Hi-tech wankoff

>> Fantastic computer stuff lifts up the otherwise heartless Final Fantasy

by MATTHEW HAYS

 It certainly looks impressive. The entire cast of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within are computer generated in 3-D animation. And in this film, more than any before it, the generated people look almost identical to the real thing.

 Final Fantasy is set in a dystopic future. In 2065, the Earth has been invaded by aliens unleashed from a meteor which crash-landed on the planet years before. Humans have attempted to protect themselves by building gated communities, but the aliens are making headway, fast. The star of the film, Aki, is a beautiful, virtual woman, looking a wee bit like Sandra Bullock. (Maxim recently named Aki one of the sexiest women alive). She's trying desperately to figure out how to destroy the aliens and save the human race. If this movie sounds like it's based on a computer game, that's because it is.

 These technical achievements are intriguing. Though they lack much nuance, especially in terms of expressing certain emotions, the virtual types do look almost real, especially Aki's scientist mentor, Dr. Sid. He comes closest to making us forget we're watching the virtual. The only problem here is, director Hironobu Sakaguchi cast Donald Sutherland for this bit of voiceover. Hearing Sutherland's instantly recognizable voice ruins everything, seeing as Dr. Sid looks nothing like him. It reminds us, continually, that what we're seeing is fake.

 But aside from Sutherland's jarring voiceover, audience members with bad eyesight, if they were to leave their glasses at home, might actually be fooled. Those same viewers, however, might not be too thrilled with the plot, which feels like a slightly less focussed, warmed over version of James Cameron's landmark action sequel Aliens (with a bit of Verhoeven's Starship Troopers thrown in). Just like that movie, there is a military platoon (complete with a tough, androgynous woman who gets mistaken for a man), desperate escapes from the clutches of the aliens (some survive, others don't) and bitter fights over what the correct course of action should be.

 Alec Baldwin voices the military captain, who becomes Aki's love interest. This bit of romance feels particularly tacked on, with their desperate, painful love story inspiring little or no interest. Who cares about these two? This is really a film about watching alien butt getting kicked, but it's not even interactive, which undoubtedly would prove half the fun--so why not just go to an arcade instead?

 This is one of those films that, despite its high-tech hype, simply doesn't make the leap from arcade to cinema entirely successfully. Yes, the filmmakers have pushed the limits of technology once more, taking us one step closer to a world without need of screen actors. But sort of like the tin man and the scarecrow, Final Fantasy has no heart nor a brain. :

 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is now playing