This is an ambitious full length feature film based on a popular Playstaion game. Fans of the game will be treated to an extravagant audio visual feast with plenty of action, thrilling explosions and weird creatures. The music and sound effects are excellent. The only negative aspect of this film is in the story.
A lot of hard work has gone into producing a sense of realism that we take for granted in regular films. What’s unique about this film is that it has been generated entirely in CGI (Computer Graphic Imagery). It tries to present us with very real yet synthesized human characters. One of the most daunting task is in attaining visual realism in matching human behavior and facial expressions, as opposed to animating dinosaurs or cartoon characters.
The details and texture on terrain, structures, machines and craft are by far the best I have seen. The designers have given great attention in portraying atmospheric effects and optical distortions. There is a scene where heat dissipates from the craft right before it touches down in the Tucson Wasteland (00:35:19): This was perhaps the high point of visual realism in this film. Only a highly dedicated and serious production team can depict details to this extent. As I mentioned earlier things our eyes and mind take for granted in real life have been synthesized here.
The bumpy flight in the craft was conveyed effectively by jerking the crew just like it happens in a bumpy train ride. Special attention has been given to the natural aspects of vision that we take for granted in cinema. Lighting effects, loss of focus, depth of field, lens-flares, motion blur and camera shakes add a sense of realism that surpass most animated films. The details and dynamics of hair on Dr. Aki Ross have been rendered beautifully well. The blemishes on her skin are also very real, especially during extreme close up shots of her eyes.
To a very large extent Hironobu Sakaguchi and his highly skilled team has succeeded in portraying humans using CG, but since we have seen humans before, lets look closely: Facial expressions were limited to the eyebrows, lips and forehead. There was little attention given to the cheek muscles in almost all characters. Smiles, frowns and laughter are limited to just the eyes mouth and forehead. The muscles around the eye sockets and the cheek bone area do not move at all. This is one major drawback that distracts you from completing the illusion of realism.
I am assuming that most of the action, if not all, was captured with real actors wearing motion capture gear, which explains the fluidity of movement in the characters. The dialogues match very well with their body language, especially by veteran actor Donald Sutherland. I couldn’t help noticing some uncanny resemblance between the character and the voice actor.
The rather thin and unimpressive script is what actually brings this film down. One would be forced to ask this question: Would this be a good film if all the characters were played by humans? I doubt that very much. This film draws attention only because it’s an attempt at mimicking humans and their surroundings. I could not digest the whole idea of spirits and some kind of spiritual reunion theory. I also doubt weather it may sit in well with the religiously challenged sections of the audience. The lack of a strong script is perhaps the only shortcoming in this otherwise well executed film.
All those aspiring 3D designers and animators must see this film at least twice and study it for its perfect execution of dynamics and atmospheric effects. The bad story shouldn’t stop you from learning a thing or two from a team of outstanding animators and designers. My ratings:
Character Animation 4/10,
Lip Sync and Facial expressions 3/10,
Overall Design and Animation 8/10,
Sound Effects 7/10,
Story and Script 3/10
Overall 2.5/5