of late; these ezines breathlessly muse on advances made in
computing, even going so far as to suggest that One Of These Days,
actors just might be replaced by CGI-created "stars".

As purty as it is, if FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN is the yardstick
by which that ubiquitous They are measuring comp-tech success, Hollywood
has nothing to fear.  Yet.

The Story (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
Earth, in 2065, is pretty toasted, in the aftermath of a Big Fight
between Earthlings and some ALIEN-like aliens.  The ALIEN-like aliens,
called "Phantoms", kick much Earth booty, and don't bother with taking
names.

But the Real, True Hope For The World is the fearless Dr. Aki Ross
(Ming-na); Aki and her mentor, Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland) struggle to
find and unite the eight Spirits that [mumblemumblemumbojumbo] so they
can stop the ALIEN-like aliens from further thrashing Gaia Earth while
helping the Phantoms [mumblemumblemumbojumbo] so they can chill here,
too.

Of course, things aren't that simple.  On the one hand, Aki has to deal
with Capt. Gray Edwards (Alec Baldwin), who is not only a skeptic, but
is also her old flame.  What's worse, Gray and his Deep Eyes military
crew Sgt. Ryan Whittaker (Ving Rhames), almost-but-not-quite comic
relief pilot Neil Fleming (Steve Buscemi), and kickbutt chick Jane
Proudfoot (Peri Gilpin) report to mean ol' General Hein (James Woods),
who is after the Phantoms with a vengeance - getting rid of Aki in the
process, being a bonus.

The Upshot:
FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN is *very* purty, let there be no doubt
of that.  The sheer depth of its beauty, of animation that Walt Disney
would sell off Mickey and Minnie to see, was marvelous to witness.  And
it is purty in a way that no other CGI movies have been yet.  Even my
favorite CGI-animated flick to date, Pixar's TOY STORY 2, didn't come as
close to rendering its world as realistically as did "Final Fantasy",
both as a movie and as its video game predecessor - thanks in great part
to the mastermind behind both versions of "Final Fantasy", game designer
and film director Hironobu Sakaguchi.

And this is where we begin to Receive Wisdom.  Even moreso than with the
dreadful mess that was the live-action movie version of the TOMB RAIDER
video game series of the same name, FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN
reminded me just why video games belong in the nebulous realm in which
they exist: they are simply *not real*.  And unlike the
dead-from-the-neck-up morons who are ruining American public schools
with their incredulous Zero Tolerance policies [talk about your
contradiction in terms!  I know...Another Time, Another Place], most
gamers *know* they're not real; and in fact, thrive on that knowledge.

I digress, but the point above - the shared knowledge by gamers that
video games are not at all real - doesn't seem to translate over well
into the cinema, unless it's as High Camp or Parody (the live-action
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES movie series comes to mind).  FINAL
FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN works *better* than the TOMB RAIDER movie, I
think, because except for a few moments when the viewers' eyes plays
tricks on us, the audience never forgets that we are seeing animated -
that is, un-real - characters on the "Fantasy" screen [versus wholly
un-animated robotrons in "Tomb"].  For example, as good as the animation
was, the lack of realism was never more evident than in scenes calling
for the characters to Emote, especially with sadness; watching the
animated Aki and Gray stiffly commiserate with each other, with the
disembodied voices of Ming-na and Alec Baldwin providing emotion that
the animation just couldn't match, was like watching a Bad Karate Flick
where the dubbing is three steps off-beat.

But the kicker for me was, as with "Tomb", that the Spiritual Mumbo
Jumbo that "Fantasy" went on about - here, that Earth was Mother Gaia,
and Bad Things were disturbing her Wa - might work fine as a video game
cutscene; but as movie canon, it just made me want to cover my ears so
as to stop the pain of its wretchedness.

All that said, you'll notice I didn't red- or yellowlight this project.
Partially, that's because I finally *did* cover my ears, metaphorically
speaking.  Once James Woods' characterization of the Evol General Hein
kicked in, in all of Woods' typical Chewing-The-Scenery glory, I decided
to not worry much about the silliness of "Fantasy", and to just groove
on its Pretty Pictures, as well as the acting talent behind it, realized
in varying degrees.  Between Woods' always humorous appetite for
scenery, Baldwin's growing adeptness at providing vocals for animated
movies, and the ability of Peri Gilpin (from NBC's FRASIER) to make her
presence known despite not being given a whole lot to do, I could almost
forgive Ming-na's monotone, Steve Buscemi's lack of character quirkiness
[surely, Sakaguchi must've known that Buscemi *oozes* quirk!], and the
muting of Ving Rhames' standard powerhouse performing skills.

But damnifi didn't think that Doctor Sid was the spitting image (and,
sound) of William Hurt; right down to the receding forehead.  Uh, sorry
guy.

The "Black Factor" [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith]:
Relax, "angrywhiteguy" [yeah, I get email from 'em all. Lucky me.];
Black Folk were represented fairly well in "Fantasy".  It's really the
Asian Factor that I'm addressing here.

And actually, it isn't me addressing this one; rather, this comes
paraphrased straight from the mouth of actress Ming-na, the voice Dr.
Aki Ross.  Much has been made of the careful reproduction of Aki's
strands of hair, of making sure the other character's physical flaws
were reproduced, even of how the character Aki might become a Star of
"her" own right, in films beyond "Fantasy".  But as she was being
interviewed by a female reporter of Asian heritage (whose name I am
blanking on right now, sorry) on CBS' THE EARLY SHOW, Ming-na said of
the way Aki was drawn - looking very little like the actress herself:
"The sista, wasn't a sista".

And the beat goes on...

Bammer's Bottom Line:
FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN receives a greenlight from me because,
in the final analysis, I think it's definitely worth seeing.  "Seeing",
in fact, is the key term here.  Soak in its beauty; and if you can swing
it, bring along a headset and your favorite music.  Say, about 90
minutes worth.

FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN (rating: greenlight):
     But c'mon now; Gaia?  What is this, "Captain Planet"?!

Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001
EMAIL: [email-masked]
http://www.3blackchicks.com/

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