Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children by Phate

Also Known As: FF7: AC, FFVII: AC, Advent Children
Genre: Action
Format: 1 Movie
Allegiance: Square Enix
Director: Nomura Tetsuya, Nozue Takeshi
Vintage: 2005
Intelligence Agency Report by: Kuzu Ryu Sen
Two years have passed since the great conflict between AVALANCHE, Shinra, and Sephiroth concluded with the ferocious battle at the Northern Crater. Now, the world and Midgar are rebuilding under the guidance of a repentant Shinra Company. For Cloud and Tifa, who are running a delivery service and serving as mentors and older siblings to the neighbourhood orphans, life has become quite normal. Yet, there are some remnants from the struggle of two years prior, and they seek to revive old memories and force Reunion… at all costs.
Field Agent Report by: Phate 
Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio
6.75
7.00
7.00
10.00
8.75
Overall 7.25

I remember playing Final Fantasy VII for the first time a few years ago and growing to like it immensely. Even now, I still look upon the game fondly. When news of Advent Children surfaced, I was ecstatic. Well, I sat through it, and the end result of Square Enix’s hard work was not something I was hoping for.

Early trailers and screen caps of Advent Children made it evident that a lot of effort was being put into pleasing the eyes and ears. I can safely say, however, that this is where the creators put the most effort. In terms of eye candy, Advent Children is truly breathtaking – there is an exceptional amount of visual detail put into the movie from the expressions on the characters’ faces to the backgrounds. However, the action sequences that permeate Advent Children are what especially stand out. While they won’t be winning any awards for realism, they nonetheless had me in awe throughout the movie. The audio is fairly good as well, but for the most part the soundtrack is comprised of tracks from other albums. However, it also boasts a few impressive remixes, such as a new version of One Winged Angel. 

There is an unfortunate consequence though, due to the amount of attention given to Advent Children‘s looks. The story is never really given enough time to fully develop; the potential is there, but it feels too much like a rehash of Final Fantasy VII‘s story, albeit of lesser quality. The same goes for the characters; while background information has been already given for the returning characters in the game, there is little explanation offered as to why some of them have come back. This isn’t helped any by the fact that several of the characters act as little more than mere cameos. The lack of information is especially bad, however, for the antagonists of the movie. While they could have been great, they instead come off as cliché.

Advent Children was undoubtedly aimed to please those who are fans of the original game – or at least are familiar with the characters and story. However, because of the lack of actual substance to the movie, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed since I went in wanting an actual continuation of the story. Still, if you are at least familiar with the world of Final Fantasy VII and just want to sit back and watch some pretty pictures, Advent Children should suit you well.