Final Fantasy (2001)
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Scientists must find a way to save a post-apocalyptic Earth from a deadly alien race by gathering unique energy patterns.
The story
In 2065, Earth is infested by Phantoms, alien life forms that consume the 'Gaia spirit' of living beings upon contact. Humanity survives in protected 'barrier cities.' Scientist Dr. Aki Ross and her mentor, Dr. Sid, discover they can defeat the Phantoms by gathering eight unique energy patterns called spirits. While searching for the sixth spirit in the ruins of New York City, Aki is rescued by Captain Gray Edwards and his squad. Aki must then navigate the political tensions of the leadership council, where General Hein seeks to use a devastating weapon to end the conflict, while Aki seeks a more peaceful solution.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2065, Earth is infested by Phantoms, alien life forms that consume the 'Gaia spirit' of living beings upon contact. Humanity survives in protected 'barrier cities.' Scientist Dr. Aki Ross and her mentor, Dr. Sid, discover they can defeat the Phantoms by gathering eight unique energy patterns called spirits. While searching for the sixth spirit in the ruins of New York City, Aki is rescued by Captain Gray Edwards and his squad Deep Eyes. Aki joins Sid and appears before the leadership council along with General Douglas Hein, who wants to use the Zeus cannon to destroy the Phantoms. Aki reveals she is infected and the spirits are keeping her stable, convincing the council to delay the cannon's use. However, Hein incorrectly concludes she is being controlled by Phantoms. Aki and the Deep Eyes find the seventh spirit, but Aki slips into unconsciousness, dreaming that Phantoms are spirits of dead aliens. Sid uses the seventh spirit to revive her. To scare the council, Hein lowers the barrier, allowing legions of Phantoms to invade. The Deep Eyes squad is killed. Sid finds the eighth spirit at the Caspian Mountains. Hein fires the Zeus cannon into the crater, destroying the eighth spirit and revealing the Phantom Gaia. Aki receives the eighth spirit from alien particles in herself. She and Gray combine it with the others. Gray sacrifices himself to transmit the completed spirit into the alien Gaia. The Earth's Gaia is restored, and the Phantoms ascend into space.
- Original title
- The Spirits Within
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- Japan; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Hironobu Sakaguchi
- Writers
- Al Reinert · writer; Jeff Vintar · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ming-Na Wen · Aki Ross; Alec Baldwin · Captain Gray Edwards; Donald Sutherland · Dr. Sid; James Woods · General Douglas Hein; Ving Rhames · Master Sergeant Ryan Whittaker; Steve Buscemi · Neil Fleming; Peri Gilpin · Corporal Jane Proudfoot
- Genres
- animated; science fiction
- Themes
- life and death; spirituality; environmentalism; artificial life
- Tone and mood
- serious; majestic
- Setting
- Earth in the year 2065, featuring post-apocalyptic ruins and barrier cities.
- Premise and plot tags
- post-apocalyptic; alien invasion; science fiction; computer-animated
- Source material / true-story basis
- Final Fantasy video game franchise
- Franchise connections
- Final Fantasy
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews, being praised for its character realism but criticized for its dull story. It was a significant box-office failure, described as a bomb that led to the closure of Square Pictures.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 44% · review count: 144; Metacritic · score: 49 · scale: 100 · review count: 28; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Jury Prize · Japan Media Arts Festival · 2002 · win
- Production trivia
- It was the first photorealistic computer-animated feature film.; The character Aki Ross was designed to be the world's first photorealistic computer-animated actress.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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