Final Fantasy: The Ultimate Epic - The First Saga

Final Fantasy: The Ultimate Epic Saga 1 (Chapters 1-10)
Directed by Greg Strnad

There is an exhilirating ambition, I think, within every director who's toyed with 3DMM to create an expansive, detailed world that is theirs in every sense of the word. Like an orchestra conductor in an empty theater given free reign to write an impromptu masterpiece, anyone with a bit of imagination must, at some point or another, get excited just thinking about how they could blow everyone away if they really got their dream project organized and produced. Think about the most amazing movie project you've ever imagined for a minute. Have you directed and released it yet? Unless you're among an elite and very special 1 or 2% of the community, probably not. With the first ten chapters of the first of three sagas in a massive, existence-encompassing scale, Greg Strnad has skyrocketed himself to the top of that category, ousting Ghost in the Shell and Vlarion without effort as far as I'm concerned. It's not often that a movie's title can refer to itself with the phrase 'the ultimate epic' and contain not one bit of exagerration or conceit.

Four years in the making and one hour and forty minutes in length, Final Fantasy: The Ultimate Epic is the kind of project that ends up inspiring more of a distant respect and professional admiration than the more personal gushing and favoritism inspired by mini-epics like JDR Revival. It's easy to approve and then forget a movie this massive and this absorbed in its own world. From start to finish, FFEpic never makes a single misstep in tone or objective, staying true to its principles and not wandering into self-parody even once. The amount of dedication implied by its consistent vision is simply awe-inspiring. This is the kind of world design where every single detail is considered, from the sleek, ultra-fast manta-ray cars right down to the pod-like recliner chair in Wedge's quarters. And the wide array of unique concepts like the refraction vest, siphoning the life energy out of plants to use magic, and the various high-tech gadgetry aren't just cool for their own sake, but they're introduced in interesting and relevant ways. The Mind Dwellers are about the only idea not utilized to their full potential, but there are 50 more chapters for that to develop in, so no complaints.

The movie begins at the blasted-out wreckage of the RICCO Theta building bombed by Quentin Arch in the series prologue. Officer Jason Karlson and 'Ellen' of the UBI investigate the scene, turning up a badly damaged survelliance unit that gives them little to go on but a glimpse of the perpetrator. From here the film weaves a rich, intricate tapestry of different plot threads stemming from the six or seven major characters briefly introduced to us in the Prologue. The pacing is delicate and deliberate, confidently sauntering toward its destination with no real hurry. While other films impatiently burst with energy and seem ready to jump into a marathon run at the drop of a hat, FFEpic gleefully takes its time; ocassionally it even seems to wink at us when a conversation scene becomes less plot-driven and more....well, conversational. In fact, the nature of the film's dialogue seems to sneakily sum up its ambitions -- like Lord of the Rings or the game series it's inspired by, it's at least as interested in the world the story is taking place in as the story itself.

With every elaborately crafted scene detail, with every background sight gag, with every throwaway line, Greg is working behind the scenes to build up a towering universe with it's own unique social personality, political backdrop, rules and mechanics, conflicts and power struggles on every measurement on the scale, and just general minor detail to help establish it as one cohesive whole in your mind. When Benkk sneaks up on the RICCO guard in Chapter 2, Greg doesn't just have Benkk smack him over the head after a line or two -- he lets the guy ramble. Each loudmouthed complaint from Vicks gives us additional insight into RICCO's hierarchy. This is repeated a few times throughout Benkk's incursion into the headquarters. He's stopped twice on his way to see Master Blake and delayed in meaningless chitchat for a few minutes with Vicks's friend. This seems irrelevant at first, but the familiarity established between Benkk and the obnoxiously cheerful guard comes back to bite him on his way down the Boiler Room as he's forced to clean the man's quarters for two hours before he can leave. Are these pointless avenues in the scheme of the plot? FFEpic at times comes dangerously close to testing our resolve with its lingering pace, but it never quite passes over the line. It's like the friend who wants to stop in every store on the way down the street, but ends up buying you something every time. These minor pitstops consistently reinforce the rules and principles of FFEpic's universe, creating a familiarity and understanding not found in many cinematic experiences.

And FFEpic is nothing if not ultimately rewarding. After patiently following the gradual progression of several seemingly independent plotlines, we kick into high gear with what I have no hesitation calling the greatest car chase ever animated in 3D Movie Maker. Until now there have been bursts of excitement, carefully placed where it would most enhance the narrative, but Greg shows in Chapters 7 and 8 that he understands the true joy of building a massive tower -- the euphoric energy of knocking it down. The careful buildup to this point enhances this sequence in almost every conceivable way, giving us the ultimate context for some of the best animated spills, crashes, explosions, and badass manuevering tactics I've ever seen. The adrenaline rush of this section of the movie slows back down and creeps into a darker infiltration climax which peaks with not a profound revelation or a showdown between the enemy -- the plotting here has been so calculated and elaborate that a sudden tying up of a major plot thread would be premature. Instead, Greg simply decrescendos out into a "To be continued" screen, as the story still has quite a long way to go.

The movie's technical aspects practically go without saying. The audio is masterful, compiling the most expansive high quality library of sounds in 3DMM history. No other film has the range of top-notch sound effects introduced here, and quite a bit of plundering has been done since its release (it's a good thing Greg named all his files with an FFEpic prefix, so there'd be no question as to who deserves credit for some of the incredible audio in other films ). On top of that, Greg did all the voices for every character. While the quality of his voice is easily recognizable with each role he plays, the subtle shift in harmonics creates a broad enough range that inspires a comfortable familiarity. It's actually a really neat touch, and further underlines his exclusive personal control over the project. And, needless to say, it's visually breathtaking. While the default skies have finally started to show age and wear out their welcome in more recent films, FFEpic has a way of drawing you into its world design in such a way that all but removes 3DMM's seams from the overall product. The scenery is so complex and so unique in style that the film is guaranteed a glorious aging process.

To be sure, it's not smooth sailing for 100% of the experience: Dialogue is sometimes painfully blatant and character motives distressingly obvious. Chapter 4 is almost embarassing to watch at times as a result of some cheesy lines coupled with an almost B-movie sincerity in their delivery. And occasionally it's just a bit TOO apparent that although the characters are looking at each other, they're addressing us by providing a level of detail the other person either probably already knows or wouldn't care to hear. But this is a world rich in footnotes and appendix references, where every character is enraptured in every story, and knowing too much is not knowing enough yet. To enjoy FFEpic is to drink up every single detail and eagerly await the next helping. As far as I'm concerned, the next bunch of chapters can't come soon enough.

Critical Score: 100/100.
Personal Score: 100/100.