Okay, so it’s obviously not as bad as my title makes it out to be, but I thought it seemed kind of fitting.

Advent Children is definitely made for those who played through and enjoyed Final Fantasy VII; it’s pure fan service for anyone who wanted to know what happened with Cloud, Tifa, and the other characters after the events of the game. That being said, there were some major, major problems with the film from an aesthetic standpoint.

While the entire film is animated beautifully, with graphics that absolutely scream high-definition, the plot leaves a lot to be desired. It makes little sense, and what make even less sense is why all the characters just happen to show up at the same time. In addition, none of the characters go through any sort of development, except for maybe Cloud.

Square-Enix seemed to devote the majority of their time to the action sequences, which take up a good portion of the film. Unfortunately, they take every cheesy, over-the-top action scene cliche you could possibly fit into a film like this. Hell, some of the fighting looks right out of The Matrix or Dragon Ball Z, which, needless to say, is slightly ridiculous at times. By the end of the film it was hard to take it seriously.

I have to say that I was actually disappointed in Advent Children. FFVII was quite possibly my favorite game of the series, and when I found out that they were making sequels I was scared that they’d ruin the series. While AC isn’t as bad as Dirge of Cerebus for the PS2, it’s not that good. Worth a watch if you’re a fan of the game, but otherwise don’t bother.