Saturday, June 21, 2008

Final Fantasy X

Author(s): Jeffrey
Location: Long Island

"Final Fantasy X"

Directed by Peter Jackson
Written by Kazushige Nojima

Main Cast

Haley Joel Osment as Tidus
Ziyi Zhang as Yuna
Clint Eastwood as Auron
Thora Birch as Lulu
Michael Peña as Wakka
Emma Roberts as Rikku
Djimon Hounsou as Kimahri
Johnny Depp as Seymour
Angelina Jolie as Yunalesca
and Billy Bob Thornton as Jecht

Tagline: "The world is on the brink of destruction. Only a select few may be able to save it"

Synopsis: Tidus' home, Zanarkand, has been destroyed by a gigantic beast known as Sin. Sin is Spira's own natural disaster: the god-like figure, Yevon, demands that until all sins have been atoned for, Sin will continue to live and kill at others' disposal. Still seemingly alive, he awakens in a completely new world from his own, called Spira. Numerous fiends populate Spira, although with the help of an Al Bhed stranger named Rikku, he begins taking in some of the radically different culture of the new world he has found himself in. Sin, whose existance is still present even in Spira, attacks the two new friends and they are separated. Tidus is washed up on the shores of Besaid, where a Blitzball (underwater soccer) coach named Wakka befriends him and introduces him to the island's inhabitants, one of which is Yuna, a beautiful, young summoner on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin by collecting enough summons, which are referred to as Aeons. Accompanying her on her journey are several guardians, one of which is Wakka. The other two are Lulu, a somewhat uncordial, opinionated woman with the power of elemental black magic, and Kimahri, a Ronso (lion-like humanoid) who hardly speaks.

Yuna, taking a liking to Tidus, invites him to join her on her pilgrimage, and they then visit several temples so that Yuna can attain the necessary Aeons. When the party meets with Auron, a mysterious and silent man with an unexplained deformity in his appearance, Tidus learns that Auron and Tidus' father Jecht served as Yuna's father's guardians when he defeated Sin. Tidus has a strong hate for his father, as brief flashbacks show the cruelty that he endured from Jecht. Shortly after, the party meets Seymour for the first time, a suave-talking Guado with a lust for Yuna. By chance, after a group of Al Bheds (a race that defies Yevon's teachings and uses forbidden machinery known as machina in battle) fatally fail to bring an end to Sin's rage, the party also finds Rikku, who is revealed to be Yuna's cousin, as she accompanies them on the pilgrimage as well- but with a secret: she's desperately trying to end Yuna's journey, and works with the Al Bhed to make the pilgrimage as difficult as possible.

It is then that things take a turn for the worse, as Seymour proposes a marriage to Yuna, thus ending her journey and bringing joy to Spira. Yuna accepts, but Tidus finds out that Yuna is simply planning to bring a stop to Seymour's villainous plans as urged by Seymour's late father. The party kills Seymour, and are immediately shunned by the religious society. Further along Yuna's pilgrimage, many things thicken the plot of Yuna's journey: Tidus and Yuna fall in love, in spite of Lulu's warnings to Tidus, Tidus discovers that Sin is his father, Jecht, and also that once Yuna completes her pilgrimage, she will die. Rikku is especially adamant about Yuna's pilgrimage coming to an end, but Yuna is determined to bringing a neverending spiral of death to a short break so that all of Spira can be happy once more.

