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Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Going into this movie I had mixed feelings. On the one hand this movie, as the name implies, is somehow based on a video game. Generally speaking, that is the death knell of quality movie making. On the other hand this movie was 100% computer generated and would be the first to attempt photo realistic computer animated human characters. To say the least that makes it possibly the most ambitious movie of the year. I was worried that the movie's video game ancestry might undermine an otherwise spectacular display of animation. I needn't have worried. I'm only vaguely familiar with the Final Fantasy series of video games but what I do know doesn't seem to hold much relation to this movie so that immediately removed that curse from the film. Instead we get a story that is frequently imaginative and we get animation that is flat out stunning. While we have seen spectacular computer animation of characters in movies like Toy Story and Shrek, we've never seen that kind of quality lent to a human character. This movie changes all that. For years now people have been predicting that computer animation would eventually eliminate the need for human actors. Is this movie the sign that those predictions have come true? No. While the animation of human characters is certainly impressive and light years beyond anything previously attempted in a movie, these characters are not yet believable as real humans. You will not mistake them for real human actors. It's hard to put my finger on it but something about the characters was just a bit off. Their facial and hand movements seemed a bit rubbery and/or over exaggerated. Clothing looks good but usually seems a bit to stiff or heavy to pass for the real thing. To compensate the realism on most of the vehicles and buildings seemed to have been dialed back just a hair to create a more unified look to the story. The idea being that if everything is just the same notch off of reality in appearance, none of it is a distraction. Don't get me wrong, the look and animation of this film is top notch. I have not seen anything to compare to it. But that shouldn't start some sort of panic in the Screen Actors Guild that they might be obsolete. I think they've probably got at least a decade before that could be a possibility. What is truly note worthy about this movie is that it signals a removal of boundaries to filmmaking. Computer animation is becoming so sophisticated that there is really no image that can't be put on the screen in a believable fashion. The landscapes and aliens in this movie are so wild that no live action shot could replicate it. The ability to design and animate creatures that couldn't be matched convincingly by other means was actually signalled a couple years ago in The Phantom Menace. People were so busy hating Jar Jar Binks as a character that they missed how revolutionary he was. Designed with a body no amount of makeup and prosthetics could lend to a human, Jar Jar broke the confines of what an alien had to look like. Fast forward to Final Fantasy and we see that concept running wild through the entire story. The action takes place on Earth in the year 2065. Thirty years previous, a meteor had slammed into the planet, carrying a host of marauding aliens that soon turned most of the planet into a wasteland. Most of humanity is now confined to small outposts guared by energy shields to keep out the aliens dubbed phantoms. Phantom is an appropriate name as these creatures are invisible to the naked eye and seem to be more energy than physical being. Viewed through special masks they appear translucent and unbound by gravity. Dr. Aki Ross (voiced by Ming Na) has come to the ruins of New York City to search for one of eight spirits. She and her mentor Dr. Sid (voiced by Donald Sutherland) believe that if all eight spirits are brought together they would create some sort of energy wave that would drive out the alien phantoms. I wish I could explain it better but that aspect of the story was pretty murky. Just what these spirits are and what they mean isn't well explained. No matter, things charge along at a brisk clip so it won't be until after the movie that you start to try and sort it all out. Opposing their plan is General Hein, who has constructed an orbiting weapon dubbed the Zeus cannon that he believes can anihilate the aliens. Sid and Aki fear that the cannon is so powerful that it will not only destroy the aliens but the Earth's own spirit, the Gaia, as well. That would be bad. Anyway, Sid and Aki team up with a military unit known as Deep Eyes to find the last few spirits before Hein can get authorization to use his cannon. Through out the movie we see all manner of these phantoms. They range from human sized creatures with odd limbs and tentactles to dinosaur sized behemoths that appear to be mixtures of deap sea creatures and insects. Phantoms seem to feed on souls or perhaps a person's life force. Other times they infect a person. Kind of like from the chest buster from Alien, but all energy. While I admit to getting a bit lost in the movie's theories and ideas, I got the basic gist and was able to enjoy the relentless pace as the two forces race each other to try and drive out the aliens. What follows is to say the least a unique story and one I wouldn't dream of spoiling by telling you more. Be content to know that it is fascinating and gives plenty of excuse to flash the visual pyrotechnics shamelessly. As intriguing as the story is, a movie like this draws us to the theater with its promise of visual thrills. While it has more than its share of big displays, the real thrills come from watching these almost-real humans in action. I might have to watch the movie a second time simply because it was too easy to get caught up in admiring the animation to the point of losing the thread of the story. As I said, the sophistication of the animation is such that designers are free to let their imaginations run wild. But more subtly, by designing the human characters as well, the filmmakers can have the exact right look for every single character. For instance, General Hein is the villain of sorts and his face is obviously designed towards that end. His face seems built to house a permanent scowl. His eyes are small, narrow and set close together, giving him an obviously villainous appearance. Instead of finding an actor who can look the part as well as act it adequately, they simply build the character to look the part and then simply find a voice to match. James Woods manages to convey utter contempt and viciousness with just his voice and coupled with Hein's look, there is no doubt as to the character's intentions. Heck, he even wears a long black leather coat in every single scene, regardless of location. Custom building a character also allows the use of superior actors in areas they might not be feasible in a live action movie. Let's face it, nobody is going to buy Peri Gilpin or Steve Buscemi as top notch, tough as nails soldiers in a live action movie. But animation makes it possible to use their great voices and attach them to bodies that you would accept as realistic soldiers. Dr. Sid and Aki are by far the most convincing characters. Aki in particular stands out. She seems like a woman taken straight out of a hair care commercial. Her skin is perfectly clean and glowing and her hair seems to bounce and move with a life all its own. Sid was almost spooky in his realism. If I have a complaint with the animation it's that the story requires the use of dim grey lighting for most of the film which generally makes the animation less impressive. The realism of the characters really shines in the few scenes where there is strong bright light. Unfortunately there wasn't more of it. Also on the short list of complaints is the animation of hands. They rarely matched the subtle realism of facial movements. The most glaring moments where the animation seemed most obvious were when hands were brought up near a face. The contrast was too great to ignore. It's not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination but it excels at stretching its own imagination to show us things we've never seen before. The end result is a rich visual feast coupled with a story that tosses out some new ideas to chew on. |
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