Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV [DVD]

Movie was satisfying enough but the game is disappointing and it dampers the enjoyment of the film.

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is part of the multimedia expansion to a role-playing video game. It was also intended to work as a movie, which can be counted as an impossible task, and that's not taking into consideration the fact that it by association forms part of that cursed movie genre - the video game adaptation. The movie is set before and during the opening of Final Fantasy XV, focusing on the invasion of Lucis by the Niflheim Empire which kickstarts the game's story.From a story perspective, it is very much a prequel to larger things. It focuses on the titular Kingsglaive, an elite group of soldiers from lands beyond the boundaries of Lucis' capital of Insomnia. King Regis, whose health is failing, accepts a controversial peace treaty with the Empire, and this triggers much of the movie's drama. The game's protagonists, with the exception of Lunafreya, and antagonists, including Ardyn Izunia, do not play as big a role as the original characters. This ultimately is one of the movie's weaknesses, as the new characters don't get as much opportunity to shine as they might in a game due to a mere two-hour runtime. There are general hints at greater things, but none of them are resolved by the movie's events. There is also no time for humor, which brings it into stark contrast with even the darkest entry in the main series or the two previous Final Fantasy films, and can cause the characters to come off as depressed or one-note in their portrayals. Some characters are also expected to receive growth in the game rather than the movie, and so receive chronically low screen time.Aesthetically, the movie looks absolutely amazing, rivaling and sometimes surpassing Avatar in its beauty and sophistication. Events flow best during action scenes, which are beautifully choreographed, but even outside action the animation and motion capture is stunning. In the more realistic areas of Lucis, you'll find yourself pausing mentally and trying to remember that this isn't live action. The flow of cloth, the movement of the characters, even (surprisingly) the textures of buildings and the effects of elemental magic are rendered in a realistic way. The effect is slightly spoiled by awkward editing in places, seemingly for dramatic effect but coming off as if an important small scene was cut due to time constraints.Production wise, the voice cast does what it can with a script that veers between complete absorption and wince-inducing awkwardness. While the game-related elements and exchanges between key characters such as Ardyn and Regis are a delight to listen to, the Kingsglaive, particularly the interactions between Nyx and other members such as Libertus, Drautos and Crowe, come off as slightly forced. The supporting cast is also mixed, with some coming off as overly dramatic while others nail their performances. The cinematography is generally alright, with camera angles that amaze without appearing over-the-top, and a low quantity of the "dramatic" shaky camera work that was popularized by the Bourne series and has since infected movie cinematography in general. The music is a mixture of atypical Hollywood music and work by Yoko Shimomura. While the main composer's work is often overly bombastic, it suits the scenes well enough and is suitably balanced by Shimomura's work. The DVD release has some interesting special features, and is a good version of the film to watch, but there's no Japanese language option and limited subtitle options, meaning that the lightly superior Japanese dub is sadly missed.Ultimately, Kingsglaive is faulted by its own purpose. It's a wonderful tease for the game's events, and even calls back to the original form the game took as Final Fantasy Versus XIII in some of its set pieces and key story moments, but as a film it doesn't quite manage to break the curse besetting its genre. The character portrayals are mixed, the limited runtime means it comes off as dour to the point of lacking emotion, and it offers no resolution to the grander themes that will be explored in the game. I enjoyed it because I'm a fan of the series, and it provided a reason for me to find out what happens next, but casual viewers may well be put off, even though those same casual viewers will not find themselves too much bamboozled by terminology and weirdness that has plagued other Final Fantasy games and movies. It's a huge pity that it turned out the way it did, because beneath these contradictory elements is a potential gem, and a means by which the video game adaptation curse could be broken once and for all - it tries to be accessible to all while still being a part of a game series and telling a story rooted in that mystical world. And in that, it succeeds, but it doesn't follow up on its full potential.

It is what it is a video game.

Without any context this addition the the Final Fantasy film franchise could be just as bad as the previous one (The one that shall not be named) But having played FF XV and watched the 5 episode anime which represent the prologue to the game, Kingsglaive could be considered the best Final Fantasy film to date. The CG animation (which was synced with the actors movements and speech) can be a bit jarring to watch at times and sometimes makes you question the overall quality of the movie but if you've ever played a Final Fantasy game you know they program the speech to cater both to English and Japanese so that when they add the audio it generally matches up.... "sometimes". But because I'm aware of the game this doesn't affect me that much and overall the animation and actions along with atmospheric elements make this a gritty film to watch. The characters are somewhat shallow although having a couple of well known names as actors they seem well known. The biggest surprise being Sean Bean. The action is superb, on par with the game. The film gradually builds to an all or nothing moment and the final battle is very impressive. My only gripe is that during these fights they are being very poetic and philosophical and while it's great to begin with it drags on and if I was in a fight I wouldn't be asking myself "Why? How? and who?" I'd be more than likely concentrating on not being killed but since this is fantasy it does add to the plot of the movie and on towards the game.So to conclude: If you've played the game 4 stars! If you don't know anything about Final Fantasy, never heard of a chocobo and think a moogle is some sort of new search engine, 2 stars.

It was an enjoyable watch , half decent story and the voice actors did well. CGI was really well done and the film was very well paced , enjoyed it a lot.

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV has become one of my all time favourite films, it adds so much more to the FFXV story that would of otherwise been missed, the CGI is incredible, the nostalgia is strong & voice acting was decent, except for Libertus... >_<I just wish a few of the characters such as Nyx Ulric, Titus Drautos / General Glauca, Crowe Altius & the Kingsglaive in general got more mention in the game to tie the two together even more... instead all we get is Nyx suspended from the ceiling before the final battle... Sad times... :(In a world where most content can now be streamed or rented, I bought this one to watch again & again as & when I see fit. Definitely worth a watch, although if you have not yet played FFXV but plan to, stick with it, some parts may seem rather confusing, but all will make sense later on in the game resulting in some "OOOHHHH!!!! now it makes sense" kind of moments. :)

As a fan of the franchise since FFVII, I had to see this new movie prequel to the game FFXV. I was lucky to catch it on a 99p rental special, and yep, it was brill! The movie was full of character development (as much as it could be) and action! The script was well thought out and voice acted by some great names, which didn't disappoint.it kept to the famous recipe of these games and I'm so glad I saw it, especially as I'm now half way through the game! It let's you feel like you almost know what's going on... It was visually stunning and I couldn't ask for more from a FF movie, it's the better of them all. I can't fault it as a fan!However, I give it four stars only as it's quite niche, and I don't think it would appeal 100% to someone that isn't into/familiar with FF...but, it is good enough to draw someone in who isn't! Big contradiction there, but, you know what I mean!Great CGI movie with potential of new fans to the franchise, only wish it didn't seem so short!!

used real actors voices but does not work as a animated film , maybe ok for kids