Running time: 106 minutes
Starring: Voices: Ming-Na, Alec
Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Ving Rhames, Peri Gilpin, Steve
Buscemi
Rating 5 out of 10
If Lara Croft: Tomb Raider taught us anything it's that the visceral thrill of video games rarely translates to the big screen. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within tries to break the mould, employing state-of-the-art computer graphics to transform the best-selling PlayStation role-playing game series into a blockbusting movie franchise.The setting is Earth in the year 2065. Monstrous aliens have taken over the planet and the last remaining pockets of human resistance are gradually falling to the extra-terrestrial invaders.
But Dr Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na) and her mentor Dr Sid (Sutherland) believe they have discovered a way to combat the alien invaders. All life forms have a signature spirit wave. If Aki and Dr Sid can create a wave of equal and opposite intensity to that of the alien force, they could temporarily immobilise the threat from the invaders. Aided by a band of renegades called The Deep Eyes, led by dashing Captain Gray Edwards (Baldwin), Aki ventures into the restricted wastelands in search of the missing spirits.
Visually, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is jaw-dropping. The level of detail is astounding, from the realistic manner in which the heroine's hair moves in the breeze to the expressiveness of the characters' faces. Stylistic flourishes also enhance the viewing experience, such as the jerky handheld camera work during the chase sequences.
With so much attention paid to eye candy, the screenplay becomes a secondary concern, and suffers rather badly. There also seems to be confusion throughout the film over whether the alien invaders are made of body or spirit.
When the aliens attack humans, they fly through their bodies, stealing their human souls in the process. Yet the Deep Eyes can blast the monstrous entities to smithereens with their guns, suggesting they may also have a physical form.
Still, vocal performances are strong, from Ming-Na's feisty heroine to Baldwin's swaggering hero (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ben Affleck in Armageddon mode).
