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I just want to watch Kingsglaive over and over again. The film is a very immersive experience, and if nothing else, the visuals alone will keep you glued to your seat. It really pushes the boundaries of what animation industry and cinematography can do. Director Takeshi Nozue and Visual Works (Square Enix's exclusive CGI studio) outdid themselves creating a highly engrossing and cinematic experience. Never has a CGI movie looked or sounded this good before. Beautifully rendered and with an evocative soundtrack, Kingsglaive feels more like a great epic than an anime CGI feature. I was an instant convert.
The film is visually stunning. From the interior of the Royal Citadel to the streets of Insomnia (the name did give me pause), everything looks hyper realistic. The character design is amazing! Every wrinkle, birth mark or strand of hair is visible and natural looking. The production team was aiming for a realistic tone in the film; nothing was left to chance making sure that character hairstyles are feasible in real life. The clothing looked like it was lifted straight from Renaissance era paintings and artfully mixed with modern clothing. The sleek and distinctive looking Kingsglaive knights’ uniforms were beautiful and very well matched to the story. Even the lighting and its effect on characters’ skin and clothing was handled with utmost care and detail looking very natural. I almost forgot I wasn’t watching a live-action film! I sat down for a few minutes and the next thing I knew the end credits were rolling.
The musical score, almost a character in of itself, is often ethereal and hauntingly beautiful with its multi-toned, ever changing orchestration. It seamlessly keeps up with the film, perfectly enhancing and evoking the moods of the scenes and creating the film’s distinctive aural brand.
But Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is not just eye and sound candy. It offers some of the best in fantasy lore and animated storytelling. A lot of its strength comes from the mythos of the story as well as the characters, most of whom are relatable and charismatic while others are delightfully evil. The main characters are very likable, with Nyx Ulric, the main protagonist and titular Glaive, anchoring us firmly to the story. His humanity, natural strength and very sympathetic nature captivates and beguiles the audience. Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII, the father of Prince Noctis and current ruler of the Kingdom of Lucis, has a larger than life presence, gravitas and a multi-dimensional personality. He is faced with a daunting task of making an uneasy peace treaty with a compromise that he knows will earn his subjects’ ire and resentment. Despite knowing that, he reluctantly agrees to the treaty in order to protect Noctis, the people of Insomnia and the Crystal.
The actors did a spectacular job breathing life into their respective characters and creating rich personalities that could exist in real life. Aaron Paul, Lena Headey and Sean Bean especially deliver outstanding performances creating an epic feel and emotional richness not often seen in an animated feature. And as a bonus, there was a familiar face, or rather voice, Todd Haberkorn, who has lent his voice to multitude of Japanese animated features, as Luche Lazarus, one of Kingsglaives.
The production team had a unique approach for creating this movie, using live actors and fashion models for character prototypes along with motion capture technique to create realistic motion and characters and it really paid off. I kept feeling as if they were going to leap out at me from my TV at any moment. The action scenes, though very quick paced at times, were a sight to behold, and the warp action through Glaives’ use of special daggers was a marvel of visual creativity. I loved the concept of Kingsglaives using the ancient magic provided by their king for fighting and defending the kingdom. It gave the movie that authentic medieval times fantasy magic feel. And yet, it perfectly blended with modern. For someone who is usually put off by anachronistic elements in motion features, Kingsglaive was done in such a way that the anachronistic elements became an integral part of the movie. The team working on the project did a spectacular job melding modern with medieval, technology and magic, science, and mythology, creating a unique beautiful world where all these elements meshed perfectly. This was a global effort with the Japanese team at the helm collaborating closely with Western companies and multiple overseas studios to complete the film on time and create a product that would be appealing and relatable to western audiences. Indeed, Assassin's Creed and Game of Thrones influences can be seen throughout the film. According to Visual Works director Takeshi Nozue, a huge effort was needed from all involved studios to complete the film on time and attributed the large number of helpful overseas studios to their common liking of the Final Fantasy franchise. This was an international labor of love and it shows.
I could go on and on about high production values, story and cast members, but that would make for a very long review. Suffice to say, Kingsglaive touches upon many topics relevant in real life. Trust and betrayal, loyalty, honor, friendship and what defines one’s home, immigration issues and most importantly family ties are strongly echoed in the story; something we all can relate to.
