The following contains massive spoilers from Advent Children. You have been
warned! If you don't wish to continue, click Back now!
Review written by loveffviiac
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The movie opens up exactly where the game left off showing Red XIII and his cubs
making their way through the mountain path. The camera moves smoothly revealing
what they were looking at into the far off distance. We see clear blue sky with
trees and plants covering what used to be the City of Midgar. A city where countless
war raged on in the past, a city full of memories, this was where it all begin.
We are then taken back 498 years into the past...
A Shin-Ra helicopter is seen hovering over the Northern Cave in search for something.
On board this helicopter are Turks members Elena, Reno and Tseng. Being ordered
by the President, their mission is to investigate for any traces of Sephiroth (why
would the traces of Sephiroth be here? Because it was here that the final battle
took place. It was here that Jenova was defeated. It was here that Sephiroth lost
the battle. Maybe the president knows something we don't?).
The Turks then discover something, it's the head of Jenova and at this very same
moment they are attacked by Kadaj and his gang (after Sephiroth met his doom in
the game I assume his body must have seperated itself into small particles scattered
across the field that were left behind which created Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz who will
fuse together and be whole again transforming into Sephiroth after obtaining the
head of Jenova). During this battle Reno must have escaped by taking Jenova's head
on board the helicopter and flew away, while Elena and Tseng couldn't make it. They
were captured by Kadaj and used for torture (everybody knows that when it comes
down to running away during fights Reno is the best).
-----
After a few moments of silence we now hear Marlene's soft voice narrating the story
and telling the audience what happened two years ago before all this. About Shin-Ra
(footage of the Shin-Ra headquarters is shown), about Avalanche (we see Midgar from
above), the Calamity from the skies Jenova (footage of her face is revealed), creating
the ultimate SOLDIER Sephiroth (footage of his wicked smile is shown), and another
important person who helped save the planet yet lost her life in the process. Who
could ever forget "the flower girl" (we see footage of Cloud laying her to rest
in the lake).
After Marlene finishes her dramatic narration, which in my opinion was done nicely,
we are then taken to a city full of people. A mass population covering the streets
as if this was Tokyo, Japan or New York city. Look around closer here and you'll
find some signs hanging on building that are a references to other stuff. One of
them includes the "Loveless Bloody Valentine" poster that can also be seen in Midgar
from the original game. After browsing through the city for a bit we are then taken
to the back streets which are also known as the slums. Here we see less people walking,
most likely because they were on the ground. This is where children who have no
parents stay, in a not so good place and as if their fate wasn't bad enough they
all have "Geostigma". Suffering from pain and confusion, the feeling of not having
a mother around, the feeling every orphan has to go through (the plot of the movie
is about lonely children and Kadaj as a reference).
-----
The scene shifts into a room showing Marlene sitting next to Denzel's bed side praying
for him to get better. Denzel asks Marlene, "Where's Cloud?" and then the scene
moves quickly downstairs showing Tifa washing dishes. This is of course her new
bar, Seventh Heaven since her old one was destroyed already in the game (sometimes
I wonder how Tifa can manage the bar all by herself, poor girl). As she is getting
done with the dishes we hear a phone ringing. Tifa goes up to get the phone while
at the same time she mumbles, "Cloud isn't here anymore" (this line tells us that
Cloud used to stay here for a certain amount of time). When Tifa picks up the phone
we can see a small photo on the desk showing Marlene, Denzel, Tifa and Cloud together.
This looks to be an office of some sort, perhaps it was for their business somewhere
in between the 2 year timeframe.
"Strife Delivery Service", she pauses for a bit and then says, "Oh...it's you..."
(of course Reno is on the other end asking for Cloud). Knowing Cloud no longer picks
up the phone, Tifa still tries to contact him anyways. She dials up his number and
leaves a message.
-----
The scene switches over to a desert plain where we see our hero 'Cloud Strife' sitting
on his motorbike (Fenrir) listening to the message left on his phone. Not answering
to any call he just puts his mobile phone away (there's a damn good reason why he's
not answering the phone).
Suddenly we see Cloud in pain (or so it seems). A rush of energy is forcing it's
way through Cloud's arm as he holds onto it. We then see quick flashes through Cloud's
eyes (if I can remember correctly among these flashes were Sephiroth's face, and
just like the saying goes, before you die your very own life flashes before your
eyes). Now we know what Cloud's going through, this was the pain he's been holding
onto. It's obvious that he has Geostigma. [Cloud doesn't think he can't help anybody
now knowing he'll die soon and that's why he doesn't bother picking up the phone.
So therefore he cuts ties with everyone just like how he cut ties with his hometown
and friends when he failed to join Soldier in the game. Major credit to Square-Enix
here for knowing and understanding their characters so well.] Cloud then puts on
his goggles, turns on his engine and rides off into the distance.
