Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children (2005)

33% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(142,008 ratings)

A strange disease is decimating the land and it's up to the Hero cloud to emerge from solitude and defeat a new breed of enemy in the computer animated feature that picks up where Final Fantasy VII left off. It has been two years since the events of Final Fantasy VII, and though the ruins of Midger… More A strange disease is decimating the land and it's up to the Hero cloud to emerge from solitude and defeat a new breed of enemy in the computer animated feature that picks up where Final Fantasy VII left off. It has been two years since the events of Final Fantasy VII, and though the ruins of Midger still stand to show the sacrifices made for peace, a new threat to mankind has arrived. With the citizens of the countryside falling deathly ill and old enemies rising from the ashes to seek revenge, Cloud must leap back into action and help his fellow men lest his solitude leave all of mankind vulnerable to another devastating attack. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Takeshi Nozue, Tetsuya Nomura
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Apr 25, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Apr 25, 2006
Studio: Destination Films

Critic Reviews

James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Great animation, but a narrative disappointment.
James O'Ehley, Sci-Fi Movie Page
Essentially a computer game without any interactivity . . .
Scott Weinberg, DVD Clinic
Once the characters start spewing out reams of dialogue about "geostigma," "sephiroth," and "genova," my eyeballs involuntarily start to glaze over.
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies
[The] battle scenes, during which all normal physics go straight out the window, are exhilarating in a disorienting thrill-ride way.
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
This is third-rate sci-fi cobbled together with familiar elements of a video game some people like, and that's not nearly enough to work as a film.
Jean-François Vandeuren, Panorama
Les artisans de chez Square ont visiblement cherché à faire plaisir qu'aux fans d'un des plus populaires épisodes de la franchise et à personne d'autre.
Mike Sage, Peterborough This Week
less like a satisfying followup to a great gaming experience, and more a technical demo on how pretty those blocky FF characters could look on expensive new hardware.

Read all 7 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Michael E

I haven't played "Final Fantasy VII" but this movie was extremely good, i prefer to listen to it in japanese though, because the english dubbing is really bad like a godzilla movie. But they got one of my favorite video game composers to return to do the music for this… More
I haven't played "Final Fantasy VII" but this movie was extremely good, i prefer to listen to it in japanese though, because the english dubbing is really bad like a godzilla movie. But they got one of my favorite video game composers to return to do the music for this film, Nobuo Ouematsu. Ouematsu is famous for doing all them usic for "Square Enix" games and to do a video game movie based off of a square enix game it comes as no surprise he would do it, and he did a fantastic job as always, including a great remake of the Sephiroth theme "One Winged Angel." Plus this film has the best cg ive ever seen in an animated film, moost of the time i forgot i was watching a CG Film because the CG looked just like real people.
Zach B

When someone thinks about it, the main magic of this film does rely on if you have any knowledge about the video game that this film services as a sequel to. But, does this mean that it is required to have played the game to understand this entire film? No. But having something of a… More
When someone thinks about it, the main magic of this film does rely on if you have any knowledge about the video game that this film services as a sequel to. But, does this mean that it is required to have played the game to understand this entire film? No. But having something of a good overview does help. This entire film, in terms of direction, does get slow at times, but the look of the film as a whole does keep your eyes staring at it. This is a film that shows that care and attention to detail for the look and in that sense, it creates a life like and beautiful film. For the voice actors, I understand how hard it was to put voices on these characters, and whom they got for the original Japanese print and the English dub do a fantastic job. What shocks me the most is how they were able to put in so much emotion into the voices. That takes acting to do, and they got the best. In terms of script, the only down fall is that they do not give you enough detail and background on a lot of situations and some plot elements are left wide open. Finally, for the score, just like the games, the score is beyond breath taking, adding to the already familiar sound a hard rock twist that is like a breath of fresh air to these already wonderful masterpieces. Overall, this is a film for anyone that is a fan of the original game, and it has a good chance at getting new followers.
KJ P

Final Fantasy is a weird concept to make into a film, but taking that fact away from the film makes it that much better. You just forget about anything that you can pick out to laugh at in this film and just have a blast watching this epic CGI animated action fest!
Lewis C

Fans of Final Fantasty VII will enjoy seeing their favorite characters in action again, but Advent Children doesn't really offer a story that's strong enough to satisfy the fan or the newcomer. The special effects and action sequences were certainly impressive enough, but… More
Fans of Final Fantasty VII will enjoy seeing their favorite characters in action again, but Advent Children doesn't really offer a story that's strong enough to satisfy the fan or the newcomer. The special effects and action sequences were certainly impressive enough, but most of the cast beyond Tifa and Cloud really have very little to do, and the finale was pure fanservice and little else.
Josh L

My opinion of this movie has lowered after seeing it again recently. The story jumps around alot and never truly makes complete sense, but the fight scenes are still worth a watch and pretty exciting.
Mike S

