Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

2001 Sci Fi

The first feature-length motion picture to use computer-generated imagery to create not only effects, props, and environments but also the human cast members themselves, this lavish science-fiction adventure follows closely on the heels of another video game-based film, Tomb Raider (2001). Ming-Na provides the voice of Dr. Aki Ross, a female scientist in the year 2065, a time when Earth has been overrun by extraterrestrial phantoms borne of a crashed meteor. Humans have been pushed back to cities protected by barriers that keep the marauding space monsters away, but time is running out. Fatally infected by one of the ghostly beasts, Ross seeks information about their purpose and physiology, assisted by her mentor Dr. Sid (voice of Donald Sutherland) and the Deep Eyes military squad of courageous Captain Gray Edwards (voice of Alec Baldwin). Tension develops between Aki's quest to stop the alien onslaught through study and the more extreme solution favored by the vengeful, saber-rattling General Hein (voice of James Woods), who would destroy both the aliens and the Earth itself. Aki ultimately comes to realize that the key to unlocking the mystery of the invaders lies within her own dreams. more..

Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi

Starring: Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames,Steve Buscemi, Donald Sutherland

Reviews

  • The story is nuts-and-bolts space opera, without the intelligence and daring of, say, Steven Spielberg's ''A.I.'' But the look of the film is revolutionary. Final Fantasy is a technical milestone, like the first talkies or 3-D movies.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    11 May 2013

  • May not tell a great story, but it's a great wow.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    11 May 2013

  • Despite its conceptual shortfall, is worth seeing, if only to update yourself on what can emerge from a keyboard these days.

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    11 May 2013

  • Tends to be lugubrious.

    Bob Graham - The San Francisco Chronicle

    11 May 2013

  • Moviegoers accustomed to Hollywood action probably won't find this contemplative adventure so appealing.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    11 May 2013

Awards

  • Best DVD Special Edition Release

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2002)

     
  • Golden Trailer Awards (2002)

     
  • Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature Film, Domestic and Foreign

    Motion Picture Sound Editors (2002)

     
  • Best Animated Feature

    Online Film Critics Society Awards (2002)

     
  • Steve Buscemi

    San Diego Film Critics Society Awards (2001)