What's at the Movies

By Ian Pugh

‘Final Fantasy’
a cinematic landmark

“Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” is not one of the greatest movies you can see, but it’s one of the most revolutionary. Never before has there been a film with completely digitized human actors. The plot is comprehensible and flowing, but more or less an excuse for the amazing digital effects. It’s impressive how much work went into the film, and it should be commended.

In the year 2065, the human race is in hiding. For the past few decades, it has been at the mercy of the “phantoms,” a race of ghost-like aliens capable of sucking the life out of a victim. Respected scientist Dr. Sid (voice of Donald Sutherland) says he can defeat the phantoms by finding eight “spirits” within certain living beings that contain a wavelength that can destroy the phantoms, while General Hein (James Woods) thinks the job is better accomplished with a gigantic laser cannon. Dr. Sid’s assistant, Aki Ross (Ming-Na) found most of the spirits, but she needs help. That’s where spaceship captain Gray Edwards (Alec Baldwin) and his crew come in. However, Aki is having some strange dreams that might explain it all…

It takes a while to get used to this environment of computer-animated people. The characters are so real, and yet they’re not believable. However, the point is not to be “tricked” into thinking they’re real people, but to marvel at how far computer technology has come. Take a good, long look. The detail is astounding—moles, scars and veins are all present.

The voices, mostly of A-list actors, are all clear and brilliant. It is a little odd to hear the likes of James Woods and Alec Baldwin without seeing their familiar faces, but that’s a minor quibble. The acting still matches up perfectly with the characters and their personalities, and that’s all that the movie needs.

It doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve played the Final Fantasy series of video games, or whether or not you like alien or action films. The movie is a milestone, a turning point in the realm of filmmaking. There’s a definite future in this kind of theater entertainment.