-----
Now we are shown an old rusted sword that has been pushed into the ground representing
a tombstone (here lies the great hero Zack, but more then just a hero, he was a
friend to Cloud). Cloud had planted the sword here in memory of Zack as this was
the spot where he was shot dead. A wolf is seen standing here, it is the spirit
of Zack, a reference and symbolism of a brave hero. This peaceful gravesite is not
to be disturbed, but there are some who will eventually violate that rule. Three
guys with silver hair all dressed in black leather on their motorbikes drive by
and knock the rusted sword down to the ground violating what was supposed to be
sacred. [A perfect way to introduce these young children who are following the wrong
path in life. Good reference Square.]
The leader of the silver haired trio spots Cloud riding his Fenrir down below and
says "Look, it's big brother". They discuss with each other for a bit about how
Cloud is hiding their mother and Loz begins to cry because someone took their mother
away from them.
The next scene shows Cloud riding his Fenrir as he is surrounded. With Loz on one
side and Yazoo on the other, they ask him for mother but Cloud is confused and doesn't
know who they are and what they are talking about. The two silver haired enemies
then summon a whole bunch of strange looking creatures known as the 'Shadow Creepers'.
From here on the first action sequence of the film takes part showing Cloud battling
his way across the desert field dodging the shadow creepers' attack, slicing them
as they jump towards him, while at the same time blocking Yazoo's bullets with his
sword as he keeps firing at him. As if that wasn't bad enough Cloud is attacked
by Geostigma from within.
The battle rages on and as Cloud is about to lose, the two silver haired men are
ordered by Kadaj to stop the attack. As they hurry off into the distance, Cloud
escapes. Kadaj let Cloud go for now seeing as this is just the beginning and it
seemed he has other business to attend to.
-----
Cloud suddenly stops for a bit and looks back wondering who those guys were and
what they wanted from him. Continuing on with his destination, he now reaches 'Healing
Lodge' and here he immediately enters. Once inside Reno comes to greet him by trying
to start a fight, but he was quickly thrown out the door (I find this scene funny,
what a way to kick off your intro Reno).
Next we see Rude standing in front of Cloud showing off his cool sunglasses, but
before anything could happen Cloud's sword was pointed at Rude's throat as he now
has no choice but to move aside. [I ask myself, is this is what's left of Shin-Ra
and the Turks? That's awesome.]
Finally we see their leader, the one known as 'Mr. President', he sits in a wheelchair
and is covered in a white cloak. Cloud immediately says, "Rufus Shin-Ra?" Indeed
it was, the president then greets Cloud and congratulates him on his skills. Rufus
expects no less from the ex-Soldier Cloud Strife. We then see a flashback of the
building exploding with Rufus still inside, but before Rufus could explain anything
Cloud just ignored his story (once again square leaves it open for fans to speculate
on how Rufus is still alive). Rufus then tells Cloud that before he leaves to at
least listen to the job he wants to assign him.
Rufus had realized they owe the planet and that it was their company that brought
it down to the state where it is now. Because of this they wanted to make up for
it. They wanted to restore the world, that was Rufus' new goal.
Cloud doesn't even bother to care and turns his back at Rufus trying to leave. But
before he did, Rufus tells him about Kadaj and the gang who was out there after
Cloud.
"As of now they are not a threat yet, but they could be soon. We know they are trying
to stop us from restoring the world, please Cloud we need you on our side". Rufus
explained to Cloud about his duty.
"Too bad that's not my job anymore..." Cloud implies, showing that he's not interested
(we fans already know what he meant by that, a Mercenary he used to be and a Hero
he was, but all that is long gone).
"What's that thing about mother they were talking about...?" Cloud asks.
Rufus answers with a worried tone in his voice, "Children are always looking for
their mother these days, the world is like that" from the sound of his voice we
know he's hiding something). "Remember Cloud, our ultimate goal is the restoration
of the world, I heard you've been living with orphans. Wouldn't you want to see
them smile again Soldier Cloud?" Rufus asks.
"So much for being a SOLDIER..." Cloud said and left (poor Reno misses out on the
meeting because he was locked outside the door).
-----
As Cloud leaves 'Healing Lodge' the scene changes again showing Reno and Rude on
the floor as Kadaj and his gang surround Rufus.
"I hate being lied to..." Kadaj tells Rufus (it seems they had not only just met,
but had a discussion before).
Rufus tells Kadaj that what he was looking for was lost on the way from Northern
Cave. Getting even more angrier, Kadaj speaks of the coming reunion and how Geostigma
is the invitation, but the Reunion cannot be possible without the host. Therefore
he mentions that someone is hiding mother away from them, someone is trying to stop
the Reunion.
Kadaj throws two bloody ID tags on the table in front of Rufus that belong to Elena
and Tseng. Rufus asks what will he accomplish from doing all this and Kadaj tells
him that once the Reunion begins they can be whole again, they can finally be complete.
Kadaj lets out an energy around his body and for a brief moment takes the form of
another silver hair person from the past (it's Sephiroth of course). Rufus trembles
in fear as this energy continues.
-----
The scene cuts off and now we see Tifa and Marlene walking in a church (of course
we know it's Aeris church). Inside the church they discover a bandage, sleeping
blanket and a box full of materia (most likely the ones left over from the game).
