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Review: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within By Jack, (DT) July 12, 2001 3:41 PM PT

I'm sure our great-grandparents viewed The "Jazz Singer" with mixed feelings. They saw how corny and stilted the movie was. But they also heard actors talk for the first time. That's how I felt watching the new animated space adventure, "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." Other movies have been made entirely on computers, but Final Fantasy is the first to attempt realistic human characters. It should be seen, not for the movie itself, but for the way it has been made. The characters of Final Fantasy are incredible, having been created entirely in CG, they look very human, with hair follicles, pores, freckles and glistening eyes whose pupils open and close with the light. The reality concept isn't perfect: Movement is sometimes animatronic, and the eyes lack the spark of life, although it's hard to say why. Backgrounds enviroments are beautiful, mountains that look so real you would never know that they are CG generated. So is the eagle and other animals seen thoughout the movie. If only the story, a routine space opera, were as original as the graphics. Here, an embattled planet Earth fights creatures that are sometimes invisible and sometimes take the shape of giant fiery calamari, until ever-trusty blasters splatter them before they can invade and take over human bodies. Conclusion: If you see the movie trust me, you won't care about the story -- or remember it. You'll spend your time closely watching the characters of Final Fantasy, just to see whether they breath. I bestow upon Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within a 6/10 rating.