Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (+ Complete)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.

I’ll admit that against my better judgment, the original 2006 US DVD release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was the first piece of Final Fantasy VII media I really consumed. Not the best choice, I know, but it did still get me into the series, so I guess it wasn’t all bad. I would also view the Complete version when it released in 2009, but now that I’ve actually played Final Fantasy VII, I figured there was no better opportunity to revisit this first part of Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Since I’ve re-watched both cuts, I thought it best to review both of them at once, with my raw thoughts written down immediately after each viewing. What I’ll say now is that it’s obvious why another cut was necessary.

Two years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, a plague called Geostigma, which has no known cure, has spread across the planet. Around this time, a trio of mysterious men, Kadaj (Steve Staley), Loz (Fred Tatasciore) and Yazoo (Dave Wittenberg), kidnap children infected with the disease. When Cloud Strife (Steve Burton), who is also infected, learns that the men plan to reunite with the remnants of Jenova to resurrect Sephiroth (George Newbern), he and his friends set out to stop them.

Three mysterious men plan to reunite with Jenova to resurrect Sephiroth;
L-R: Yazoo (Dave Wittenberg), Kadaj (Steve Staley), Loz (Fred Tatasciore)  

While the premise is interesting, the execution is a bit lacking. Geostigma’s origins aren’t really explained and it wasn’t completely clear why they needed the children for the resurrection outside of Geostigma’s connection to Jenova. Denzel (Benjamin Bryan) was also an important character, but there wasn’t really any explanation on who he was or what made him so special. Additionally, while the plot does make sense within the context of Final Fantasy VII, it’s not very beginner-friendly. You really need to have knowledge of the original story and characters to fully grasp what’s going on, since the recap at the beginning of the film only covers so much, and even then you apparently needed to have read the On The Way to a Smile novellas to fully grasp other plot points.

Cloud (Steve Burton) is infected with Geostigma,
a disease which isn't fully explained in the original cut.

The characterization is also a little hit and miss. In spite of his villain status in the original game, Rufus Shinra (Wally Wingert) gets a moment where he’s actually pretty cool in playing mind games against Kadaj. Cloud’s mopey characterization gave him a negative reputation for years, but considering he was slowly dying for most of the film, I’ve pretty much forgiven this portrayal. That said, his arc could’ve been more apparent. One thing I did pick up on now, however, is how Reno (Quinton Flynn) and Rude (Crispin Freeman) were more or less reduced to comic relief characters. Their interactions are pretty funny, but they don’t feel as imposing as they should considering their positions.

Of course, one of the main selling points is the visuals. The CG is very impressive for 2005 and largely still impresses today, demonstrating Square Enix’s prowess at 3D cinematics. Environments still look nice and the characters have new designs that still fit who they are for the most part. I even like Cloud’s new Fusion Swords, since they’re such a cool concept and it’s neat how their combined shape resembles the iconic Buster Sword. There’s also a nice attention to detail in the action and the fight scenes are very well-choreographed, especially the climactic rematch against Sephiroth, which is the main reason to watch the film.

Unfortunately, some things just simply haven’t aged well, mostly when it comes to faces. The lip syncing issues for the dub are extremely noticeable, with mouth movements barely matching what the characters are saying at times. This also leads to odd dialogue, most notably Tifa’s (Rachael Leigh Cook) “Dilly-dally shilly-shally”. Faces also tend to fall into the uncanny valley and children look somewhat lifeless. Non-human characters or ones with more inhuman traits have aged far better, especially Red XIII (Liam O'Brien) and Vincent (Steve Blum). Also, it's worth noting that Kadaj and Yazoo look pretty similar in design, with the biggest difference being the length of their hair.

Red XIII (Liam O'Brien) has aged better than other characters.

On a similar note, the voice acting is also hit and miss. The choices themselves aren’t bad and there are plenty of great performances, especially George Newbern’s take on Sephiroth (at the time, the only other Sephiroth was Lance Bass in Kingdom Hearts). However, Steve Burton’s delivery for Cloud is a bit lacking and comes off more emotionless than necessary, especially in situations where he should have a stronger reaction. While he has gotten significantly better with the character over the years, he certainly got off to a rough start. Also, I wasn’t sure what to make of Cait Sith’s Scottish accent, since I didn’t really get that impression from his dialogue in the original game.

