Final Fantasy – The Spirits Within (2001)

Final Fantasy – The Spirits Within is the first ever photorealistic computer animated feature film (effects, props, and environments but also the human cast members themselves)…while writing this I had to differentiate what’s an animated film from a 3D film and I forgot that in between there’s the other 3D regular film. (Am I making sense?)

Anyway the film didn’t make it big but hubby and I watched it a handful of times already.

The story revolves around Dr. Aki Ross, a female scientist in the year 2065, a time when Earth cannot be inhabited because of extraterrestrial phantoms borne of a crashed meteor. Humans were forced to live in cities protected by barriers that keep the marauding space monsters away.

Ross has been fatally infected by one of the ghostly beasts and seeks information about their purpose and physiology. She’s assisted by Dr. Sid (voice of Donald Sutherland) and the Deep Eyes military squad of courageous Captain Gray Edwards (voice of Alec Baldwin) who also happens to be Ross’ former boyfriend. Aki later realizes that the key to unlocking the mystery of the invaders lies within her own dreams. Dr. Edwards had a theory that by gathering eight spirit signatures that when combined can negate the Phantoms. They have already found 7 and the effects have been tested with Aki as the virus in her has been contained.

Just when nearing the final step in the research, a vengeful General Hein (voice of James Woods) got in the way, he wants to prove that the Zeus, a powerful cannon is the only answer to the problem. He lets a few monsters in but it got out of control that the city was infiltrated by Phantoms. Aki, Sid and the Deep Eyes attempted to reach Aki’s spaceship, their means of escape but 3 members are killed by Phantoms. Sid finds the eighth spirit at the crater site of the alien asteroid’s impact on Earth. Hein escapes and boards the Zeus space-station where he finally receives authorization to fire the cannon which destroyed the crater.

Aki has a vision of the Phantom home planet, where she is able to receive the eighth spirit from the alien particles in herself. When Aki wakes, she and Gray combine it with the other seven. Gray sacrifices himself in the process,  The Gaia is returned to normal as the Phantoms ascend into space, finally at peace. Aki is pulled from the crater holding Gray’s body and looking into the newly liberated world. (partly wiki)

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