What the Press would say:

Who would have thought that a videogame as complex and compelling as Final Fantasy X may have translated so perfectly onto the big screen? With Jackson in the directors' chair, the original writer (Kazushige Nojima) working on the script, and a flawless cast, it may not be such a hard concept to accept. It is worth noting the heavy emphasis on character development, and how each actor perfectly weaves their characters' emotion into a believable portrayal. The seven main characters all deserve individual props, and without further ado, here they are in (quite a large) nutshell:

Tidus (Osment) eventually finds out from the Fayth that rather than an actual person in Spira, he is a result of the Fayth's dreaming, and once they awaken, he will be gone forever. Osment's reaction is matched only by an earlier revelation that the girl he has fallen in love with, Yuna, will die in the process of defeating a neverending force. Ziyi Zhang as Yuna is shocked once she reaches her final summoning temple to find that she must sacrifice one of her guardians in addition to her own death. Yuna and the party try to rebel against 1,000 year old summoner Yunalesca's sacrificial orders, and you can literatly feel goosebumps at Zhang's realistic defiance of a powerful, but apathetic spirit who she has looked up to her entire life. After they defeat her, Yuna is forced to find a new way to defeat Sin.

Eastwood's Auron, the strong, quiet character, rebelled against Yunalesca once before when he served as Yuna's father's guardian. Yunalesca killed him, but he never arrived at the Farplane, Spira's purgatory. If there was every any doubt in Clint Eastwood's acting ability, it must be nonexistant after his subtle yet touching tough-guy performance.

A spine-tingling performance from Thora Birch as the gothic black magic user Lulu cannot be discussed without noticing the emotion that Lulu shows when the party stumbles across the summoner Lulu first was a guardian for. Lulu is plagued with guilt that she could do nothing to save the deceased summoner, and reluctantly defeats her unsent soul so that she can rest peacefully in the Farplane. Birch was born to play the sexy, cynical black mage. Wakka, portrayed by Michael Peña, finds an uncanny likeliness between his fallen brother (as a result of Sin's attack) Chappu and his new friend Tidus. In addition to his false hopes about a possible link between the two, his hatred for the Al Bhed peoples provides an even bigger controversy when Yuna, whom he has treated as a younger sister his whole life, is revealed to be half Al Bhed, and Rikku is 100%, herself, and thus he must struggle to put his differences aside. Peña brings both life and laughter into the film, along with the diversity, imperfection, and loveability that sets his Final Fantasy X character apart from other films'.

Jailbait Rikku is giddy, childish, and mature all at the same time, and is mastered by none other than veteran Julia Roberts' niece, Emma Roberts. The compassionate teenager cares so much about her cousin Yuna, that she is determined to find an alternative to Yuna's death in exchange for the defiance of Sin. Not often renowned for her excellent acting, Roberts is the biggest shocker of the entire cast. Bubbly, energetic, and cute beyond what is imagineable, Roberts was able to transfer Rikku's game loveability onto the big screen.

A man of few words, Kimahri Ronso (Djimon Hounsou), is a far cry from the human-like guardians alongside him. He resembles a lion's crossbreeding with a human, and a unicorn's horn atop his forehead, which has been sliced in half from an encounter with a fellow Ronso in his homeland. He returns home at one point, only to get revenge and, more importantly, respect from those who had ridiculed him because of his broken horn. With just a few lines, Djimon brings an entirely different perspective into the bustling universe of Spira.

These performances, in accordance with the Billy Bob Thornton brilliance of a ruthless, careless father, Johnny Depp's sexy, insane portrayal of mentally disturbed villain Seymour, and Angelina Jolie's brief but memorable performance as the more shocking villain, Yunalesca, make a theorized masterpiece into the real deal. Peter Jackson has crafted an epic story with likeable characters and a poignant ending into a pleasant viewing experience.

For Your Consideration:

Best Picture
Best Director - Peter Jackson
Best Actress - Ziyi Zhang
Best Actor - Haley Joel Osment
Best Supporting Actor - Clint Eastwood
Best Supporting Actor - Michael Pena
Best Supporting Actor - Johnny Depp
Best Supporting Actor - Billy Bob Thornton
Best Supporting Actor - Djimon Hounsou
Best Supporting Actress - Thora Birch
Best Supporting Actress - Emma Roberts
Best Supporting Actress - Angelina Jolie
Best Adapted Screenplay - Kazushige Nojima

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