In
the corner of this
foreign field, I had
a dream...
In the corner of
this foreign field,
I had a dream...
Advent Children is
the story of one man's
redemption, but also
the second coming
as well, in the truly
intangible sense of
faith, with the real
tangible sense that
faith and good works
heals all. Definitely
a Christian tone through
this movie, but don't
let that fool you,
it's a movie rich
with equality, honesty,
beauty, and loss.
And for that I would
actually dedicate
the song "My
Immortal" by
Evanescence to Cloud
and Aeris.
Final Fantasy Seven
was always to me the
most emotional of
the series, simply
because it is the
most raw. In Advent
Children which takes
2 years after the
video game ends, we
see what has become
of the planet, the
people, but also the
characters we came
to love from the game,
and find they are
for the most part
just trying to get
by.
Cloud has never forgiven
him the death of Aeris,
and we watch him struggle
with this throughout
the movie as he seeks
repentance and finds
ultimately redemption.
And so the story
is about the evolution
of Cloud, and who
is Cloud but every
man who ever loved
and lost. Tifa is
the maternal glue
that holds their little
family together, and
Marlene is what brings
Cloud back to the
family, reminding
him of what lies deepest
in his heart.
The problem is an
epidemic has spread
due to the culmination
of genetic material
with the lifeforce
of the planet, causing
disease, and genetic
alteration in mankind.
While Sephiroth regains
his strength, in hopes
to recruit the children
of the planet angry
about the epidemic
in joining his allegiance
in a fight against
the planet to fulfill
the revenge he began
in Final Fantasy Seven.
I love what they
did with the characters
themselves. Tifa finally
doesn't have orbitable
breasts the size of
small moons, and can
really fight. They
really made her gorgeous,
and as badass if not
moreso, then Neo from
The Matrix.
The first fight scene
they actually played
the fight win music
sequence from the
game which really
made me laugh out
loud. I haven't played
the game in years.
Turns out it was the
music from the cellphone
of the guy she was
fighting; classic.
Nice little plug I
think.
Watching Cloud remember
Aeris is more touching
then anything Rinoa
and Squall have displayed
on screen, though
who knows if given
the chance, perhaps
a FF8 movie is in
the works, but that's
neither here nor there.
Aeris dying was like
when Zaahn died on
Farscape, you felt
the show could not
go on, how could it?
And yet it did, as
it must. I did not
cry until I watched
the flashbacks in
Advent Children. It
was geniusly crafted.
All the little Final
Fantasy props are
fun; i.e. the girl
with the moogle doll.
The music from FF7
makes a comeback,
and for those of us
who played the game
five years ago it
is very nostalgic.
The fight sequences
are decent throughout,
and really show the
personalities well
in their fighting
styles. When a giant
wave of dirt comes
hurling towards Sephiroth
he jumps over it or
the motorcycle and
Sephiroth foes under
it, while Cloud takes
them both head on
which to me tells
me Sephiroth is smarter
in that he is more
efficient with his
energy, but cannot
face the truth
while Cloud is fiercely
confident and capable
and is not afraid
to face things head
on, which is a sign
of his overcompensating
for his guilt over
Aeris' death and what
happened to the planet.
It was really nice
to see the use of
materia as well, we
didn't see that in
The Spirits Within
at all, even though
it had so many Final
Fantasy Seven components.
The scene where the
entire team helps
Cloud to fly was impressive,
I really felt the
height and it was
dizzying, though I
didn't get the feeling
they were really throwing
him, just moving their
arms, and when he
pops through the bubble
and is given strength
from "the ghost
of Aeris?" i
thought the dialog
there was a little
anticlimactic I mean
she had 1 word to
say to Cloud and all
she says is here,
which is redundant
with her action, they
could have chosen
a better word for
her to correspond
to Cloud, something
esopteric and intriguing,
perhaps an answer
to one of the Age-Old
FF7 questions and
yet still maintaining
the vaguery to be
mysterious and something
we need to work out
through the course
of the film.
And that's part of
my only complaints.
Not enough mystery
uncovered or unveiled,
no moogles, and no
chocobos? Also none
of the story from
FF7 was explained,
so any questions you
had then are still
questions now. Also
it would have been
nice to see more diverse
summons in the fights!
Also they really could
have done more with
Sephiroth's transition
after using the dark
matter, for those
who don't know the
game they won't have
a clue what happened
there, the transition
was too quick, they
should have spent
at least 2 minutes
exploring the transition
slowly, like the first
transformative scene
in American Werewolf
in London, that could
have been a memorable
scene, but they missed
it I feel which is
too bad.
The ending is a little
too Catholic for me,
what with the stained
glass church backdrop
and the baptism to
remove the impurity(sin)
which was caused by
mankind in the beginning.
But I digress.
The teamwork was
great, directing very
cool, and overall
very enjoyable.
One can only hope
they continue to make
these movies.
AC will also leave
you with these 2 questions:
When did Tifa become
spider-woman, and
does her back feel
better after the breast
reduction?
David Briggs said
"All human suffering
is everyone's responsibility."
He was only partly
right. All suffering
is everyone's responsibility.
Memorable
Quotes:
Barrett to
Cloud: You're late
bitch!
Sephiroth
to Cloud: What is
the most important
thing to you? Will
you give me the happiness
of taking that away
from you?
Cloud: How pitiful.
You don't understand
anything at all. There's
nothing that isn't
important to me!
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