I love video game movies…and yes, even the bad ones. While I’m pretty sure that every video game movie fan has likely seen (or at least heard about) 2001’s Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, I don’t think nearly enough people talk about 2005’s Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
Look, I get it. While The Spirits Within got an actual theatrical release in America (which flopped, I know, but I still like it), Advent Children went straight to DVD, and didn’t include any of the same fanfare. Even so, I still think it’s a great Final Fantasy movie.
Is it one of the best video game movies of all time? Nope. Not even close. But, is it an excellent representation of the famous RPG series that I think you should still watch if you haven’t seen it yet? Absolutely, and here’s why.
It’s The Final Fantasy Movie That Most Fans Likely Wanted The First Time Around
I’ll never forget when Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within came out in theaters. As a huge fan of the series, I was pumped for the film, even though it wasn’t based on any game in the franchise. You have to remember. This was before video game movies and TV shows were almost a monthly occurrence, so the fact that we were getting a Final Fantasy ANYTHING that wasn’t just a video game had me extremely excited.
And then I saw it…in an empty theater. That’s when I knew that not every Final Fantasy fan was pumped for the movie.
However, I’ve learned that a number of fans didn’t see it when it first came out because, as I said earlier, it had no connection to the games, which a lot of fans took umbrage with at the time. In 2001, we had also gotten the video game Final Fantasy X, which a lot of fans likely would have left their houses to see if it was adapted for the big screen. But, The Spirits Within didn’t have that going for it.
Do you know what film did though? Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and this probably would have gotten more butts in seats if it was released in theaters. Not only was it directly based off of one of the games, it also acted as a sequel of sorts to FFVII. In fact, it was actually the first supplement in a line of FFVII continuations, which has since coalesced with the games of 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, and 2024’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. So, yeah. It was the movie that fans likely wanted back in 2001, but didn’t get.
It Advances The Plot Of Final Fantasy VII, Which Is Arguably The Most Popular Game In The Franchise
As I just mentioned, Advent Children is a sequel of sorts to Final Fantasy VII. Now, I say “of sorts” since it is canon, but, the recent titles, Remake, and Rebirth – which came out long after the movie – will lead into Advent Children. However, the new games kind of remix the original FFVII story from 1997, and…well, this is all getting very confusing. What matters is that when the original game came out in 1997, Advent Children is where the story eventually evolved.
Chronologically taking place two years after the events of the original game, Advent Children prominently features Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth in a story that doesn’t really make much sense unless you’ve beaten Final Fantasy VII. Honestly, if there’s one complaint I have with this film, it’s that you NEED to know a LOT about the FFVII storyline to even grasp what’s going on.
It features a new city called Edge after Midgar was destroyed in the game, and it expects you to know about stuff like Jenova, and Shinra, since it doesn’t really spell it out for you.
Like, I know the original Super Mario Bros. movie gets a lot of flack for being too UNLIKE the games, but Advent Children might be too much LIKE the game, to the extent that you won’t understand most of the movie if you didn’t play the game. However, if you DID play it, then this movie is fantastic, as it really does expand the lore in exciting ways. It also really brings these characters to life outside of the game, which I’ll get into next.
The Voice Acting Is Second To None
You know what upcoming video game adaptation I’m really looking forward to? The Legend of Zelda movie. Now, it’s not just because I love the franchise, but also because I’m really interested to know what Link actually sounds like. As I’m sure many of you know, Link doesn’t actually talk in the games, so I want to hear what his voice is like when he speaks.
Well, when Advent Children came out, we hadn’t heard the voices of characters like Barret, Vincent, or Zack, since the original game used text boxes. I mean, NOW of course there’s voice acting in games like Remake and Rebirth, but back then, I didn’t really know what most of the Final Fantasy cast would sound like, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear just how good their voices were.
That said, that’s not entirely true, since some of the voice actors were the same they used from the Kingdom Hearts series (Kingdom Hearts, as many of you know, is Final Fantasy VII-adjacent).
Steve Burton voiced Cloud in this movie, as well as in the original Kingdom Hearts, and he’s a lot more rugged than I imagined him sounding when I first played FFVII back in the ‘90s. Rachael Leigh Cook, who voiced Tifa in Kingdom Hearts II, voices her here as well, and it’s got an almost sultry lilt to it, which is exactly as I imagined her sounding when I played the game. But, it’s just across the board great, and it really brings this action packed story to life, which I’ll get into last.
The Visuals Also Still Hold Up Today
Now, I’m going to be real with you. I know they’re entirely different art styles, but I actually think 2005’s Advent Children looks a tad better, animation-wise, than 2021’s Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, which I had mixed feelings about. And, it’s mostly due to how bright and colorful this movie is.
This is interesting, because the game it’s based off of is kind of notorious for its blocky, dark, PS1 era visuals. But, Advent Children is silky smooth in comparison, and these versions of the characters are ones that have mostly stuck around for later editions in the FFVII universe.
This is important, especially since so much of this movie hinges on its fast-paced action sequences. It undeniably looks much more like the Final Fantasy video game series than its cinematic predecessor, The Spirits Within, which at the time, was groundbreaking in itself. Because, while I do think that The Spirits Within is the superior movie, story-wise, I definitely think Advent Children is the better movie, visually, and action-wise.
It’s for this reason that I wish more people would talk about it today, given its place in video game movie history. But, what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.