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Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Special Edition

In trying to think of how to put in words my thoughts on "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," I'm slightly at a loss. After one hour and forty six minutes of watching a continuous special effect, I've come to the conclusion that the film will go down in history as a golden nugget of the modern era, and a symbol of the ongoing creation of bigger and better (not to mention believable) visual effects.

And while the computer animation is eye-popping and awe-inspiring, the story behind it is passable enough to back it up, including some good character development and interaction, and a futuristic vision of Earth that has more ups than downs. This isn't sci-fi in the great tradition of the classics in the genre, but it provides a reason for the special effects, keeping them from seeming arbitrary and routine.

The movie takes us to the year 2065, and Earth is desolate and barren, and overrun by years of war which pits the remains of the human race against strange, ghost-like creatures referred to as "phantoms." Among these is Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na), a young female scientist in search of remaining life forms among barren sections of the planet. After an incident in the abandoned section of New York City, she meets up with former flame Captain Edwards (Alec Baldwin), who is assigned to guard her. But his assignment comes from a less-than-honorable general (James Woods), who wishes to incarcerate Aki when it is revealed that she is infected with a contained strand of the phantom phenomena, which seems to be breaking free of its confines within her.

His true intention is to have a new military weapon approved for use against the menace, hoping to disprove the theory held by Aki and her mentor, Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland), that retrieving spirits of nature will create a force strong enough to wipe out the powerful juggernaut.

This is where the story meets most of its ups and downs. When the story isn't trying to create a sense of awe and wonder through theological beliefs pertaining to the battle of good versus evil, it works well. The background history behind the phantoms will seem a bit contrived, even silly. Other plot lines, such as the sense of heroism instilled in the characters, and the battle between the scientists and the government officials, work much better.

The characters are also some of the better-developed characters of the year, and they're all digital, for crying out loud. The movie devotes much time to developing each one individually, from a scene involving Aki and Edwards being trapped in an overhead observatory, to Aki's conversations with Dr. Sid. The interaction between the characters provides some laughs as well as some believable moments of heroic actions. Each voice talent gets into the mindset of their character, and makes their emotions appear as real as the CGI actors themselves.

The movie's most memorable aspect, without a doubt, is the dazzling use of computer animation, which stands as a striking achievement in the history of movie-making. Composed entirely of CGI, the movie itself is one big special effect, one that is easily discernable from reality, but is nonetheless impressive in its audaciousness and its grand sense of scope and vision. The actors, I'm told, were created entirely from scratch, without the use of human digitization. Such facts as this create a heightened sense of appreciation for the effort and work that goes into a project such as this.

"Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" becomes more than just a futuristic look at Earth: it also becomes a futuristic look at filmmaking. The story will be a bore to some looking for readily-believable theories and dialogue, and may even disappoint followers of the sci-fi genre, but it's not without its intentions, and it meets those intentions by bringing us filmmaking as we've never seen it before. We may be years away from seeing real actors completely replaced by digital ones, but after this film, the possibility has become frightening real. --

In one of the best DVD packages for the year 2001, the viewer will become immersed in a wave of special features that reveal the secrets behind the making of "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." This handsome, two-disc set offers up so much information that one will need to take several hours to devote to what it has to tell.

This DVD offers the viewer a very interesting approach to watching the movie, by playing the film in its entire, yet branching certain scenes off by showing them in storyboards and in rough animation process, with an optional commentary track in which the filmmakers discuss the various techniques and shot processes. Subtitled factoids should prove to be quite intriguing as well. Disc one closes out with a gallery of theatrical trailers for various movies, including "FF."

The interactive documentary located on disc two is a stunning piece of introspective behind-the-scenes footage. As the documentary moves to a different area of the movie's production, the viewer is given the chance to branch off from the documentary and arrive at a small featurette dealing with that particular area of production. The featurette finishes by taking the viewer back to where the documentary left off; the result is really quite revealing, informative, and pretty damn cool, too.

The workshops are a variety of technical information about the movie, from character profiles revealing the backgrounds of each character, vehicle comparisons to real-life automobiles and machines, and trailer explorations and sets and props. There is a well-crafted segment on the matte paintings used for the movie's various other-worldly futuristic settings, and to see the creative process in motion is truly amazing. And what movie would be a movie without some good ol' fashioned outtakes, even if it happens to be a completely digital movie, without actors?

Compositing builds reveals the processes involved in the animation process, from the very hindmost layer to the images that are front and center in a single shot. It serves to show the amount of work that goes into the making of such a tremendous film. The original opening sequence holds less tension or connection to the rest of the film, but is nonetheless creative in its portrayal of brainstorming for a film (on a side note, films buffs may recognize the music playing in the opening sequence from a very popular ocean liner movie). Aki's dream sequence, shown in sections in various parts of the movie, is shown here in full form from beginning to end, and is equally impressive in its entirety.

The star of the show is the Final Fantasy Shuffle, which allows you to re-edit the scene from various cuts in the conference room scene. It gives you the chance to see what the filmmakers must go through in order to get their scenes just right, and it may even provide some laughs if you put them in the right places.

This brilliant DVD holds more than enough superb information to keep you hooked for hours, and those seeking good information on this film will not be disappointed. Just as the movie itself has begun a new generation of movie-making, this DVD may be the start of better things to come. --

"Final Fantasy" may change the face of computer animation as we know it. The film is one big special effect, but it's one done with care and good intentions, and it's something we've never seen before. The DVD does the movie a superb justice, and keeps us wanting more and then giving it to us. One of the best.