Product Info

Studio

Sony Pictures

Director

Tetsuya Nomura, Takeshi Nozue

Genre

Action, Adventure, Animation, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Rated

PG-13

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Feb 21, 2024

Release Date (NA)

Apr 24, 2006

Release Date (JP)

Sep 14, 2005

Film Length

2hr 6min

Purchase From

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete is an extended version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, which was released almost two decades ago. It’s also still a movie that is meant more for diehard fans of the Final Fantasy VII video game than for the average movie watcher. Even so, the character building, story pacing, and dialogue can be a turn off for many. However, the final battle is fun.

Two Years Later

Advent Children takes place two years after the events of the Final Fantasy VII video game, where Sephiroth, the antagonist, was defeated by Cloud, Tifa, and others. Now, there’s a disease spreading called Geostigma that’s affecting the people on the planet, including Cloud. Additionally, three figures who closely resemble Sephiroth emerge and are on the hunt for “Mother”. Those who have played Final Fantasy VII are already well informed of what is occurring.

The storyline mostly revolves around Cloud as he struggles mentally due to the mistakes he felt he made during his adventure, despite defeating the villain, Sephiroth. Tifa and other characters that made appearances in the video game as friends and foes are pushed aside when attempting to help. However, things begin to take a dive when the three mysterious figures take children that are affected by Geostigma and turn them against Cloud by manipulating the disease in the kids’ bodies. Cloud will have to snap out of it and take a step forward if he wants to survive against these Sephiroth-remnants and find a cure for the affected children.

Advent Children is filled with interesting characters with cool, updated designs over their game originals, but the film doesn’t take the time to build them up. One orphan affected by the Geostigma has a connection with Cloud and Tifa, but they still come across more as an unimportant side character. For the other children in the thrall of the enemy, their roles are just confusing, being used more as mere statues in the city to keep protestors away. It would have been more intriguing if they had had bigger roles like maybe turning into a form that resembled Sephiroth or even a monster. It also doesn’t help that the story drags from one point to the next. Things don’t start picking up till about halfway through the film.

It feels like the writers paced themselves slowly and suddenly realized they needed to show more battles. At that point, they stepped on the accelerator. The film really is more about giving fans motorcycle chases and battles. Admittedly, some of the fights are fun and seeing returning fighters from the original game is pretty great. However, fans will wish they appeared more early on. At least Vincent, another character from the game, does make more appearances. The final battle is easily the best part of the film. If you pick up the film, it is for this sequence. From fast-paced, sword-clashing action to slicing entire buildings that rain from above, it is still well worth watching.

It’s More Complete

The original film, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, was released in 2005 in Japan and in 2006 in the United States and the United Kingdom. Four years later, a more “complete” version was released, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. The Complete version includes 26 minutes of extra footage, more story details, and revised scenes. Blood and battle marks shown more in the updated version, and the additional dialogue does help build the film’s story to make more connections.

Showing Some Age

One of the many drawbacks when working with computer-generated imagery (CGI) is how dated it can look after a generation or two. If you have a well-built story and characters, you can get away with outdated visuals. See the first Toy Story film, for example. Its visuals have aged, but it’s a classic film because of its charming characters and memorable story.

Advent Children Complete tries to do this, but its storyline is thin and the slow pace doesn’t help. Though the visuals look mostly good after receiving detail enhancements in 2009, some elements and animations have aged. For example, clothing appears plastic-like and has an overall lack of detail. Random citizens in the destroyed city of Midgar look too stiff. The fight between Tifa and her opponent in an abandoned church, as well as the Turks’ battles, all look more like plastic toy figures battling when bouncing off floors and walls. Even so, it still looks far better than the original PlayStation One game.

The One-Winged Track

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children’s soundtrack is, with a doubt, fantastic. Utilizing tracks from the popular video game as well as rearranged versions, it makes the movie feel more dynamic and appealing. One of the best tracks, “One-Winged Angel,” revised to make the final battle more impressive. And it works too well.

Unsurprisingly, the English voice overs are not the same as those heard in the recent Final Fantasy VII: Remake and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth releases. The voice for Rufus Shinra, especially, doesn’t feel impactful and lacks emotion in the film. While a few of the actors who had their voices appear in the film reprised the same characters in the popular Kingdom Hearts video game series, it would be great to see another release of the movie with the newer actors. Fans should consider listening to the Japanese version to hear more emotion from each character.

The Final Slash

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete is a film only for diehard Final Fantasy VII fans. Despite having some interesting characters and a fantastic soundtrack, there’s simply not enough to keep the average movie watcher interested till the final battle.