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View Full Version : Anyone going to Kingsglaive this weekend?



Big D
08-26-2016, 07:33 AM
I've got tickets for a big-screen presentation tomorrow, and after that 12-minute teaser I'm looking forward to it.

Anyone else seeing it soon? I guess this can be a general thread for enthusiasm, expectations, and - in the fullness of time - reactions.

Mirage
08-26-2016, 07:51 AM
not really all that interested in it. maybe when it comes to netflix or something

Shauna
08-26-2016, 08:29 AM
I don't think there are any Scotland showings or else I'd be right on that.

Loony BoB
08-26-2016, 10:18 AM
What Shauna said. :(

Formalhaut
08-26-2016, 10:24 AM
Talking about the reaction, the critical reception (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kingsglaive_final_fantasy_xv_2016/) is... not good.

Loony BoB
08-26-2016, 10:44 AM
That's not surprising at all. I never trust Rotten Tomatoes and even less so when it comes to people spending their professional life critiquing movies suddenly being told to critique a movie aligned to a video game that hasn't even been released yet. I don't assume most critics are gamers.

The reviews from actual "normal" people who wanted to see the film have been very solid by comparison, 7.6/10 on IMDb, 80% on RT, 7.6 on Metacritic (3.5 for Metacritic's critic reviews). That's really good for a video game movie.

I always go by IMDb, personally.

Formalhaut
08-26-2016, 10:53 AM
That's not surprising at all. I never trust Rotten Tomatoes and even less so when it comes to people spending their professional life critiquing movies suddenly being told to critique a movie aligned to a video game that hasn't even been released yet. I don't assume most critics are gamers.

The reviews from actual "normal" people who wanted to see the film have been very solid by comparison, 7.6/10 on IMDb, 80% on RT, 7.6 on Metacritic (3.5 for Metacritic's critic reviews). That's really good for a video game movie.

I always go by IMDb, personally.

You have a point, critics are not the best at judging video game movies.

Fynn
08-26-2016, 11:07 AM
Just check out Warcraft - it has an abysmal 28% rating on rotten tomatoes, and yet most fans I've listened to about the matter say that they loved the movie.

Will the Kingsglaive story be confusing and messy to someone who has no idea about FFXV and the way this movie relates to it? Of course it will. But it wouldn't fulfill its general purpose if it was made with the casual audience in mind. This is exactly the same situation as the Warcraft movie was in.

Formalhaut
08-26-2016, 11:09 AM
As long as it isn't another Spirit's Within. :p

Fynn
08-26-2016, 11:22 AM
Spirits Within was a good movie.

Case in point. (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/168067-The-Spirits-Within)

Big D
08-26-2016, 11:56 AM
Kingsglaive is expressly meant to be a prequel/lead-in to FFXV proper, though. Hopefully that context will help folks to realise it's not going to be a complete stand-alone story all by itself. In that respect, it might help that it's only getting a limited theatrical release, instead of trying to be a mainstream flick.

I mean, the Brotherhood anime would probably seem pretty pointless and stupid if you tried to view it as a complete series unto itself. It only really works because it's adding colour and context to something bigger.

Freya
08-26-2016, 04:22 PM
It's a bit too far away for the closest theater for me. I mean I COULD make it but that'd be a four hour round trip just to get there and back.

charliepanayi
08-26-2016, 06:21 PM
People take IMDB ratings seriously? They're dreadfully unreliable, half those scores might be from people who haven't even seen the film. But it is true that anyone without an existing interest in FFXV is unlikely to be a big fan of this by the look of it.

DMKA
08-26-2016, 10:05 PM
Yeah the closest theater to me showing it is five and a half hours away. So I'll just be waiting until next week to stream it.

As for the poor critical reception the film has received, no one should be surprised or let it affect their decision to watch it. It's a companion film to a video game that hasn't been released yet. Essentially, it's one giant high budget cutscene to flesh out the game's story further. The film critics reviewing it are judging it as a stand alone independent film and have no interest in the game, so naturally they find it confusing and unfulfilling.

In contrast, sites that review games and almost never review films, have given it great reviews. That pretty much tells me all I need to know.