As my profile name here on Flixter suggests, I happen to be a huge fan of the game Final Fantasy VII. Therefore, I can't deny that my review and rating of this film is very biased. Anyway, after seeing it now in the director's cut version (or Advent Children: Complete as… More
As my profile name here on Flixter suggests, I happen to be a huge fan of the game Final Fantasy VII. Therefore, I can't deny that my review and rating of this film is very biased. Anyway, after seeing it now in the director's cut version (or Advent Children: Complete as it's also named), I like it even more than I did previously. This new version, including as much as 30 min extra footage, was a nice treat to be sure (even if the plot remains quite weak compared to that of the original game). A great anime flick in any case though and way better than Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which isn't even half as good in comparison.
Lorenzo v

"I won't just be a memory..." An ex-mercenary is forced out of isolation when three mysterious men kidnap and brainwash the city's children afflicted with the Geostigma disease. REVIEW I'm not… More
"I won't just be a memory..." An ex-mercenary is forced out of isolation when three mysterious men kidnap and brainwash the city's children afflicted with the Geostigma disease. REVIEW I'm not really the biggest Final Fantasy fan but this movie is still awesome in its own terms. Visuals were top notch, I can see the painstaking effort the creators put in to make the movie a visual delight. It was raw, crisp and awesome altogether. Leave it up to Japan and their innovative and genius minds to make something epic like Final Fantasy. The sound was astounding, it definitely matched the movie's epic vibe and definitely one of the highlights of the movie. The plot may be lacking but they made it up in the action department, in more ways than one. Some mind blowing action scenes involves a dragon (or something I'm not really sure) and Cloud with his massive sword jamming it straight down the dragon's throat. And then there's the fight scene inside the church when Tifa fights one of the awesome bad guys. Quite possibly the best scene of the whole movie. Definitely a lot better than the more commercialized "The Spirits Within". Seriously, why did they even use Final Fantasy's name on that one?
Tsubaki S

Fanboy junk food of the highest order, the fans ate it joyfully, anyone else has no bussiness seeing this. It adds nothing to the story of the game, neither to the character arc. Just an excuse to see Sephiroth and Cloud do big jump after big jump to smash their swords over and over.… More
Fanboy junk food of the highest order, the fans ate it joyfully, anyone else has no bussiness seeing this. It adds nothing to the story of the game, neither to the character arc. Just an excuse to see Sephiroth and Cloud do big jump after big jump to smash their swords over and over. Even if that had been enjoyable the film will be sort of watchable, but Nomura and Nozue manage to make the fights repetitive and tedious as hell. No matter how well polished is the CGI, how shinny and good looking everything is in a film, if the characters are as interesting as wood plankets, and could be easilly replaced by said things, then this is no film but actually a fetichistic waste of computer graphics. Not-so-dear-as-of-lately-SE: stop wasting time on this crap and just make better games.
Kylie B

I've never played the game, but found it easy enough to understand and good enough to stand as a film in its own right.
Saskia D

The graphics are amazing! The story is fast, but it helps if you played the videogame :)
Lee ?

Awesome movie! Breathtaking action and visually stunning CGI... it's just one of those films that you do not want to end. The story of "Advent Children" continues on 2 years after the events which happend at the end of the Final Fantasy 7 game, with the planet still… More
Awesome movie! Breathtaking action and visually stunning CGI... it's just one of those films that you do not want to end. The story of "Advent Children" continues on 2 years after the events which happend at the end of the Final Fantasy 7 game, with the planet still trying heal itself and it's people attempting to rebuild their world. But a mysterious disease, "Geostigma", and a trio of conspiring villains who plot to resurrect the evil Sephiroth bring about more trouble for the people of Midgar. It's a movie fans of FF7 will adore more than others, and I being one of them loved every minute, though I was a little disappointed. Many of the main characters from the game had very brief appearances which was a shame, the story was a little difficult to keep up with at times and only two locations from the game are explored in the movie. But the amazing animation just keeps you glued to the screen as you try to take it all in. The action is incredible! The bike chases, sword fights, gravity defying kung fu all leave you breathless but thrill you throughout. And the musical themes from the original game also feature in this movie and will bring back those memories of playing the game for hours on end. Many, if not all fans of FF7 will claim this as the greatest animated movie ever - I would have to agree. But those unfamiliar with the game will have no idea what the story is about or who the characters are as no back story is given about them at all. But there is enough here to enjoy for those who do and do not know the story well. Amazing film!
Luke B

About 50 minutes into this film and action scene starts that runs til the end of the film. It was immense. I was completely enthralled, there was akung-fu fight and then a battle with a giant monster, a motorbike chase with swords and guns and finally two sword fights. Pretty epic,… More
About 50 minutes into this film and action scene starts that runs til the end of the film. It was immense. I was completely enthralled, there was akung-fu fight and then a battle with a giant monster, a motorbike chase with swords and guns and finally two sword fights. Pretty epic, but somewhere around the monster fight I realised I had next to no idea of what was going on. There was a guy with a gun for a hand, some guy who kept moaning about his mother and some creepy children and if that wasn't weird enough a cat that had a crown and spoke in a scottish accent appeared riding a big red dog. Yes it seems one must play the game, and know their Final Fantasy mythology pretty well to truely grasp this action epic. For the rest of us it takes a while to get into it and then punches your teeth out. Beautiful CGI, although sometimes it resembles cut-scenes from a computer game (no suprises there).
Wildaly M

Visually stunning. Great characters. Loved the story. Sephiroth has his own theme song. :P
EightThirty .

