Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZoBsGNKOYcel-tuTmozhjg
Which is why I put this movie off for so long. I watched it three times in order to get a full understanding of it and even watched special features on the Blu-Ray. I haven't done that for any other movie I have reviewed. Why did I do that? Because I wanted to back myself when I say, ignore Rotten Tomatoes. That 13% rating from the critics is not an accurate representation of this movie. Square Enix has released 3 feature length films; Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (which sucked), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (which is a divisive movie depending on who you ask), and this movie, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. It is personally, the best movie they have ever done. Let me explain the background of the film before going into Pros and Cons.
Background: This movie goes into detail behind the war between the two nations of Final Fantasy XV's world, Niflheim and Lucis. The Kingsglaive is a special military unit for Lucis that uses magic with the world's rules that also exist in the game and we see events take place from the prospective of members of the Kingsglaive.
Pros- Unlike The Spirits Within (That tried too hard to be it's own story) and Advent Children (technically a sequel to the video game, Final Fantasy VII), Kingsglaive is a companion movie to the Final Fantasy XV game. It shows us what we don't see in the movie during the first chapter of the game and it gives a further understanding of the impact and the toll it has on the main character in the game.
Instead of focusing on the main character, we look at a movie exclusive character named, Nyx Ulric, and he is a fantastic character. He is complex, there is emotion with him, and on top of it all, he has an incredible design. He looks like a hero. He is only in this movie, but I would have loved to see more of him.The characters you also see in the game are also really well written and stand out in their own way and all the character designs are unique.
The voice acting in this movie is top notch. Three big names gave there voices to the film; Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad lends his voice for Nyx, Lena Headley from Game of Thrones voices Lady Lunafreya, and Sean Bean voices King Regis (If you don't know who this is, go watch more movies). They all give fantastic performances and you feel the emotions they feel. That can be hard in an animated movie... Yes, this film is animated, not live action.
The animation is beautiful. This is one of the best visual films I have ever seen. This film can work by itself for that alone. It is pure eye candy and easy to watch. It even does a great job on areas I have seen other animated films struggle with. The characters look and feel realistic, the environments are distinct, and the action is fluid and natural. The animation style lends to the action and it is a fantastic experience to sit through. This makes the action in some live action movies look like a group of LARP (Live Action Role Playing) players. I love it, and the final fight is everything you would want in an action climax.
Cons- As good as Nyx is, the other movie exclusive characters are not as interesting. It is kind of hard to feel for them when you don't even see all their faces. All the cloaked Kingsglaive member might as well also wear a red shirt (Star Trek joke quota has been met) because it is hard to really get emotionally involved when things hit the fan for the minor characters. Of all the characters I wish I cared more about, it would have to be the Captain of the Glaive. His drive is not well fleshed out, he doesn't have a strong presence until the third act of the film, the only good part about him is his design.
I can understand someone who isn't interested in Final Fantasy XV not liking this movie. Since it is a companion film and not a prequel or sequel, it can be hard for someone who does not play any of the Final Fantasy games to get into the movie and get emotionally attached to any of the characters that are also in the game. Since it is part of a bigger story, casual audiences have a high chance of getting confused by the movie, because of the structure of it.
Final Thoughts: The reason I delayed talking about this movie, is because I am a part of the target audience. If you are curious about Final Fantasy and want to play the newest game in the franchise, I would recommend watching the movie first. If you want a movie for fun visuals, I could also recommend it. If you are a person that doesn't like video games and is not interested in Final Fantasy (you are missing out, by the way) then I can't recommend it. It is my favorite film from Square Enix, and since the movie comes from a video game company, It may be better suited for gamers to see it. If you are a Final Fantasy fan, check it out. If not, I'll leave it for you to decide if you want to see it or not.