Marlene asks Tifa about Cloud and Tifa realizes now that not only Cloud lives here
but he also has Geostigma.
Loz comes walking in. Little Marlene thought it was Cloud at first until she sees
that it's not. Tifa puts on her fighting glove and prepares herself knowing Loz
is probably up to no good. Loz asks her about mother and Tifa replies saying she
doesn't know what he's talking about.
"Then let's have some fun", Loz says, and here the fight between Tifa and Loz commences.
It is a fast paced fight sequence as Tifa pounds Loz to the ground with her mad
combo, all went well and Tifa seems to have the upper hand. Being dead silent on
the ground for awhile we then hear the Victory Fanfare music playing, and then suddenly
Loz gets up and picks up his phone. Of course it turns out that sound was from his
ringtone (the audience cheered and clapped loudly, as I clapped along with them
in excitement over the victory fanfare cameo).
"Ok, I'll take her with me" he answers and put away the phone. Loz rushes in towards
Tifa in super speed mode and combos her with many punches knocking Tifa over to
the flower bed. Tifa yells at Marlene to run but it was too late, Loz takes both
Marlene and the box full of Materia with him and quickly leaves the scene.
-----
We are then taken back to the city were we see Yazoo bringing all of the sick children
into the back of a truck claiming he can cure them. From here on he takes them to
the Forgotten Capital. The scene cuts quickly and now shows Cloud going back to
visit Zack's grave. Seeing that the sword was knocked to the ground, he picks it
back up, holding it in his hand and stabs it back to the ground fixing his friend's
grave.
The scene then jumps to a flashback showing Zack in a yellow truck talking to Cloud
about what they're gonna do once they reach Midgar. But before we could see what
happens next the scene completely rushes on forward showing their escape. Zack yells
for Cloud to run then he was shot down.
Back to present time we now see Cloud looking down at the planted sword and said,
"I decided to live for your sake, but it's easier said" (from this scene we know
for sure that Cloud is not planning to do anything, we know he's giving up and we
know that Geostigma has really gotten to him).
-----
We are then taken to the next scene right away, as Cloud makes his way into the
church we can clearly see that he's giving up on everything already. Everybody else
is fighting hard to make the world a better place, yet all Cloud can do is give
up. How could he give up when he's the hero who helped saved the planet two years
ago? How can he just walk away from everything and not do anything? What happened
to the strength he had two years ago? Is this really the same Cloud? We thought
he woke up already by the end of the game but unfortunately we were all wrong. Cloud
went back to how he was at the beginning of the game.
Rufus and his company almost destroyed the planet two years ago but look at him
now. He's fighting and struggling hard to try and make the world good again, he's
trying all he can even though he's in a bad condition and is no longer the rich
boy he was back then. But still he's not giving up. Tifa is taking care of sick
children the best she can and even the sick children are fighting and doing all
they can to live. Barret is working hard to find oil, it seems so far that everybody
else is working hard for themselves to live a better life and together help create
a bright future. So why is it that Cloud gives up? [To me as the audience and a
fan I can clearly see the picture now. "Redemption" has always been the main theme
for Advent Children, but let's put my opinion aside and get back with the movie.]
-----
We see Cloud walk into the church and then suddenly discover Tifa laying there on
the flower bed. He rushes to her and holds her (he seems to act as though he doesn't
care so why does his face look so worried in this scene? Come on now Cloud, you
can try and lie to others but you can't lie to yourself).
"You're late again..." Tifa says.
"Who did this?" Cloud asks, and Tifa replies saying "he didn't say who he was".
Then she gets up real quick calling out for Marlene and quickly falls back onto
Cloud's arms. The church is empty as Cloud quickly looks around the place but suddenly
a rush of energy is seen going through Cloud's arm. This time it is strong enough
to knock him out cold. There on the flower bed Cloud lays right beside Tifa.
We are now watching through the eye view of another person and that person is Aerith,
shining a bright light over the screen. Cloud then wakes up, he is now in a much
bigger flower field (of course I consider this the Promised Land, the very same
one he mentions at the end of the game). Cloud then quickly wakes up as if somebody
had called him back to reality. As he looks around we see no more flower field for
he is no longer there. Cloud is now at Tifa's place with Tifa still asleep right
beside him. [Just like at the end of the game when Cloud was lost in the dark Aerith's
hand reaches out and pulls him back to reality and the first thing he always sees
when he gets back is Tifa. So it looks like Square is still trying to tell us that
he should be with Tifa and she's the one for him. While at the same time we also
see many signs that it's Aerith who he wanted to meet. Once again the love triangle
saga continues, good job Square you've done it again.]
Reno and Rude are now seen walking into the room. Tifa gets up and wonders what's
going on and where have they taken all the children. Cloud wonders this as well
until the two Turk members explain about the silver haired trio's base located at
the Forgotten Capital. Seeing the sadness in Cloud's face, Tifa asks why didn't
he tell her he had Geostigma and why he is giving up just because there's no cure.
