There’s quite a bit of history to a movie such as Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. It’s actually ironic as I find everything surrounding the movie more interesting to talk about than the movie itself.
But first the basics. This movie was released in American theaters on July 11th, 2001. It bears the name of Final Fantasy, but instead of being a direct adaptation of any game in the franchise (which would probably require an entire series rather than a mere film), it instead features its own story. It’s implied to be a part of the Final Fantasy series, but the connections stop there. It features the blend of fantasy and science-fiction that the franchise was veering towards at the time (in FFVII in particular). But that’s it; the film feels like Final Fantasy “in name only”.
Picture taken from the sets of the film, as actors in mo- cap suits were playing their parts. |
The people at Square Pictures had high expectations for this film, hoping to achieve box-office success (of course) but also making plans for the future. The silliest idea, if you ask me, is that of “animated actors” – that is, they were hoping to reuse the models of the human characters in The Spirits Within in other roles in future feature films. We’re not talking “these characters reappear over the course of multiple films”, we’re talking “these models appear in different movies, as different characters”. A few problems with this idea: I can imagine this getting confusing after a while for viewers. CGI technology was improving quickly at the time, so the models would be outdated eventually. And finally, this movie bombed HARD, making 85 million dollars worldwide at the box-office for the 137 million dollars it cost to make. It’s one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time.
They even tried to pass her off as some sort of top model. |
The movie straight-up takes on the tropes of horror movies, in the second half. |
That’s for the backstory. Now, let’s focus on the film proper, shall we?
Nowadays it just looks like an average game, but back in 2001? This was stunning. |
Okay, as a proof of concept, these first few minutes are fantastic – Aki Ross is one of the most detailed CGI characters I’ve ever seen, from the spots and creases on the skin, to the tiny folds on the hands, the fabric of her clothes, every single eyelid and strand of hair. Those, for the record, were all animated separately, and the movie looooves to show off by having her turn her head and provoke hair motions as often as possible.
As soon as her whole body needs to move, however? Some of her motions feel a bit stilted, mechanical, unnatural perhaps. Understandable, it was the first full film made with mo-cap, they couldn’t get everything right on the first try. There’s a dissonance between the amazing quality of the character models and the lesser quality of their movements, at several moments in the film.
"Can you see the monsters?" "No, they're like ghosts!" |
Good to know that surgery is hands-off in the future. ...Then again, for treating an alien illness... |
Time for some much-needed rapid-fire exposition: Dr. Sid was the scientist who discovered the energy signature of the Phantoms, which allowed mankind to develop weapons and measures to defend themselves against the menace. He also theorizes that there's a similar, opposite energy signature within the Earth, dubbed Gaia (basically, the planet’s soul). They need to collect roughly eight “Spirits” containing the Gaia energy, all in different life forms from Planet Earth, and this plant is the sixth one they’ve found. Sid believes that this will allow them to create a ray of opposite energy that will cancel the aliens’ own, destroying them. Got all that? Good! It’ll be on the test at the end of the semester.
Can Donald Sutherland bring a little bit of quality to this whole thing? Well... he gets points for trying, at least. |
If this sounds to you like it belongs more in the domain of faith and esoteric spirituality than in science, you’re correct! Dr. Aki Ross and Dr. Sid don’t sound like very trustworthy scientists when they go off about these theories of “planetary soul” and that maybe it can end the invasion. Not helped by the fact that Sid, in all his great scientific wisdom, incinerates the notebook in which he’s kept all of his research. Because that’s smart.
James Woods, being told to tone it down, when actually he wants to Hades his way through the movie. |
Sid faces the council’s disbelief until Aki pipes up, saying that there is proof that the Gaia energy can weaken the Phantoms and render them somewhat harmless – and she proves it by revealing that she’s affected by the Phantom illness, the same she cured out of Gray earlier. She was operated by Sid, who created a membrane around the illness, isolating it and making Aki the first Spirit.
After the council, Aki tells Gray about the other Spirits collected. As for General Hein, he orders the Deep Eyes to keep an eye on Aki, allegedly so she stays safe while seeking the last two Spirits. His real goal is to keep her under watch, believing that the alien infection she contains makes her dangerous to other humans, or a traitor to mankind. General Hein, our human villain, everybody – even in alien invasion movies, gotta have one of those assholes.
Christ, those are huge! |
Having your soul literally sucked out of your body sounds like a pretty crappy way to go. |
Back in New York, Sid operates on Aki while Grey, laying by her side, offers support. And merely by holding her hand, while he’s sedated, he somehow gets to enter into and see her weird dreams. Let’s… let’s not question it. If I stopped to question every single thing that doesn’t ring right in this film, I would need three parts, and I want to keep it short. In the dream, Aki explains that these dreams are a form of communication she receives from the little bit of Phantom sealed inside her body, which is why she’s been recording her dreams – she hopes to make sense of its message before it’s too late. Both Aki and Grey get to witness the alien Spirit’s memories of its own planet blowing up, with a large chunk of it sent across space in the direction of Earth.
Meanwhile, Hein has found Aki’s dream recordings and plans to use them as evidence that Aki is possessed by her Phantom and works for the enemy. He orders Aki, Sid and the Deep Eyes arrested for treason. Why? Because he’s the bad guy, that’s why.
Okay, I’m stopping here for the plot. I’ll continue in Part 2, but before I stop today, I guess I need to bring up what is, so far, the other big issue with the film. Namely, that everything about it is painfully average. The plot tries to combine fantasy and science-fiction, as shown with the borderline-magical aspect surrounding Gaia, the Spirits and the Phantoms, as well as the technology (tools, weapons, force fields, etc.) invented by humans to fight off the threat. Both parts… don’t mesh too well. The resulting mix is confusing, and at times completely nonsensical.
Now pictured: Ryan and Jane reacting to what Neil, the resident idiot, just said. |
Had the technology allowed it, this could have just been done with live-action actors and special effects around them. But no, it has to be mo-cap CGI. |
And if you’re hoping to find any interest in the set pieces or the art direction, well, think again. Per the grim tone of this battle between humans and aliens, damn near everything is set in the greys and browns. There’s not much in terms of colors to be found here. The movie adheres to the “real is brown” mentality that’s been done for several “realistic” games. The result is uninteresting to watch. I get that there’s only so much color to be had in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but damn.
Anyway, I’ll be back in Part 2.
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