Features:

• Two years after the events in the video game Final Fantasy VII, the ruins of Midger 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.. System Requirements: Running T

Editor Reviews:

Description:
FINAL FANTASY VII: Advent Children continues the game’s storyline in this CG-animated film, featuring non-stop action and exciting visual effects. 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 (Burton), who walked away from the life of a hero to live in solitude, must step forward yet again...

Backed by a full team of video game extraordinaires, the film was directed by Tetsuya Nomura and Takeshi Nozue, written by Kazushige Nojima and produced by Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase.

Amazon.com:
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

Rating : - The Truth Must Be Told!
Sigh. I loved FF7. I still play it even today. It's one of my most cherished games. Imagine my excitement when I first heard about a movie sequel to one of my favorite games. I kept my eye on the forums for every scrap of information about the movie before it came out. I was excited. So, why the 2-star review? Well, that would be because of the major dissapointment that this movie really is. When I first watched it I thought it was a great movie, I loved it; it was awesome, then I watched it a second time and actually felt bored and disinterested. I could barely sit through it. Then it dawned on me; if this movie were actually good, I wouldn't be having such a hard time sitting through it.

WARNING! Spoilers be ahead!!!!!

First of all, the plot is a mess. I've overplayed FF7 (as you should know from what I said earlier), I understand what the references in the movie meant. I don't need to be told who "mother" is or the significant of Sephiroth's return. I understand these things. So, my dislike of the plot is not based on my ignorance of in-game references, it's based on the fact that the plot stinks. I mean why would there suddenly be all these new Sephiroth clones? Didn't the resurrection of Sephiroth seem forced? Rufus really should've stayed dead. Speaking of which, did anyone notice that Aeris (who should've been completely dead and returned to the planet) became a sort of Deus ex Machina that completely resolved all plot problems at the end? Overall, the entire movie ended with me feeling that nothing significant took place at all. I don't really feel that this movie added to the story of the game; it feels more like a tacked-on money-making excuse to exploit FF7 fans. Should've called it "Final Fantasy VII: Advent of the Money-Making Sequel".

Furthermore, what happened to all my beloved characters?! Cloud is strangely guilty about Aeris's death when he gave no indication of this feeling in the game. He was sad (appropriately) but not guilty. Also, they turned Tifa into a nagging wench. Why? I used to like her (still do in the game). All she does the entire movie is nag Cloud about this and that--you'd think that saving the world ought to merit you some free time, but no, Tifa demands he do all the things she wants. As for the other characters, you barely see them at all. Not to mention, that ridiculous scene where they all take turns throwing each other upward is laughable. Speaking of which, the battle scenes are riduculously full of slow-motion and gravity-defying nonsense. I can stand a couple unrealistically high jumps, but the only one who should be able to fly is Vincent.

The only real high point to this movie is the beautiful graphics (that's what earns this 2 stars). They are stunning, and lend themselves to making excellent computer wallpapers. But honestly, given the quality of the rest of this movie, Square-Enix really should have just released a software bundle of some fancy wallpapers and screensavers for all the FF7 fans out there.