Karifean
08-27-2016, 02:08 AM
Just got back from seeing the alleged Europe premiere. It was pretty good! A tad predictable maybe but it showed a side of Lucis I didn't expect to see that soon. Also Ultros cameo yay.

DMKA
08-27-2016, 04:42 AM
Good to hear. From the trailers I've seen it looks like it's laden with longtime FF fan service.

Big D
08-27-2016, 08:05 AM
Just got back from it too. Mixed thoughts, definitely a film with real strengths and some irksome weaknesses.

What really shone: The visual design and animation. Fantastic attention to fine detail in art, architecture, fashion and technology. Great world-building for the major cultures and their ways of life.

Good action pieces, too - lots of practical magic, showing familiar spells at play in the 'real' world instead of a turn-based arena, and a neat blending of magic and modern technology.

Regis, the Chancellor and other major characters got plenty of exposure and were a pleasure to watch.

The actual main cast, though - those unique to the film - were a bit uninspiring. Nyx, purportedly the protagonist, is positively as dull as dishwater. They could've easily made him more unique and compelling. Crowe was neat, but got sent to the refrigerator to create angst for the guys before we really got to know her.

The film's handling of Lunafreya was disappointing, too. It seemed like she had plenty to contribute, but the other characters were hell-bent on mollycoddling her instead:

"OK, I've got an idea-"
"NO DON'T DO IT YOU'LL BE KILLED"

"Right, I'm gonna go do the thing-"
"NO STOP I MUST PROTECT YOU"

Maybe she'll be less of a doormat in the game, and they just didn't want to give away what she's capable of at this early stage.

Lots of high-quality fan-service in this film, and it was neat to see some classic entities in near-photo-realistic glory:

Ultros
Diamond Weapon
The Knights of the Round

Oh, and the Knights of the Round fighting an army of Diamond Weapons. For an FFVII fanboy or fangirl, that's some price-of-admission trout right there.

In conclusion? I think Kingsglaive bodes well for FFXV, provided the game's heroes turn out to be more complex and engaging, and the supporting cast get more real agency. Hopefully the film just let itself down in that regard to avoid detracting from the game by creating heroes we might miss later on.

There's a brief post-credits scene, so be sure to stick around.

Fynn
08-27-2016, 08:18 AM
Not surprised any X is bland and boring. I mean, he looks bland and boring and the movie being announced as focusing as him was actually one of the reasons why I wasn't too excited.

That and inconsistent character designs are a huge pet peeve of mine.

Big D
08-27-2016, 08:24 AM
That and inconsistent character designs are a huge pet peeve of mine.Which part/characters are you referring to there?

Fynn
08-27-2016, 09:07 AM
Ardyn and Luna, mostly, as from the images I've seen they look quite noticeably different from their in-game versions. Regis looks pretty much the same, though, so it's weird how inconsistent that is.

But yeah, that's a minor difference and one that won't bother many people. It just bothers me because I just like it when designs of specific characters remain consistent throughout various installments.

Big D
08-27-2016, 09:27 AM
Fair enough. I'm purposely avoiding spoilers, so I haven't seen much of the art so I couldn't draw the same comparison. When I see that sort of thing elsewhere, I just try to chalk it up to that character wearing different clothes, accessories or hairstyles from time to time. When it's a more drastic physical or facial change, though, it's harder to explain it away.

It's already going to be a bit odd having Luna and Regis voices by different actors, but their in-game voices sound fine to me so I'm not bothered.

Fynn
08-27-2016, 10:05 AM
Yeah, it's not even the clothes, the faces just look different.

Karifean
08-27-2016, 10:30 AM
The film's handling of Lunafreya was disappointing, too. It seemed like she had plenty to contribute, but the other characters were hell-bent on mollycoddling her instead:

"OK, I've got an idea-"
"NO DON'T DO IT YOU'LL BE KILLED"

"Right, I'm gonna go do the thing-"
"NO STOP I MUST PROTECT YOU"

Maybe she'll be less of a doormat in the game, and they just didn't want to give away what she's capable of at this early stage.


