Stars: Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames, Ming-Na Wen, Peri Gilpin, Donald Sutherland

Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi

Summary: Set in the year 2065 the Earth is under attack by a group of aliens who crashed on a meteor. Doctor Aki Ross turns to her own dreams to find an answer to the problems...

Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi (who also created the best-selling series of video games that inspired the film), the groundbreaking FINAL FANTASY, which stars a startlingly lifelike cast of animated characters, is the first photo-realistic computer-generated feature film ever made. In the year 2065, Earth has been taken over by a race of alien phantoms and transformed into a barren wasteland sprinkled with dome-enclosed barrier cities--the last remaining bastions of human civilization. Dr. Aki Ross (voiced by actress Ming-Na) has teamed up with Captain Gray Edwards (Alec Baldwin) to search for the "eighth spirit," a powerful entity dwelling in an unknown life form somewhere on the planet. It holds the key to perfecting a system of energy waves that will neutralize the phantoms. Ross's opponent is the reckless General Hein (James Woods), who is determined to put a stop to the alien invasion by firing a satellite cannon directly into a nest of phantoms located deep within the Earth, even though this could mean obliterating the planet itself and all life upon it.

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Inspired by the popular video game franchise, Hironobu Sakaguchi's Final Fantasy: The Spirits Withinis a completely computer-generated film which, unlike Toy Storyand Shrek, is also a serious science fiction drama with astonishingly human digital actors. Aki, the female lead, appeared in a full-page spread in Maximmagazine's Hot 100 list--and was indistinguishable from the real-life models. The setting and conflict make for incredible action, but it's the larger issues, character interaction and human elements that really make the movie shine. The Spirits Withinis not simply a science fiction movie, in the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonis not simply a kung-fu flick. The result is a fantastic summer movie with better action and more emotion than Pearl Harborand actors more lifelike than those in that other video game movie, Tomb Raider.--Mike Fehlauer, Amazon.com

On the DVD:disc one includes an interesting, if a little flat, director's commentary. Better is the isolated score with a superb and fascinating commentary from composer Elliot Goldenthal. Other options allow you to access more information about the film. The menus are clear and feature full CGI effects and specially created sequences. Disc two is where you will find the real meat, with literally hours of documentaries and technical promos to plough through covering every aspect of the filmmaking process, along with music videos and an alternative opening sequence. You can re-edit a short sequence from the film and there's also a wealth of DVD-ROM material offering the complete screenplay and an interesting tour of Square Pictures, makers of the film. Features like the FHM-style photo shoot of CGI heroine Aki give an indication of the target audience for this movie. Add all this extra material to the superb picture quality--which almost leaves you convinced that you are watching a live action movie--and crystal sharp sound and you have one of the most technically impressive discs to hit the market so far. Any DVD buff will need this just to prove that the format is a worthwhile investment.--Jon Weir

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Two Feature Length Commentaries, 21 Mini Featurettes, Original Interactive Documentary, 60 Minutes of Linkouts, 82 Minutes 3D Playblast Video And Storyboard Select, Multiple Workshops Including Character Morphs And Indepth Character Files, DVD ROM
Subtitles:	Arabic, English, French
Year:	2001
Release Date:	January 21, 2002
Runtime:	101 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C D R 31971
Keywords:	Final, Animated, Within, Two, General, Wide, Screen, Fantasy, Fiction, Spirits, Science, Animation, Horror, Discs, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Science Fiction