This is One Good Movie.
Drew S

A humiliating bit of fanservice for the idiot fans of the game who have spare money to throw away.
James A

Phenomenal for any one who has played Final Fantasy 7!
Eduardo T

This is some decent fun even thought it's not as good as the best anime films out there. If you're a fan then go ahead and watch it. If you're not a fan then you might not like it. What I do like about this is that it's artsy with all the beautiful scenes and… More
This is some decent fun even thought it's not as good as the best anime films out there. If you're a fan then go ahead and watch it. If you're not a fan then you might not like it. What I do like about this is that it's artsy with all the beautiful scenes and original music scores. This is also a film in which you have to think hard especially if you never played the games before. I like films in which you have to think to understand it. It adds for a more enjoyable experience. I really liked that scene in which Cloud has to kill the dragon and his team mates are helping him. If you're a fan of the video games then go ahead and watch it don't listen to the critics.
Chris B

Ok so this is the layout. I will give you a little insight (for a better entertaining and engaging reading experience) as to when/where/and with whom i saw the movie with. Next a little knowledge or anticipation i had about the movie before seeing it and then the actual Movie… More
Ok so this is the layout. I will give you a little insight (for a better entertaining and engaging reading experience) as to when/where/and with whom i saw the movie with. Next a little knowledge or anticipation i had about the movie before seeing it and then the actual Movie Review(SPOILERS!!! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SPOIL THE MOVIE SIMPLY SCROLL DOWN TO THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE MOVIE NEAR THE BOTTOM). I will conclude with what the final outcome of the movie was and a few words on what the people or person i saw it with said about it, usually being my best friend Bradley (i'm making him my fellow movie reviewer assistant) or my girlfriend danielle and of course other friends and family. I have waited for the movie for the longest time...and today i was first in line to get it...I showed up at best buy before it opened and waited and when it did i pushed through the crowd and ran over to get it along with some other things and was the first to get in line and out the store. I felt accomplished. Here it was Advent Children...the movie i had longed for and finally i had it in the palm of my hand. I quickly got Bradley and traveled to my house. REVIEW: Bradley and i watched with our eyes not leaving the screen for a moment. There is a reminiscence of final fantasy VII where you can watch those precious memories that were stored in the back of your mind. You see all the highlights of the game and for people that never played it you can...(YOU NEED TO PLAY THIS GAME) get all the main story line of the game in maybe 15 minutes...i'd recommend playing the game through before watching this movie however...simply for the fact that you know exactly what is going on and you are more emotional attached to it and to the characters. Reguardless of what you do this is one of the most amazing things you will ever see. The CG is GORGEOUS...i mean it is pure eye candy and so much better than i could have ever imagined. The voice acting is wonderful in japanese and even the english is incredibly good. The best thing you get is this wonderful sensation of what really did happen after the game...here ya go...this is it. I won't spoil anything but the bottom line is this...if you haven't played the game get this movie...really consider playing through the game then watching it but if you are impatient at least watch the reminiscence then the movie. If you did play the game then get ready for what you have been longing for for so long...and you WON'T be disappointed...it brought tears to my eyes in more than one way... If your in doubt about buying this movie...please PLEASE just spend the money and watch this movie...God i wish i could like guarantee your money back or something... OUTCOME: Me:GET THIS MOVIE AND CHERISH IT! If you are someone that complains about Anime/CG type movies...or are someone that will say "you can't really do that"...then quite simply you're missing the point and don't bother. Bradley: Even better than i expected it and i expected a lot.
Duncan R

Not much of a plot to speak of in this film sequel of a video game sequel, but that's not why I like it. The animators outdid themselves on this visual stunner, not only in terms of sheer beauty, but also in terms of choreography and "cinematography" that would be… More
Not much of a plot to speak of in this film sequel of a video game sequel, but that's not why I like it. The animators outdid themselves on this visual stunner, not only in terms of sheer beauty, but also in terms of choreography and "cinematography" that would be impossible to accomplish in the real world (i.e. "Physics? What's Physics?"). The only thing more beautiful than the animation? That would be the music, which both Final Fantasy fans and fans of fantastic film scores can appreciate. When I need my action packed eye-candy fix, I just pop this in the DVD player, set the sound to the Japanese language track, turn off the English subtitles*, and immerse myself into its aesthetic beauty. *Note: I don't speak a single word of Japanese, and I understand even less of it. The dialouge and English dub are both so annoying that reading/hearing it would detract both from my enjoyment of the movie and an entire star and a half from my original rating.
Yinalí R

Nice I guess.