"it's warm..."

By jp 12 Jul 2001

at long last, I took in Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within tonight. a few thoughts:

1) wow.
2) even retina-shattering visuals can be harmed by bad writing (I thought everyone would take a hint after Episode I, but…).
3) wow.
4) the influence from the games is obvious: the character named sid, the similarity to FFVII in overall idea, the same visual effect schemes are even used from some of the cooler console visuals.

but the most interesting thing is the japanese sentiments that are portrayed throughout the movie – the buddhist and shinto beliefs concerning “angry ghosts” and the notion of all objects carrying a life force… really amusing. that these notions would make their way into the games, which would then survive intact and even be developed further in the silver screen production.

but seriously, if you’d like a crash course in the fundamental attitutes regarding sprits, life, and death a la japanese-style all wrapped in some phenomenal graphical achievement, it might be worth your seven american dollars.