Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

I wanted to see Final Fantasy XV solely because of the graphics, without any prior knowledge of the game, the plot or its characters. I love 3D graphic animation, and I found the previous FF movies to be the best examples of it. The closest to reality. So seeing this installment was a must.

Graphics has certainly evolved since Advent Children. Kingsglaive is much more colorful and there is much more going on at the same time. The resolution of shading is better and it is seen on the faces of the characters. On the down side of it, it is still not as lively as I would have wanted it to be. It's as if the game graphic engine was used to generate the animation using complex algorithms. It is seen in the movement of the body parts, which are still a bit robotic and less human.

The plot is convoluted, but it is something I had expected, seeing the previous Final Fantasy movies. But the ending is quite blurred, and a big 'What's now?' question hangs in the air.

The action is all over. The battle at the beginning is amazing. It's ingenious, tense and full of occurrences. The battle at the end, on the other hand, is overlong and more superficial. Moreover, I didn't always understood what's going on.

There's no denying the graphical barrage "Kingsglaive" constantly throws for nearly two hours is brazenly stunning. The vistas are absolutely marvelous, its characters look eerily lively and the fights are utterly unworldly. With all of these mighty productions, it's still vexed by occasional choppy pace and sporadic hop in screenplay.

The story is delivered in a sci-fi fantasy realm. It's a very politically focused tale and it does try to deliver many subplots and characters, no doubt a foundation for the game's world and its splendor. The problem lies as it often skips from one scene abruptly without giving the audience much sense for the flow of time or the clarity of vital motivation. It's all dramatic in presentation, yet it can feel a bit muddled, more so since it's quite the lengthy showing.

Characters are relatively well done, especially the ones with famous names. Usually the dubbing in English for such production looks jarring, but here Lena Headley's or Aaron Paul's voice is implemented properly. The lip sync is fine and there's a boon on having fantasy oriented voice for the cast. A minor flaw would be the dialogues or sound effect don't convey the sense of urgency at times, but it's mostly understandable.

The visual ramps up as the battles progress. These are very hectic occurrences, the fast cut can leave audience wandering on what transpires on the screen since there are many effects and motions cramped into brief composition of scenes. However, when it retains the focus or follows the action, it is arguably one of the most eye-popping spectacles from animated movie.

The sheer graphical prowess produces an entirely captivating world, even though it stumbles on overly complex narrative or overly fast editing.

I have seen several movies regarding or based on video game, yet none not even close of Kingslaive. I also saw the other two Final Fantasy movies and neither of them is even half good as this one. This isn't a masterpiece overall, has its own flawes, but nonetheless it's a great and solid movie, worth watching and rewatching. The CGI is spectaculos, so realistic and well-made, carrying you truly into a story, a fantasy. We see new power additions to the word, the eye-catching warp magic forged by the blink dagger of the glaive which is a pretty cool thing to watch. But above all are the character, many of them very interesting -I really wanted to know even more about each of them- and the story itself. Some said the plot is not coherent enough. I think those people did not paid enough atention, especially at the prologue. Kingsglaive is not just a story about battles and special effects, it's a story about duty, about courage, about sacrificies and responsabilities. You care for those characters and their fates. It tells a good and engaging story, something that movies nowadays completly lacking. It has soul and sentiment. It has a message. Don't mind the critics and the low-rated reviews. Give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Excellent world-building, merging the past, present, and future into a unique universe. Character voices are well done, battle and action scenes are gripping, sounds are room-filling. I'm reminded of many other great movies coming together such as Warcraft, Godzilla 2000, Starship Troopers. There's some heart in this one, tough decisions, and consequences laid bare.

A kind of awkwardness to the character's facial expressions and movements prevail, I think this will not likely age well (or perhaps hasn't already). Some parts the music was louder than the dialogue. There were a good number points of confusion as to what was happening and why. Otherwise the plot is all too familiar. As with Spirits Within and many Final Fantasy games, the beginning starts of with a bang, has a curious middle, and disappointing end. Why can't Final Fantasy seem to finish a story?

Of the three Final Fantasy movies, this is probably the best one, being entertaining to watch and keeping the spirit of the games. The narrative wasn't as muddled as in "Advent Children", and by virtue of being a prequel, is not necessary having to play first any of the games to fully understand the plot.

The visual aspect was rather impressive, featuring a quasi-realistic CGI which almost looks indistinguishable from live-actors in a couple of scenes.

I think some of the games from the series could have been adapted in this kind of movie format.