If
your only familiarity with the Final
Fantasy RPG video game and anime franchise is through Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, the film that introduced
computer generated Maxim model Aki
Ross to the world, this will be something completely different. Technically, it
will be all new for diehard fans as well, but they understand that is how the
series rolls. The fifteenth game installment has not even released yet, but it
already has its tie-in anime feature. There will indeed be crystals, tragic deaths,
and a supertanker’s load of fighting in Takeshi Nozue’s Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (trailer here), which opens
tomorrow in New York.
Like
Spirits Within, Kingsglaive employs
motion capture animation—and it has come a long way since 2001. Frankly, there
are times XV could pass for live
action. Seriously. (It also ties into the web series Brotherhood: Final Fantasy, which is rendered in a more traditional
big-eyed anime style). While Spirits
Within was pretty hardcore dystopian science fiction, Kingsglaive freely blends fantasy and sf elements, but franchise fans
seem to dig that.
Regis
Lucis Caelum rules over the kingdom of Lucis with the aid of a magical crystal
(a regular FF motif). Through its
power, he invests his elite guard, the Kingsglaive, with magical abilities,
including a limited form of teleportation via special batarang-like throwing
weapons that they can essentially catch a ride on, in their de-materialized
forms.
Unfortunately,
even with all their magic, Lucis has been losing ground to the forces of the
Nifflheim Empire and its weaponized dragons. Yet, just when Lucis seems to be
down for the count, the Empire offers them a truce. The terms are not great,
but they could be worse. As part of their concessions, the King’s son Noctis
Lucis Caelum must marry Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the captive princess of the subjugated
Tenebrae people. Lucis and Tenebrae have been on bad terms ever since the
Empire conquered the latter. The Palpatine-esque Nifflheim Emperor was hoping
to trap Regis during his state visit there, but the King escaped leaving his
hosts high and dry. Not surprisingly, in the hours leading up to the
treaty-signing ceremony, dedicated Kingsglaive warrior Nyx Ulric uncovers
evidence of Nifflheim duplicity. To thwart their plans, Ulric will try to
rescue their unwitting pawn, the Princess. Or something like that. The whole
plot business gets decidedly murky.
Arguably,
Kingsglaive might be the truest cinematic
adaptation of a video game, but it also might most closely approximate the
experience of watching the game being playing. At times the action is an absolutely
head-spinning spectacle, in the best and worst sense. The initial battle
sequences look strikingly realistic, wildly exceeding viewer expectations. Yet
ironically, as the explosions get bigger, the visceral impact diminishes.