That was almost tragically hilarious to me. She seemed pretty competent and perfectly capable of making herself useful and not just a damsel to protect, but everyone else kept her down and told her to pretty much not get in their way so they can protect her. And then those protectors screw up and she ends up in situations where she's completely vulnerable and *can't* contribute anymore. I was just waiting for her to be like 'fuck you just let me drive the goddamn car so you can focus on the big thing pursuing us alright' at some point and put them back in their place, but alas, talking back against the people trying to save her isn't her jam it seems.

DMKA
08-27-2016, 08:19 PM
Woah, I just found out it's actually being shown at a small indie theater on the OSU campus not far from me, at the most bizarre showtimes I've ever seen (9:50pm tomorrow night and 12:10am tonight/tomorrow morning).

No way can I make those times. :p

Noctis Caelum
08-28-2016, 12:45 AM
Talking about the reaction, the critical reception (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kingsglaive_final_fantasy_xv_2016/) is... not good.
Seems good to me.

AUDIENCE SCORE

79%
liked it
(https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kingsglaive_final_fantasy_xv_2016/#audience_reviews)
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 1,647

Shauna
08-28-2016, 09:47 AM
He did specify critical reception, not audience.

Mirage
08-28-2016, 10:19 AM
The audience isn't critical, you know :p

Shauna
08-28-2016, 11:57 AM
:p

Clearly Formy was referring to the 8% movie critics have given it, not the 80% that the general audience has given it.

Noctis Caelum
08-29-2016, 01:22 AM
Looks like Europe gets it early. You can buy it now on Playstation Network or iTunes.

I still have to wait until Tuesday to watch it.


He did specify critical reception, not audience.
And I don't care what critics think about movies. If a movie is well received by people (that might enjoy that genre), it says a lot more than some critic that is being forced against their will to watch something they wouldn't normally enjoy in their free time.

Not hard to understand what I meant.

Shauna
08-29-2016, 09:15 AM
Yeah, I understood what you were getting at and I generally agree (as does Formalhaut since he commented as such earlier in the thread). But it also wasn't hard to see that Formalhaut clearly wasn't talking about the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. :shrug:

But that's cool about it coming to Europe. I might pick it up today.

Loony BoB
08-30-2016, 11:55 AM
Kind of annoyed. I pre-ordered FFXV Limited Edition thing and that pre-order includes the movie. But now the game isn't out so I don't get the movie. :stare: What do.

How much is the film? Do you get the traditional DVD/Blu-Ray extras if you order it via PSN, or just the film itself? If you get the extras, I may well cancel my pre-order of the game and re-pre-order it on PSN instead and just buy the film on it's own. It doesn't have the movie included in that one but it does have the season pass...

Shauna
08-30-2016, 12:09 PM
You can get the extras, I believe? I seem to remember there being something about behind the scenes stuff. £14 for the HD, £10 for SD.

Noctis Caelum
08-30-2016, 10:46 PM
As expected, critics opinion doesn't mirror my own.

Loved the movie, and it hyped me up even more for the game. I do wish they had a bigger role for Noctis, but it makes sense given we're gonna be seeing a lot of him in the game.

Fox
08-31-2016, 01:13 AM
Oh dear god what a tragically abysmal excuse for a movie that was.

... I really liked it!

Seriously, I don't think I've ever been so conflicted by a movie. Every critical part of my personality can't help but absolutely tear it to shreds - the writing, the acting, the direction, the editing... it was all just horrendous. The way they treated their female characters (all two of them) was worse. I'm terrified the writing is going to be just as awful in Final Fantasy XV.

And yet I had a great time and would absolutely recommend it.

:shrug:

DMKA
08-31-2016, 04:25 AM
Just finished watching it finally. It was actually quite good. The animation/cgi is absolutely phenomenal. You completely forget you're watching an animated film at various points. It treads dangerously close to the uncanny valley in others.

I can see why some people thought it was bad though. It's full of things that, obviously, are explained in the game but not in the movie so unless you've read prior info about the game there's a ton of stuff that will make absolutely no sense. The writers wrote the script under the assumption that you were already familiar with the universe, which is kind of silly seeing as the movie came out three months before the game.

Loony BoB
08-31-2016, 11:05 AM
Can anyone who has already got it let me know of any extras they received (if any), and where they ordered from?