She explains that Denzel is sick as well but he's fighting hard, why can't Cloud
do the same (pretty much Tifa just lecturing Cloud here, which is a good thing because
he really deserves it). Both Reno and Rude are playing the comic relief part acting
as though they should go as they don't belong here, while at the same time they
feel as though they should stay and listen to Tifa's lecturing a bit more.
"We should help each other, I'll always be there to help you if you need help."
Tifa says.
"I don't think I can help anyone, family, friends... no one." Cloud says back with
a soft tone, yet somehow cold sounding.
"Complain, complain, all you ever do is complain." Tifa added, but for a moment
there Cloud hears another woman's voice instead, could it be Aerith talking to him?
[This scene either tells us that Aerith is trying to help convince Cloud, or it's
because she's all he ever thinks about, so it's normal for him to hear her voice.
If so then poor Tifa, he's not even listening to her even though she's trying her
best to talk to him in a calm manner.] After hearing Aerith's voice, Cloud then
turns to the Turks and says, "I'm gonna go talk to the President, you two head over
to the Forgotten Capital and save the children."
Though his actions were dumb Tifa can forgive him on that because all she needs
right now is for Cloud to get back the strength he had two years ago, how it felt
to be a hero.
"I know how you feel Cloud and I know what's going on in your heart, you fear that
even if your there you can't save the children. You fear something bad might happen
and you can't do anything about it, You fear that you might even be the cause of
it if something does happen." Tifa says to Cloud seeing Cloud's head is still up
in the clouds. Reno feels the need to jump in and help Tifa on this one.
"We don't take orders from you, go to their base and save the children yourself."
Reno says.
-----
Cloud heads out and onto his Fenrir, it is night time now and everything is dark
as Cloud rides his motorbike down the road. The trees can be seen glowing, he is
now back to the place that left a scar in his heart. He's back to the place of memories,
the place he never thought he'll come to again. All of a sudden he's no longer riding
his motorbike, it seems he has entered a light. It's that warm feeling again, it's
the Promised Land. Cloud is now standing back to back with a person in the middle
of a flower field, that person is indeed Aerith the flower girl, the girl who helped
save him, his friends and the entire planet two years ago. We then see a short sequence
of the white Materia bouncing and falling down into the lake. With a soft pure voice,
Aerith greets him and asks "why have you come here?".
"I think I want to be forgiven, yes I want to be forgiven." Cloud confesses (and
from this line we know there's more then just Geostigma that's bringing him down).
Aerith asks who does he need to be forgiven from and as Cloud turns around to try
and see the flower girl's face, the whole flower field suddenly fades away and Cloud
is back on his Fenrir.
-----
The scene switches over to a lake where we see all of the children gathering around
it. They are listening to Kadaj's speech (this is of course the very same lake where
Cloud had laid Aerith to rest). Kadaj tells the children that mother has given them
a special power to fight this sickness. He tells them that the planet is trying
to take their life away, that once they reunite and have mother on their side they
can destroy this wicked planet. A light of energy rushes out from his body and again
for a couple second he takes the form of another silver haired person from the past
(it's Sephiroth of course).
Kadaj then walks into the clear lake changing it's color to black polluting it with
evil force. He tells the children to drink it which they do thinking it'll cure
them of the Geostigma, but instead it turns them evil.
Cloud finally arrives, but Yazoo and Loz are firing at him. Cloud lets his Fenrir
do all the shielding as he heads on forward at full speed. Kadaj orders the children
to line up and block the road and so they do so which causes Cloud to brake his
motorbike and goes tumbling down in pain. He is now injured and is surrounded by
the Children with Kadaj in the center telling everyone that Cloud is their brother
but he has betrayed them. He is what they call a black sheep.
Kadaj points his sword down at Cloud's throat and is about to kill him when Marlene
yells out Cloud's name from afar. While Kadaj gets distracted, Cloud quickly picks
up his sword and tries to cut Kadaj but he jumps out of the way. Yazoo begins firing
at him and Cloud blocks every single bullet with his sword. Loz runs in towards
Cloud at full speed then finally jumps up and tries to knock him out, but Cloud
dodges it and continues to block Yazoo firing, while stopping Loz attacks at the
same time. From here on this battle turns into a one on one, two on one and then
later turns into a three on one fight. From sword clashing, to gun firing and fist
fighting this has got to be one of the most spectacular fight scenes in the movie
so far. We see ground battles and high battles from above the trees. Yazoo's gun
kept firing non stop as Cloud battles his way through (like I said, SPECTACULAR...
must see it to believe it!). Both Loz and Cloud show outstanding ground shaking
skills and Yazoo shows he can jump high, a fight that fans will cheer on non stop.
And finally Cloud is near defeated, that is until a caped man shows up, with his
dark red cape swimming in the air like a reflection of blood. We see a powerful
bullet dodging skill in him, the person in red cape is Vincent. Thanks to him Cloud
is now rescued and taken to safety.
