Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

They are the Kingsglaive, the elite fighting force of King Regis of Lucius.  Their power is tied directly to their king and his crystal source of power.  They stand against any threat to the beloved kingdom…until now.  When Neffilheim betrays King Regis during a peace ceremony, the apocalypse comes to Insomnia.  At the heart of the conflict is Nyx, a Kingsglaive tasked with protecting the Lady Lunafreya, the betrothed of Regis’ son Noctis.  As the world falls apart around them, Nyx, Luna and Regis race towards their shared destiny.  For where this doomed battle ends, the journey of another and his three companions is about to begin.

It has been a long time since I’ve seen a media push this intense alongside a Final Fantasy game release.  I really think the last time was when they did the massive expansion on Final Fantasy VII: with a sequel film-Advent Children; an short Anime prequel-Last Order; and three games-Before Crisis, Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus.  Most of these were met with mixed reception at best (though I hear Crisis Core is pretty solid).  I’m not sure what to say yet of Final Fantasy XV’s other project, Brotherhood (though I will shortly).  However, in regards to Kingsglaive, it still seems like Square Enix has yet to find that perfect balance of visual marvel and sharp writing.  And this is their third attempt too.

Credit where it is do, Square Enix does know how to make anything look like the greatest piece of artistic marvel known to man.  The same can be said about Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and it’s no different here.  The quality of animation in Kingsglaive is staggeringly awesome.  It is really hard to keep up with the action sometimes, especially in the pretty chaotic finale.  But when the camera does try to focus on the central battle (I guess), it boasts some impressive feats of magic and swordplay.  I’ll also give credit to the expanded roles of King Regis and, especially, Lunafreya.  Luna I enjoyed more so because I felt that, as big of a role as she plays in Final Fantasy XV, we don’t see all that much of her.  Regis has more of an impact throughout the game I thought bit it was still good to see him again and in action.  Likewise, Luna is a helluva lot more active here, even if she is part of a movie long escort mission by films end.  The roles of these two characters are set up even more for future events by this film, I’ll give them that.  The extended use of blade warping techniques that Nyx uses also feels right out of the game itself, kind of made me want to play it again.

And that’s just about where all the praise kind of ends.  The concept of the Kingsglaive is cool but the characters within it are boring or never given enough time to shine.  Crow is cute but barely around.  Libertus has some tragic character moments but that’s barely of consequence later.  And our main character, Nyx, is…well kind of bland and not as exciting a character for such a short story.  I was nowhere near as invested in any new character as I was in the characters I already knew about from the game.  Final Fantasy XV’s greatest strength is its bond between the core four protagonists and none of that great character writing is anywhere to be found here.  Even when they were reacting to events that happened off screen (like the fall of Insomnia which we only see in glimpses of the game) their performances made me feel every bit of their loss.  Here, once things start going to hell for Nyx and his comrades, it feels kind of empty, especially considering this guy doesn’t really matter in the long run of things.  It doesn’t help that the story is so confusing it’s hard to keep up with who is betraying who, who is mad at who, who looks to similar to who and why the hell the movie is obsessed with quick cuts to black for dramatic effect.  It’s a mess really and just feels like leftovers from the production of the game that might’ve been meant for DLC before deciding to push for a movie tie in.

The biggest shame for such a project is the perfectly good waste of voice talent.  Game of Thrones alums Sean Bean and Lena Heady voice Regis and Luna respectively…if you’re a Sean Bean fan you’ll know why it’s kind of funny he’s in Regis’ role.  And Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad is Nyx.  They all do what they can with these mostly underdeveloped roles but it feels like they could have been saved for better projects.  I also don’t get why they didn’t just use Luna’s original voice actress from the game, as she feels a bit older her than she does in the main story (no offense to Lena Heady, she still does a good job).  This was definitely an attempt to draw in a general fantasy crowd, especially the Game of Thrones fans but it feels like a waste.

When your Anime looks good, it looks good, no one will deny that.  When the emotion and heart is absent from it, even the most kick ass action scene wont be able to save it cause…well we don’t care who loses or wins.  And yet Square Enix, on their third feature length project with a franchise that is the reason they exist, has yet to figure out how this kind of storytelling works.  Kingsglaive is gorgeous, the best looking Final Fantasy move yet.  But if you’re not familiar with the Final Fantasy XV game itself, youre going to be lost and the movie will never let you forget that.  Nyx is kind of boring, the rest of the Kingsglaive aren’t interesting either and the story feels plodded out (longer than two hour) into a cutscene that expands on one of the most important moments of the game…when really the game kind of did it fine already.  Had the focus kept more on Regis and Luna, the story could have been a bit tighter.  Throwing in a hero for the sake of someone who can do cool action scenes doesn’t immedietly mean they’ll be likeable or memorable…cause Nyx is neither.  It’s almost a shame they threw in a post credits scene with Noctis, Gladio, Ignis and Prompto…no it’s not a shame cause if anything this movie made me yearn to play Final Fantasy XV is only to reunite with this amazing crew and forget the two hours of good looking letdown I just observed.

It may be the best looking Final Fantasy movie yet, but Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV just continues the disappointing streak of retreading lessons yet to be learned.

4/10