Big D
09-01-2016, 06:47 AM
I'm terrified the writing is going to be just as awful in Final Fantasy XV.I'm worried about that too. But at the same time, what we've seen of the game's main characters (especially in 'Brotherhood') makes me think that they're much more interesting and better written than the 'Kingsglaive' cast. The interactions, backstory and dialogue seems much more fleshed-out and engagingly human. I've still got concerns about characters like Lunafreya, but at the very least it seems like Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto will be worthwhile.

That said, the doubts raised by 'Kingsglaive' mean I might abandon plans to pre-order and wait till FFXV's out, so that I can judge the reactions from people whose opinions I value. If the game's characters turn out to be as flat and wooden as their movie forerunners, that might just be enough for me not to bother with the game until it hits the bargain shelves.

Fynn
09-01-2016, 07:14 AM
I think it's also worth considering the fact that video games and movies are vastly different mediums with differing "languages", so to speak. Writing a movie and writing s video game are two very different ways of writing with differing requirements, so just the fact that someone writes good video games doesn't mean they'll write a good movie.

That said, while I know Nojima's responsible for the game script, I don't think the same is true for the movie, so realistically speaking, the writing of the movie is in no way indicative of the writing in the game. The lore and world building is shared, as are some character profiles, but I imagine that's it.

Big D
09-01-2016, 10:57 AM
The lore and world-building were some of my favourite parts of 'Kingsglaive', so that's a good thing in my books.

Shauna
09-01-2016, 11:14 AM
~I have not watched Kingsglaive~

From some of the descriptions about how Lunafreya is handled, I'm kinda hoping that since she's been coddled in this movie it'll make her breaking out and being her own woman after all the crap that goes down more exciting, I guess? We'll know that she's been coddled and told she can't do anything, but then she just goes "Nah m8, I'm gonna do what I want" and then stabs a guy in the face.

I mean, maybe it won't end up that way, but.

Fynn
09-01-2016, 11:33 AM
~I have not watched Kingsglaive~

From some of the descriptions about how Lunafreya is handled, I'm kinda hoping that since she's been coddled in this movie it'll make her breaking out and being her own woman after all the crap that goes down more exciting, I guess? We'll know that she's been coddled and told she can't do anything, but then she just goes "Nah m8, I'm gonna do what I want" and then stabs a guy in the face.

I mean, maybe it won't end up that way, but.


This is kinda what I'm expecting as well.

Fox
09-01-2016, 11:35 AM
~I have not watched Kingsglaive~

From some of the descriptions about how Lunafreya is handled, I'm kinda hoping that since she's been coddled in this movie it'll make her breaking out and being her own woman after all the crap that goes down more exciting, I guess? We'll know that she's been coddled and told she can't do anything, but then she just goes "Nah m8, I'm gonna do what I want" and then stabs a guy in the face.

I mean, maybe it won't end up that way, but.

I can only hope that's the case. Because I'll say in no uncertain terms that Kingsglaive probably has some of the worst depictions of female characters of recent times. They exist only to further the development of the male characters and serve as clichéd plot devices. We go through the full gamut of princess tropes. Princess locked away in a castle tower? Check. Princess kidnapped and in need of rescue? Check. Protect the helpless princess from the evil forces? Check!

Shauna
09-01-2016, 01:04 PM
I am not holding my breath about anything, tbh. xD


Can anyone who has already got it let me know of any extras they received (if any), and where they ordered from?

Are you talking about just the movie? Because if you get it from the PSN Store, you get 4 behind the scenes bonus features.

DMKA
09-01-2016, 10:07 PM
That said, while I know Nojima's responsible for the game script, I don't think the same is true for the movie, so realistically speaking, the writing of the movie is in no way indicative of the writing in the game. The lore and world building is shared, as are some character profiles, but I imagine that's it.

That's absolutely correct, and anyone worried that the writing in Kingsglaive might reflect that of the game should keep that in mind. Kazushige Nojima, who is an FF veteran and wrote VII, VIII, and X, wrote FFXV. He had nothing to do with Kingsglaive.

Actually it's interesting to note that Kingsglaive was not written by someone who has a history with Final Fantasy or Square Enix at all, but rather by Takashi Hasegawa, the guy who wrote Tales of Eternia/Symphonia/Vesperia/The Abyss. Interesting choice Square Enix.