-----
The next scene shows the injured Cloud sitting near a shining pond of water with
bright glowing trees all around. Vincent is now telling Cloud about what's going
on. It seems Vincent has been studying a lot of stuff including the planet's condition
and the three new silver haired enemies. He tells Cloud that Geostigma is caused
by Jenova cells running free in the Lifestream. As for Kadaj and the gang, they
are looking for their mother 'Jenova' - the planet crisis and the one known as the
Calamity from the Skies. Vincent explains to Cloud that Kadaj is planning a reunion,
they need to be whole again, but the reunion cannot begin without Jenova's head.
Cloud then asks where Jenova's head is and Vincent tells him that Shin-Ra took it
with them from the Northern Cave. Two of the Turk members Elena and Tseng have been
captured and tortured by Kadaj asking where they hid mother. From here Vincent also
explains that once Kadaj obtains Jenova's head they can re-create another Sephiroth,
new physical form yet same spirit, the one and only Sephiroth everyone feared (the
very same one we all come to know as The One Winged Angel). "What is Kadaj...?"
Cloud asks, and Vincent tells him it's best not to know (perhaps it seems Kadaj
will be the physical form and body for the new Sephiroth?).
Suddenly during their conversation a sound is heard from the bushes. Cloud gets
prepared but it turns out it was only Marlene. It looks like she had escaped from
the hands of Loz during the time Vincent came down to rescue Cloud. Cloud decides
to go to battle and leave Marlene up to Vincent, but Marlene yells at Cloud for
not being responsible. Little Marlene was upset and hides behind Vincent's cape.
Cloud then tells Marlene that he's going into a huge battle, it's gonna be dangerous.
Marlene somehow convinces him that she still wants to go with him, Cloud finally
agrees to this and Marlene comes running towards him holding onto his hand. Cloud
turns to Vincent and asks him "can a sin be forgiven" and Vincent replies saying
"I never live to try..."
"When I find the answer I'll let you know." Cloud says, and walks off holding hand
with Marlene. [Once again, as I stated earlier, "Redemption" is still the major
theme here in AC. Will Cloud find his answer by the end of the movie? And if he
does, will Vincent find his in Dirge of Cerberus? Let's wait and see.]
Somewhere during the fight earlier Cloud dropped his phone into the lake, and in
this sequence his phone is shown sinking deeper into the lake. We then hear all
the messages playing on it's own. It seems that all his friends have tried to contact
him. Barret, Cid, Yuffie, Reeve and so forth... However, he did not answer to any
of them, although it felt like he doesn't care deep down inside he does. If he doesn't
care then why doesn't he delete their messages? Then the phone went dead as it reached
the bottom of the lake, all that's left is a small light glowing.
-----
The next scene opens up in the city showing Loz and Yazoo standing near the Meteor
monument. Believing that Jenova's head is hidden under this monument they try to
dig it up. The people are all angry at them for doing so, but Loz and Yazoo summon
their Shadow Creepers again, this time it's running lose all around the city attacking
everyone. While everybody else is kept busy, Loz and Yazoo continue on with their
work but after many times of trying it seems that the monument was too heavy for
them to move. Suddenly Reno and Rude arrive, the two on two battle begins (this
is a great fight, we get to see Reno and Rude being cool).
Up on the high building above we see Kadaj looking down at the city. President Rufus
is still sitting in his wheelchair right behind Kadaj, having no choice but to watch
his city being ruined. While doing so he began to question Kadaj and lecture him.
"Why are you doing this and what is your goal?" Rufus asks.
"We're only pieces, we want to be whole again and therefore we must have mother.
Once Geostigma takes all the people's life, mother can feed on their soul and bring
this planet down to it's knees," Kadaj says with an evil voice. "It's also up to
mother if she wants to bring Sephiroth back. It's up to her will." Kadaj continues.
Rufus then begins to speak to Kadaj as if he was a little child (which he is), "You
shouldn't be doing this, we already made a mistake like this once and almost killed
the planet. Life and death are both part of nature and it's cycle. Let nature do
what it has to Kadaj, it's not too late to turn back yet, the course of nature will
dictate everything." [To me this is a very very deep speech by Rufus, no wonder
he's the president. I find this speech to be meaningful because he's saying that
"we mess up once" with "we" as in "us" the adult, so it's best to not let the future
generation children repeat "our" mistake.]
"Then it's about time we put an end to this", Kadaj says and shoots a wave of energy
into the sky calling forth a giant winged creature. It is Bahamut Sin. The entire
city is going crazy as everyone runs for their life. Bahamut Sin dives down from
above destroying everything in it's path. Denzel and all of the other possessed
children are just standing there as Bahamut is attacking everything in it's way.
Tifa arrives just on time and pushes Denzel down as Bahamut was about to attack
him. Suddenly one by one the entire party from the game return; starting off with
Barret and his gun arm, Yuffie comes flying down from above with a parachute and
of course just like in the game she gets motion sickness (clap clap again the audience
and I). As the party members are united the great big battle rages on, Cid's
new airship Seirra (Shera) can be seen flying in the sky as Cid spins his signature
weapon taking out the Shadow Creepers one by one (again we have ourselves another
spectacular battle, fans will clap, fans will smile, fans will cry from seeing all
the old faces again, but most of all fans will cheer as loud as they can from this
sequence on).
