How come...

[Spiffing Cheese]

I didn't realise it was that short

[MecaKane]

(a theatre in my area showed Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door), and I'll be seeing FFVII:AC on the big screen at Cal State Fullerton.

I think Knockin on Heaven's Door was in limited release like other anime movies, it was rated by the MPAA and stuff, they even rated the trailer and rated it R, too.

[Destai]

Isn't it going to be just 70 minutes long, anyway?

Thats what the most recent interview said but an interview with a much more known creator said it would be 90 mins in an older interview.

[Razo]

Originally it was too short to be released in cinemas but Square are discussing it with the companies helping make the movie. Plus the staff still get nightmares from the spirits within.

That has to be the worst film I have EVER seen. And I have seen a LOT of bad films.

Yeah, i hated it.. I mean, i tried to like it the second time, but noooo...

[Lenna]

Originally it was too short to be released in cinemas but Square are discussing it with the companies helping make the movie. Plus the staff still get nightmares from the spirits within.

That has to be the worst film I have EVER seen. And I have seen a LOT of bad films.

Yeah, i hated it.. I mean, i tried to like it the second time, but noooo...

When I saw TSW, I disliked it immediately, (my little sister liked it but shes got no taste lol!), it hard hardly anything to do with Final Fantasy at all.. I mean, Gaia was the only connection I think. It was too boring, and too much of an Action movie to be classed as an FF :/, I hope it gets deleted from the UK in years to come. then we'll be freed from the rubbishness of it.

[Squall of SeeD]

When I saw TSW, I disliked it immediately, (my little sister liked it but shes got no taste lol!), it hard hardly anything to do with Final Fantasy at all.. I mean, Gaia was the only connection I think.

In which case it had as much to do with Final Fantasy as most any other Final Fantasy.

Warning: Final Fantasy VI-X-2, Tactics, and The Spirits Within spoilers ahead.

(SPOILER)The film very much fit in with the rest of the Final Fantasy series in terms of theme. The Gaia concept of The Spirits Within is exactly the same as the Lifestream concept of Final Fantasy VII and the Cycle of Souls of Final Fantasy IX. Earth's Gaia (The Spirits Within) is that Planet's Lifestream, the same as Gaia's Lifestream (Final Fantasy VII) is that Planet's Gaia, and the other Gaia's "light"l (Final Fantasy IX) is its Lifestream/Gaia.

Further still, seeing as how Final Fantasy X's Magic concept is exactly the same as Final Fantasy VII's (Pyreflies/Spirit Energy crystalize into Spheres/Materia) and the Farplane at the center of Spira is full of Pyreflies (Spirit Energy) in a very similar fashion to the Lifestream at the center of Gaia, which is composed of Spirit Energy.

What we're told in The Spirits Within is that a spirit returns to the Gaia, taking with it the memories and experiences of its body's lifetime. Bugenhagen says the same thing in Final Fantasy VII about one's Spirit Energy returning to the Lifestream. We're further made aware that the memories within the Materia (crystalized Spirit Energy) is what interacts between the Materia's holder and the Planet, calling forth Magicks.

In Final Fantasy X and X-2, we have Spheres, which are also composed of Spirit Energy (Pyreflies) and which contain memories (most strongly emphasised by the Dresspheres and Lenne's Spirit Energy having become the Songstress Dressphere). Further still, the Fayth of Final Fantasy X created a new Zanarkand in a dream dimension from their memories of the place, and Yu Yevon was able to tap into the power of these memories and fashion them into Sin. Also, Yuna experienced Lenne's memories while wearing the Songstress Dressphere.

In Final Fantasy VIII, we have People lose their memories when they're Junctioned to a GF, essentially acting as a "Fayth" of sorts for that GF .

In Final Fantasy: Tactics, when someone dies in battle, if their timer reaches "0" and their spirit becomes a crystal, by moving another character to the spot where the crystal sits, they can learn an ability that the Person who died knew.

In Final Fantasy VI, when Espers die, their spirits crystalize into Magicite. By equipping this Magicite, People can learn Spells that the Espers knew (such as Fire Spells from Ifrit).

In Final Fantasy IX, the Mist that covered Gaia was the excess energy of those spirits that were unable to return to the Crystal due to the Iifa Tree's intereference. The Black Mages were manufactured from this Mist. The Black Mages had inherent Magical abilities.

In Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Aki had recurring experiences of the death of the Phantom homeworld (in a similar fashion to how Yuna had recurring experiences of Lenne's death in Final Fantasy X-2) after a piece of a Phantom became isolated inside her body. She was experiencing that Phantom's memories. Further, the Phantoms were all ghosts, carried to the Earth on a chunk of their planet that contained their Planet's Gaia. Also, the Energy Packs used to power everything were some derivative of organic material we're told, but they obviously contain some spiritual properties in that one of the Eight Spirits was an Energy Pack.

It's likely that every Planet in the Final Fantasy universe has a Lifestream, and in the cases of several games, Spirit Energy and memories are shown to be the source of Magicks. In this respect, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within very much fits with the rest of the series. And for those who are just looking for mascots, a Chocobo emblem appears twice during the film, once Aki's shirt when she wakes up early in the film before the conference with the Council, Hein, and Dr. Sid, and a second time when an airship's pilot and co-pilot are taken out by a Phantom and the airship is crashing, one of the fleeing pedestrians carrying a briefcase with the emblem on it. Further, there is a Sid/Cid.

There's always a tie between the Final Fantasies, I assure you. If you're not seeing it, you're simply not looking in the right places.

[Big D]

[q=Squall of SeeD]Also, the Energy Packs used to power everything were some derivative of organic material we're told, but they obviously contain some spiritual properties in that one of the Eight Spirits was an Energy Pack.[/q]Yep; in the film, we're told that they farm micro-organisms in order to extract their bio-etheric energy ('spirit' energy) and use it as a source of power.

(SPOILER)When the phantoms invade New York City, they travel through the energy conduits, riding the energy pathways like a surfer on a wave.

It's a great concept, and the film dealt with it well, although in too little detail. I prefer FFVII's handling of the matter.