As with the original game, a major highlight is the score by Nobuo Uematsu, which I also went out of my way to get a physical copy of. While I do like every track, since a lot of them are memorable, the one that stood out the most to me was “Advent: One-Winged Angel”, which perfectly mixes the original orchestral elements of “One-Winged Angel” with heavy metal guitars and drums. There are also new lyrics that better match the situation, emphasizing his immortality over his anger at the planet while tying into his final line, “I will never be a memory.”

Four years after the original release of Advent Children, Square Enix released an extended cut of the film, Advent Children Complete, which added 26 minutes of additional footage while extending other scenes and re-rendering the entire film for Blu-ray format. Watching this cut after the original is like night and day, as just about all of the changes and additions resulted in a dramatically improved and more well-rounded film.

The story is now generally more beginner-friendly, with new scenes and dialogue exchanges that better explain what Geostigma is, not to mention why Denzel (Aaron Refvem) is important to Cloud. Cloud’s character arc is also given more depth and we can now clearly see his transformation from his worn-down and brooding self at the beginning to the more confident and heroic person he was in the original game. Even his brooding is given more depth, as there’s more time given to his remorse over the loss of Zack (Rick Gomez) and Aerith (Mena Suvari). Other scenes also fill in a lot of narrative gaps and plot holes, resulting in a better pace, and we also get a better idea of how the city Edge operates and the full extent of Geostigma’s effect on people.

Reno and Rude are still presented as comic relief in this cut, but they’re also given more to do, which creates a better balance with the comedy. I will say though that I found the new comedic bits pretty funny anyway. Also, one could argue that Cloud’s victory over Sephiroth is now undercut by involving Zack, as now the victory is no longer entirely his own.

Re-rendering the film also resulted in significantly improved and sharper visuals. Cloth and hair physics are more impressive and characters, human or otherwise, actually take visible battle damage. This helps immensely with the fight scenes, especially since now they’ve been extended to add more action and story elements and it now feels like the protagonists are actually doing something to their opponent. There are also some redesigns here and there, most notably Zack now matching his appearance from Crisis Core, and new camera placements that make certain details much clearer. Unfortunately, however, no amount of visual improvements could fix the noticeable lip syncing issues in the dubbing, which still introduces an uncanny feeling in some scenes.

Characters actually take visible battle damage now;
L-R: Reno (Quinton Flynn), Rude (Crispin Freeman), Loz (Fred Tatasciore)

As for the voice acting, I noticed an improvement across the board in the newer scenes, especially Steve Burton’s take on Cloud. However, I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination or what, but I thought I also heard some improvement in pre-existing scenes, like they went back and re-recorded them. On the topic of sound, Sephiroth’s sword now has a resonating sound, which was a nice touch.

Nobuo Uematsu’s score returns, but now with some extended pieces to fit the longer scenes. These extensions work, including a new orchestral section in “Advent: One-Winged Angel – ACC Long Version”. As with the original cut of the film, I liked these tracks enough to seek out the physical disc, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Reunion Tracks.

Before I end this review, it’s worth mentioning that both cuts of the film feature very specific cross-promotion in the form of the Panasonic FOMA P900iV cell phone, which Cloud prominently uses in the film. In real life, the phone also came pre-installed with Final Fantasy media, including exclusive avatars, Advent Children clips, wallpapers, ringtones and sound effects. I’ll admit that I kind of wanted one after reading about this, but couldn’t find any floating around, let alone at a reasonable price.

Cloud prominently uses the Panasonic FOMA P900iV in the film.

While not perfect by any stretch, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children isn’t the worst video game movie I’ve ever seen. However, if you were to only watch one cut, I’d recommend Complete for its dramatically improved story, characterization and visuals. Though you still need the original Final Fantasy VII as a foundation to better understand or appreciate what’s happening, it can still be enjoyed for the action scenes alone.