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The New Order of F/X: Hyperreality and FINAL FANTASY

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As a general rule, video games don't translate well to film. What is highly entertaining when you can participate, killing off the baddies and scoring points, can be deadly dull when all you can do is sit munching popcorn and annoying the person in front of you by putting your feet against the back of his seat. Anybody remember Wing Commander? Anybody want to?

Still, the concept that motivates many games, particularly RPs, would seem to be at least a good basis for a movie; and the constantly improving world of CGI allows moviemakers to shatter boundaries everywhere. Basically, there really isn't a limit to how far the imagination can take you.

Last year, Titan, A.E. attempted to burst one such boundary. It was, truly, the first animated film that attempted to mimic the quality of live action while making full use of the scope of computer graphics. On that score, it was a marvelous film, full of mind-blasting images and first class performances. Unfortunately, it also suffered from some serious flaws--notably the license taken with basic rules of science. Had it not been touted as a science fiction film, that might have been forgivable, but it was and it wasn't.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Withindoesn't labor under that limitation. It doesn't claim to be pure science fiction but rather sci-fantasy, a hybrid genre spawned back in the 70's to cover Star Wars So, when the villains of the piece turn out to be ghosts, it's acceptable despite the post-Apocalyptic near-future setting and the fancy spaceships. It also preserves the very best of its true precursor--anime--and so Final Fantasy succeeds where Titan, A.E.failed.

It's sad that this exquisitely done film came and went in theaters with barely a ripple. Blame it on the timing, maybe--it was released in July at the height of the beach and barbecue season when people have other things to do besides go to the movies. Or it could simply be that US audiences are so used to seeing their animation on TV that they aren't willing to spend money to see it in the movie theater unless it comes from Disney.

Whatever the reason, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within deserves to be seen.

"The story is far different than what American audiences are used to," said creator/director Hironobu Sakaguchi in an interview at The Gaming Intelligence Agency, "but we presented it quite differently and aimed at a different viewer."