Ever since I heard of this movie three years ago, I was shaking in anticipation of it. How could I not be? I still consider Final Fantasy VII the best game ever, with one of the most in-depth and emotional stories written. And the characters were easily the most lovable of any of the FF games (come on, who didn't cry when Aerith died). Needless to say, upon finishing the game, I wanted more. Almost nine years later, I'm finally getting what I wanted (me and millions more). Advent Children takes place only two short years after the climax of Final Fantasy VII, and the children of Midgar are suffering from a disease associated with the Reunion. They call it Geostigma, and it causes pain to everyone who has it. Including our hero, Cloud, who continues to fight for these children despite the pain. But when a group of "spirits" appear, who claim to be three more of JENOVA's offspring, Cloud's fight becomes a little more desperate. What follows is perhaps an hours worth of action interlaced here and there with some emotional character interaction. The action in the movie is excellent. But two scenes in particular stick out in my mind, and that's the battle with Bahamut, where Cloud and all his friends are reunited, and the final battle with Kadaj. I think I like the Bahamut fight because of what happens during the battle. It's instant nostalgia for FFVII fans, and you can't help but smile as the characters pull off some rather super human feats. And as for the Kadaj fight, I'll leave that one unexplained... Another great part about this movie is the surprise appearance by characters thought lost. I won't spoil it here, but at least two characters appear, and have important roles, in this movie when they were thought dead in FFVII (and Aerith isn't one of them). All together, this movie is the best I've seen when it comes to animated features. The only one that even comes close is The Incredibles, and the action in that film is dull compared to what's found in Advent Children. It's far better than Final Fantasy: A Spirit's Within, and I'm kind of wondering why that movie was ever made when this one had been planned. But I think, after watching, I can guess: this movie is for Final Fantasy VII fans only. The story in this is never explained, very specific words are used (like SOLDIER and Reunion) that no one besides players of the game will know. It's kind of a movie geared toward the Final Fantasy VII fan club. But still, if you have even a small amount of familiarity with Final Fantasy, get this whenever if comes out. Even if you don't quite know what's going on, the visuals easily carry this technological masterpiece of an animation.
