Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin)
When Walt Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, sound had only been incorporated into movies for 10 years, and colour was still a very new and novel concept. Yet this 1937 feature has remained the benchmark for animated movies for over 60 years now.
I mention this because Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is often touted as the next progression in animation, mainly because it attempts to emulate real people that are designed completely by computers. The result is awesome and a joy to watch, but there are passages -- primarily when the movie's characters aren't embroiled in slam-bang action sequences -- where there is still room for improvement in attempting to convey realistic emotions and facial expressions. What I found most rewarding were the abundant sci-fi premises and concepts that permeated the screenplay; it is one of the more creative films I've ever seen.
It's set in a future where ghostly aliens have forced human beings to live under protective shields, because they can -- gasp! -- suck their souls right out of their body. There seemed to be some discrepancy as to whether or not these creatures are visible to the naked eye. The movie begins by establishing they are not visible unless seen using special equipment, and at one point they become visible because they have passed through the human shields, but at other points the logic doesn't hold up. However, given the rest of the film's evasively elaborate plot (the heroes figure out they need exactly 8 spirits to defeat, well, the spirits), the visibility of the aliens becomes a trite concern next to everything else.
We meet Aki, a Crofty scientist intent on helping her mentor, the fabulously realistic Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland), devise a counterpoint to the alien threat. The movie eventually becomes part Poltergeist, part Starship Troopers, part Aliens, and even part the Blob, but it never cheats the audience or its own characters. I wish there could have been at least one scene showing that this futuristic Earth was one worth fighting for. It could have been in the form of a brief comic relief scene, or a "day in the life" scene, or even the appearance of a child might have made the plights of the main characters a little more real; setting a sci-fi movie on the planet Earth doesn't necessarily give free license to avoid including at least one down to Earth scene.
Still, Final Fantasy has far more merit than I could ever have expected. The action sequences are really quite gripping, and the cast is perfectly suited to each of the characters. There is a fascinating mythology that evolves from the spirit sequences and particularly from Aki's dreams. Without giving too much away, these reminded me slightly of the Native Americans and their beliefs.
Unlike many animated movies, Final Fantasy borrows from other well-established conventions, yet manages to stay fresh, creative, and fun. I just hope that, when the world is finally saved, Aki and her pals can understood that too.