Denzel has somehow regained his consciousness back, as Vincent walks by him Denzel
asks Tifa who are these people and Tifa replies back saying, "Old friends", with
a smile on her face.
Bahamut Sin was controlled by by Kadaj to destroy the meteor monument. As Bahamut
was charging up it's blue energy ray, Reno and Rude pick up the children and start
running. Finally Bahamut blasts out the energy and destroys the meteor monument
completely. The creature then lands on top of the rubble trying to find something
but there wasn't anything there. Bahamut Sin then flies up and the battle rages
on with all the party members jumping in and doing all they can to bring down this
big creature, but they couldn't, it was way too powerful.
Finally the star of the show has arrived, Cloud Strife on his Fenrir, this time
he's ready for battle. This is the Cloud we see at the end of the game and now that
Cloud has returned (we know that Marlene is taken to a safe place already). And
from here on Tifa and Cloud join the battle (this was a crazy battle and I gotta
admit the special effects were really really good!!). Bahamut flies up very high
into the sky and charges a huge energy from it's mouth, an energy so big it can
destroy the whole entire city. Cloud sees this and leaps up into the air. Bahamut
was just too high up for him to reach and so therefore his friends give him a helping
hand one by one in order for Cloud to fly higher into the sky (this scene is very
very VERY hard to describe in words, trust me it's so cool but very lame to try
and describe it in words). As Cloud was about to fall back down we see Aerith's
hand reaching out from above and helping to pull Cloud up even higher. With his
friends helping him out Cloud is not alone anymore, he'll never fall down again.
[This scene is very symbolic and shows the true path of friendship, believe in each
other and you can make it far.]
Cloud flies straight up at full speed, charging towards Bahamut and finally Bahamut
shoots out his blue energy down but Cloud was flying so fast his speed cut through
this energy. With a big spark of bright light Cloud slices through Bahamut cutting
him from the inside out and pulls the sword straight out from Bahamut's spine (again
this scene will have fans cheering loudly as Bahamut makes the big fall down). Thanks
to all of his friends and all the support they gave him, Cloud regains the strength
he lost two years ago. And in doing so he defeated the giant beast Bahamut Sin (good
job Square-Enix, good job).
-----
With Bahamut down, everyone is safe for now, but not Reno and Rude. They're still
facing off against Loz and Yazoo. Getting their butts kicked left and right, Reno
and Rude are not about to give up just yet (of course never forget the wonderful
Reno step on Rude sunglass sequence, a nice touch of comic relief is added here.
Rude looks a bit sad and mad, but have no fear for he has another pair of sunglasses
to wear).
While up in the high building we see Kadaj turning around wondering what other Summon
he can call forth next (he acts just like a little child playing with their little
toys). This time Rufus isn't going to just sit by and watch his City being destroyed
again, he reveals a box to Kadaj.
"It was here all the time and you didn't know? What kind of son are you...?" Rufus
said. All along the head of Jenova was with him. Kadaj sees this and was in shock
he calls out for his mother.
Rufus quickly throws the box outside the window and jumps down along with it. Kadaj
jumps out the window as well, following Rufus in the air trying to get the box.
Rufus uses his signature Shotgun and fires many bullets at the box as he was falling.
Finally Kadaj gets a hold of the box and lands safely, while Rufus is saved by the
injured Elena and Tseng as they fired a catching net from afar bringing their leader
down to safety.
Kadaj gets on his motorbike and rides off with Loz and Yazoo following behind. Cloud
returns to his Fenrir and goes straight after them at full speed and from here on
we see one of the most intense chase sequences ever being delivered by Cloud, Loz
and Yazoo. From a bridge, motorbike sword battle, to a tunnel, flip bike chase scene
(it's just crazy to describe). Loz and Yazoo are doing all they can to try and stop
Cloud from reaching Kadaj. The two Turks members Reno and Rude are already waiting
up front, this time they have a bomb with them.
Cloud is no longer the weak character we see from the beginning of the movie, he
regains his strength and is even more powerful then ever. A huge explosion is seen
behind Cloud. There goes Loz and Yazoo. It looks like Reno and Rude took care of
them good and stopped them from chasing Cloud once and for all, now there's only
Kadaj left.
-----
Kadaj rides his motorbike to the church in Midgar and Cloud follows right behind.
Once inside Kadaj stops his bike and checks the box for damages. But once he opens
up the box Kadaj sees that his mother had been destroyed. He whispers, "mother....mother....mother!!!"
Kadaj began to cry out loud and Cloud came in right on his tearful scene, being
pissed off at what happens, Kadaj fires a huge energy blast knocking Cloud's Fenrir
over destroying the flower field, but lucky Cloud jumps away on time. After getting
back up Cloud is now in major pain from Geostigma, he couldn't stand the pain anymore.
