Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within (Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B+ Extras: D Feature: D
When Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within (2001)
arrived with little fanfare and I heard about its insanely high budget, I knew
there was trouble. Sony was hoping for a
big high-tech entry into the CG animated feature field with the gloss of a
video game connection. Instead, it was
“game over” as this mess hit theaters and bombed. Alien spirits have invaded earth in 2065 and
only a brilliant scientist might be able to stop them. Unfortunately, somebody should have stopped
this project from being greenlighted as soon as the first CG footage arrived
half-stillborn.
Even with
big name voice talent like Donald Sutherland, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, James
Woods, Keith David and others, it was more than dated on arrival then and has
not aged well at all since. Even fans of
the anthology series were not too impressed and it rightly continues to be a
money-loser. I forgot how bad this
really was accompanied by the desire to fall asleep as I almost did in the
cineplex only two months before 9/11.
Only that nightmare made most forget this turkey as it evaporated form
theaters and memory.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is as dull and computer memory
challenged as I remembered in the 35mm print, but worse, though some
improvement in color can be seen since this is in its own digital realm. The nearly $200 Million they sunk into this
had to go somewhere. However, when all
is said and done, this looks like a death-worship version of Fisher Price meets
Playmobile. The PCM 16/48 5.1 mix is
better than the Dolby Digital 5.1 options as expected and the mix has its
moments. This was originally a Sony
Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS) 7.1 release and is the one thing that can hold
up. However, some of the dialogue is
recorded oddly, making this an unintended howler at times.
Extras
run on as much as the feature including two audio commentaries, interactive
making of piece, the original opening, character profiles, vehicle scale
comparison, trailer exploration feature, five other pieces and joke outtakes.
However,
I have seen other entries in the franchise and was hardly more impressed, which
was not so hard. Those entries include:
Final Fantasy Unlimited – Phase
Six (Animé TV)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1118/Final+Fantasy+Unlimited
Final Fantasy VII – Advent
Children: Limited Edition Collector’s Series
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5034/Final+Fantasy+VII+–+Advent+Children
The later
was also CG and much better by default.
The Blu-ray is only for the ultra-curious.
- Nicholas Sheffo