Of course, the film is not without flaws. Sometimes the action was so frenetic that it was hard to follow. Some scenes, instead of showing a coherent view, seemed like a dark dirty canvas filled with a blur of flashing lights and rumbling walls. This is especially apparent during the final battle scene with havoc erupting and the city falling apart. It was very difficult to see any details or really anything at all. The camera work, occasionally, was shaky, moving too fast or depicting action at odd angles with jerky movements that interrupted the flow of action. At times, the lip synching did not match the movement of the people’s mouths and the characters movement was not natural. In those moments I could definitely tell that it was CGI. The film’s sometimes opaque plotting created its own challenges as the story development did not always flow smoothly. Some pivotal moments especially felt like someone stitched together originally cut scenes for a promotional trailer, leaving the viewer intrigued and hooked but puzzled and confused at the same time. One had to try to riddle out what is going on for themselves, sometimes without much success. The issue becomes compounded if you are not familiar with the lore of the Final Fantasy games. Indeed, to the uninitiated one, there were some head scratchers and puzzling moments, and not being a gamer, I felt that I probably missed some nuances, like the Easter eggs that the fans of the franchise mention. At times, it seemed that some of characters could have been more fleshed out as their backstories would have enriched the story. I loved the lore of FFXV: Kingsglaive and wanted to know more about the characters, especially the main trio of friends, Nyx, Crowe and Libertus, and how they grew up and became friends, how they became a part of the elite King’s guard, especially Nyx. Maybe an OVA prequel that could also include a deeper background on the very charismatic king. And of course, there is Ardyn Izunia, the chancellor of Niflheim and the main nemesis in FINAL FANTASY XV, who starts out as a protagonist and a tragic figure two millennia before the events of the FFXV (but we do not know that unless one has watched his origin story or is an avid FF gamer). Of course, I want to know more about Luna and Noct and what happens to them, but I know their journey is just beginning as events of this movie end and they are not the focus of this story. The world of Kingsglaive is very intriguing and mesmerizing, and I really want to learn more, see more and just soak it in. The movie did not necessarily make me want to run out to buy the game, but it made me long for more of the FFXV world and its characters, its mythos. I understand that any animated works based on games are just a periphery for Square Enix, a way to hype up fans of the franchise for new games and gain new audiences, but I really hope that they will put out more films/OVAs about the characters and the world like they did with Kingsglaive. But for all this criticism, I found that generally I could easily follow the story in Kingsglaive. I appreciated the prologue, which explained a lot of the setting of the world and the environment of the story leading up to events in the movie and felt that Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV worked well as a stand-alone feature. Though indeed confusing at times, any casual viewer could watch the film and still enjoy it. If nothing else, the Kingsglaive will tingle your auditory and visual senses in the most satisfying way. Highly recommended!
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From the manufacturer
King Regis of Lucis commands an elite force of soldiers dubbed the Kingsglaive.
Wielding their king's magic, Nyx Ulric and his fellow glaives stand before the crown city of Insomnia.
The magical kingdom of Lucis is home to the sacred Crystal, and the menacing empire of Niflheim is determined to steal it. King Regis of Lucis (Sean Bean) commands an elite force of soldiers called the Kingsglaive. Wielding their king's magic, Nyx (Aaron Paul) and his fellow soldiers fight to protect Lucis. As the overwhelming military might of the empire bears down, King Regis is faced with an impossible ultimatum – to marry his son, Prince Noctis to Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae (Lena Headey), captive of Niflheim, and surrender his lands to the empire's rule. Although the king concedes, it becomes clear that the empire will stop at nothing to achieve their devious goals, with only the Kingsglaive standing between them and world domination.
•Featuring fully remastered 4K HDR presentation with DTS-HD MA audio
•Included Blu-ray showcases several production featurettes
A very good yarn!
I am not a big fan of the FF series., nor have I played the game. (I am 63.) I just saw a preview on another DVD, so I purchased this one. A great story, beautiful and stunning - (and vey lifelike animations!) - creation that, in my mind, stood alone. The actors and actresses that did the voice parts are all top shelf people. I also had another reason for watching this. For years, my good friend, Stephen H. Davis had tried to get me interested in the Final Fantasy series, but I never found the time. Last April, I learned that Steve had passed away in October of 2020. So ... nostalgia was a big part of my decision making process. However, I do not regret it at all ... in fact, if another video in this series was made, I would buy it without hesitation!!
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