Cloud pulls off his sleeve and reveals the infected arm. In this condition he can't
challenge Kadaj, he'll surely lose. But suddenly a gentle rain drop falls down from
above and heals his arm taking the pain away and curing Geostigma.
We now realize that this rain is sent down by Aerith's spirit. A curing potion,
a divine liquid, it's Holy Rain. A white light is then seen and Cloud is surrounded
by flowers once more. He is back again at the Promised Land, this time to continue
on with the conversation that's left from last time.
"But I let you die..." Cloud says to Aerith.
"Complain, complain all you do is complain. I forgive you already, but can you forgive
yourself?" Aerith asks.
"Let's go Cloud", she then takes him back to reality. This time in full force and
with no more 'stigma, Cloud is ready to settle it all against Kadaj. Because of
the effect from the rain Kadaj is in pain. His body cannot stand the power of Holy,
Cloud chases after him and then in front of the beautiful sunset the battle between
Cloud and Kadaj takes place.
-----
"What will happen to you after the Reunion takes place? You can't possibly know,
after all you're only a remnant", Cloud tells Kadaj.
"So I'm just a puppet, right... but...so were... you!!", Kadaj yells out to Cloud
and shoots out a powerful blue beam down towards him as Cloud jumps up to Kadaj
facing him head on.
The rest of Cloud's friends are watching the fight from above in Cid's new airship
(Seirra). They discuss with each other if they should help Cloud or not and Tifa
tells the others that this is Cloud's battle and that they should not get in the
way. So as the party watches on from the airship we get to see Kadaj and Cloud battling
it out in a one on one sword duel. As skillful as Kadaj may be he's still no match
for Cloud. Kadaj's sword is quickly knocked away and as he was about to fall from
the high cliff but Cloud grabs onto his hand and saves him. Kadaj then lets go of
Cloud's hand and falls down the cliff holding onto his mother. He would rather die
with her then being saved by Cloud.
Still trying to help him, Cloud jumps off the cliff after Kadaj but then something
strange occurs. It seems Jenova has possessed Kadaj and offers Sephiroth a new body.
Kadaj's hair grows longer, his clothes change, his sword changes. The transformation
is complete and thanks to Kadaj's body Sephiroth is now back in full physical form.
-----
"Long time no see, Cloud." Sephiroth says (with a completely new voice as well,
obviously Kadaj is no more). Now there is only Sephiroth, Jenova's first son and
the perfect son.
Without wasting any time the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth begins right away
and we can hear One Winged Angel playing in the background. As their swords clash,
sparks fill the air around them, the music gets higher and higher and the fight
gets crazier, faster and louder. This is possibly the greatest fight scene ever
made and what a damn good way to kick off this final battle.
The sun is just about to set causing a perfect atmosphere for a perfect showdown,
Suddenly both warriors pause for awhile and Sephiroth paints the entire sky black.
"What are you gonna accomplish by doing this Sephiroth?" Cloud asks.
"I will sail the darkness of the Universe using this planet as my ship, then i'll
find a new paradise, a planet without rotting humans", Sephiroth replies.
[And from this line we can tell that Sephiroth is still following his false belief,
he still thinks Jenova and him are the ancient ones known as Cetra and humans were
the one who came upon them and took their planet. Everything that Sephiroth is doing
now is just fulfilling Jenova's wish, to suck the life out of each planet and continue
moving forward through the darkness of cosmos eating up every planet that it comes
across. Is Sephiroth and Jenova all in one now? After that Nibelheim incident from
the game, during the fall Sephiroth and Jenova cells must have fused somehow and
Jenova takes the body of Sephiroth as it's own, just as Sephiroth takes the body
of Kadaj for his. I see a mother and son relationship here, it seems Jenova and
Sephiroth are so much alike now in the way they think and how they set their goal.]
"Once you reach a new world you'll destroy it too?" Cloud asks.
"Who knows..." Sephiroth said as he laughs for a bit giving Cloud that evil smile
we once remembered.
-----
In the darkness of the falling building we are witnessing a fight like no other,
a fight to end it all. The fate of this planet lies on Cloud's hand, as darkness
covers the air we can see sparks of their swords shattering as they move from one
building to the next. Just this fight alone causes more destruction then when meteor
striked. As both swords collide the music rises higher and higher and pulling the
audience into this darkness as well, the darkness where sword clash is the only
light. Suddenly during the fight Sephiroth realizes Cloud's strength and asks him
where he could have gotten it from. Cloud just answers, "I'm not telling you!"
Moving quickly into the air Sephiroth flies super high and asks Cloud, "I have a
present for you, shall I give you despair?"
He slices the building into pieces and lets the falling chunks move down towards
Cloud. Cloud picks up his huge sword and flies straight through all the falling
debris slicing his way through and finally meets Sephiroth on top of the Shin-Ra
building where the fight continues.
Sephiroth then asks, "What is it that's important to you, I'll enjoy taking it away!"
(finally we get the question from the trailer, is Cloud fighting for the children?
A memory? or Himself?).
