Spirits Within

Great videogame films seems like the biggest oxymoron known to date. I mean Mortal Kombat & Tomb Raider are sort of exceptions to the rule, but even they weren't great films. The fans of the videogame world are looking and wondering if they will ever get a KICK ASS videogame movie. Final Fantasy isn't the savior it was made out to be, but it truly isn't a videogame movie at all.

In the year 2065, the next great assault against an invading race of phantom-like aliens is about to be launched. Dr. Aki Ross (Ming-Na) , a brilliant young scientist, races to find the invaders' secrets, not only to save the planet, but herself as well after her body is infected by alien particles. She teams up with the prestigious Deep Eyes military squadron, led by her old friend Grey Edwards (Alec Baldwin). But as Aki, her mentor Dr. Sid (Donald Sutherland), and Grey work toward a peaceful end, the scheming General Hein (James Woods) devises a plot to eradicate the aliens in one swift, destructive blow...even if it destroys the Earth right along with them.

For the purpose of all Final Fantasy fans out there, I'm going to STOP referring to this film as Final Fantasy. It will save us a lot of uncessary arguments, as there is no use of magic, sword battles, and anything else you would come to expect from the title "Final Fantasy". In fact, this film pays more homage to the 'Alien' franchise than anything else.

Ok, with that out of the way. "Spirits Within" is a pretty decent sci-fi film, that gains more points with its graphical achievements than following the formulamatic 'alien' sotryline. S.W. uses some incredible visual effects that will simply have your jaw glued to the floor. From a shaky came shot, to a long pan out...this movie does it all. At times, it does TOO much...as you easily lose focus to the main object of the scene.

However visually strong this film is, it has a lot of problems that just nag the hell out of me. These characters look breathtaking, but their facial expressions never change. Their voice changes according to what they are trying to say, but their facial features remain totally blank. Its like watching an entire cast of Freddie Prinze Jr's in one film. Its truly hard to get past this for the first part of the film, as they try to create humor (that does not exist), romance (that fails), and a feel for these characters. Without emotion behind their words, they are just words. Luckily for the film, the second half of S.W. picks up quite a bit and takes the focus off the half assedness of the animators. Though extremely fun, the second half of the film is terribly routine. Its like watching an 'Alien' film compelety redone in CGI. Like the Alien films, S.W. stockpiles characters that are basically pointless other than to become a # for a body count. Its kind of dissapointing that a film written by the guy who does Final Fantasy can only make one character that actually has as many dimensions emotionally as they do physically.

Spirits Within isn't a bad film, but its certainly not anyting new. It just choses to do it in a different way. If you are going to see this film for a movie version of "Final Fantasy", then you should probably stay away. However, if you want a pretty solid alien film that will entertain you...give this one a look.

Rating: 1/2 out of four.

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