The battle rages on as Sephiroth knocks Cloud flying straight to a wall. Having
the upper hand Sephiroth moves in quickly without wasting any time, he stabs Cloud
straight through the shoulder (just like in the game). His life then flashes before
his eyes and all of the precious things in his heart are shown. We then get to see
a glimpse of Aerith praying in the Forgotten City. Cloud's ultimate strength rises
from within as he manages to push Sephiroth away.
"You still don't understand Sephiroth? There's nothing that isn't precious to me!!"
(there you go, the answer to that question. It wasn't just for the children, a memory
or himself, he's fighting for "Everything").
Cloud throws his sword forward at Sephiroth and suddenly it split into six different
swords surrounding Sephiroth and making a circle around him which creates a shield
trapping Sephiroth in the center. There's no way for him to escape now. Cloud then
leaps forward and performs his newest and most powerful limit break ever, I call
it the "Ultra OMNISLASH!"
He flies straight on for Sephiroth and splitting himself into 6 golden shades, creates
a shadow replication and grabs on to each sword. The most spectacular jaw dropping
sequence EVER created is right here folks, it can't get any better then this, the
ultimate tornado slash attack bringing Sephiroth up into the air. Cloud lands safely
and shouts up to Sephiroth, "Go back to my memories!"
Suddenly a black angel wing opens up from Sephiroth's back as he says, "I wont be
just a memory..."
"Holding onto the good and the bad of memories I'll carry them both with me." Cloud
replies.
-----
Sephiroth disappears along with his black wing leaving behind the helpless Kadaj
as his body gently falls right onto Cloud's arms. This was more then just a fight,
it was a chance for Cloud to overcome the ghost of his past and now that he's done
that, Jenova and Sephiroth are no more. As the sky clears away the sun shines down
on Kadaj, a child slowly dying by the hand of a hero. All along Jenova and Sephiroth
had been using him and once they were done with him, they left and discard his body.
Living all his life believing in the reunion, Kadaj's fate has been sealed and only
Cloud knows how it feels for he was once a puppet to Jenova and Sephiroth as well.
But unlike Kadaj, Cloud actually has friends to be there for him, to back him up,
to give him a hand when he was down to help remind him that he's more then what
he think he is, the power of friendship, something Kadaj dooesn't have, something
he'll never have. Being alone all his life he only believes in his mother and follows
her orders. He only lived his life for the Reunion and now that it's all over, Kadaj
is nothing more then a piece of trash.
Suddenly it starts to rain, the very same rain that cures Cloud of Geostigma, this
is once again Aerith's doing, this is her will, this is her power, this is "Holy
Rain", the rain of purification. It is the cleansing rain. Everybody that has Geostigma
is now cured from touching this rain. After that long hard battle this was a fitting
end. Kadaj's body is now slowly fading away as the rain touches him. We then hear
Aerith voice saying, "You can let go now Kadaj, it's over", and before fading away
completely Kadaj whispers, "Mother...?" one last time he calls out for her and then
finally disappears (rest in peace Kadaj).
Looking up to the sky as rain drops down from above, Cloud smiles for the very first
time. Being free of all pain, he found his answer, the answer he's been looking
for, the will to forgive himself, it's all clear to him now.
As the party celebrate from above inside the airship, Tifa realizes that Aerith
was here all along, always right beside them, always watching over them. But suddenly
a surprise shot is heard, someone fired a bullet at Cloud from behind, straight
to the back knocking his body forward. And finally we see that it was Yazoo who
shot Cloud. He was injured but Loz used the last bit of his own strength to keep
him up. Both of them had now used up their last remaining strength. Before fading
away, Yazoo and Loz blasted a huge wave of energy as Cloud ran towards them. As
Tifa yells out for Cloud the scene cuts off...
-----
Cloud wakes up and is now is in a church. If memory serves me right, here he sees
the spirit of both Aerith and Zack together.
Aerith and Zack help heal his soul. Struggling is what Cloud has been doing all
his life, but now he realizes that he no longer has to struggle, his friends was
always there for him, always there to guide him. Aerith and Zack wave goodbye to
Cloud, and leave into the light. The flower bed in Aerith's church has now turned
into a holy pool where the sick can use that water to be cured.
Credits roll and the movie comes to a closing. Cloud is now finally free of pain,
sorrow and no more struggle. All questions in his soul have been answered. Thanks
to all who supported him throughout the hard times, Cloud is now truly relieved
of all pain. He's finally free... His story concludes...
-----
However, as the credits continue rolling, we get to see a special sequence. We see
him riding on his motorbike and traveling down the road. Aerith is seen in a flower
field either picking flowers or watching over them, but then Cloud drives by and
we see her smiling at him. Cloud rides off into the horizon, this was a beautiful
tribute for him.
As the music plays we follow Cloud on his Fenrir, Cloud is traveling the world in
harmony. Finally as the music fades away we get to see a photo of the whole party
members together smiling (Vincent, Yuffie, Cid, Barret, Red XIII, they're all there
and they were all happy).
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