Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony has released the 2005 digitally animated video game inspired film 'Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete' to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR video and Dolby Atmos audio. No new extras are included but Sony has bundled in the 2009 Blu-ray which brings with it the full suite of legacy content.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Aliasing is probably the single most dominant visual component at work in the film. Viewers will note the shimmering along the earthy terrain as seen in the film's opening shots, which appears to be a byproduct of the source animation; the film is over 15 years old now and born of a time when photorealism had not yet been achieved, and that is also evident on a number of surfaces throughout the film, from complex creature renderings to simple cityscapes and human hair. The picture shows its age in practically every shot, if not for the aliasing then certainly for clumsier animation that is put to shame only now a decade-and-a-half later. The higher resolution only seems to amplify the essential source shortcomings so there's certainly a trade-off here between the lower grade source and the amplified clarity the format provides.

Indeed, while the UHD is no stranger to aliasing and other artifacts, the core material certainly enjoys a solid boost over the Blu-ray. The picture is sharper to be sure, whether talking basic character models, intricate clothing, rough terrain, or complex cityscape details. Nothing here is particularly well defined, but again due to the source's innate limitations rather than because of an issue with the UHD transfer itself. Certainly the UHD amplifies the more stable textures but only to a degree; the Blu-ray seems to push the image quality towards its highest point already and the UHD only squeezes out finite but, sometimes as is evidenced in A-B comparisons, nevertheless vital textural components. Look at a face at the 1:02:43 mark seen in close-up and in profile. The UHD reveals very fine skin imperfections which are all but absent on the Blu-ray, while bringing slightly sharper detail to the hair and sweater she wears. Such small details extend to other characters, clothes, and environments as well. It's nothing that will redefine the movie or maybe even one's appreciation of its source content but these little perks certainly do add up over the course of a watch.

The big area of improvement comes with the HDR color grading. The grading adds the usual elements of improved depth and tonal vitality, though to be sure this is a fairly tonally depressed film, made of shades of black and gray, mostly, and toning down some of the scattered examples of richer colors. When given an opportunity, though, there's certainly no shortage of impressive life and punch on items like hair or fire or natural greenery. But the grading handles the relatively darker content well. There's not a lot of room for nuance and subtlety with the commanding presence of the darker output, but the more dense color output does, at least, reinforce the movie's tonal structure quite nicely. Black level depth is healthy and deep and whites really pop; look at a stripe on the road seen at the 1:09:02 mark for a good example of the brilliant white shading versus the Blu-ray's creamy and dull appearance.

This is not exactly the prettiest movie ever made considering the inherent source flaws, the animation detail which is well below modern standards, and the bleak color spectrum content, but Sony appears to have done everything within its power to make this look as good as it can. Mild adds to sharpness and a fairly good HDR color grading run have improved the look of the movie a good bit over Blu-ray but do be aware that the steady stream of aliasing remains for the duration.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

With the dueling native Japanese and dubbed English soundtracks it's a case of "all else being equal." Both tracks demonstrate essential similarities beyond the spoken word, offering satisfyingly full and rich sonic layering and texturing with similar structural essence, audio cue placement, surround integration, and stage movement effects. Indeed, beyond language, there's not a whole lot of difference to be found, which is a good thing because the track excels in all areas. It's deep and full bodied, never timid about stretching the stage lengthwise or across the other axis towards the back. With the addition of the back center and overhead channels the net effect is only more pronounced, with more opportunity for precise stage placement and fuller, more richly realized ambient and action support. These new speaker additions are not used in regularly discrete ways but the sum total of their impact cannot be denied when it comes to the track's opportunities to saturate the listener with sound and immerse the listener in fully developed location atmosphere. The track never loses focus whether music or action or intermixing both at the same time. Detail is very high with every element, whether musical score, action sound effects, or ambient location identifiers. The tack is smoothly positioned and highly detailed throughout, effortlessly submerging the listener into the film's world. It's a high quality audio mix that seizes the opportunity to breathe some new life into the track, not so much redefining it in any way but supporting and amplifying its essential cues for maximum aural effect and stage impact. Dialogue is also clear and refined from its grounded front center position in both languages. The English dub leaves a bit to be desired in execution but technically it is fine. A gaggle of additional 5.1 lossless tracks are included as are some subtitle options which were unavailable on the original Blu-ray.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete's UHD disc contains no supplements, but the bundled Blu-ray, which appears to be identical to Sony's 2009 issue, includes all of the content listed below. Please click here for a full review. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Legacy of Final Fantasy VII
• Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII
• Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Compilation
• On the Way to a Smile - Episode: Denzel
• Sneak Peek at Final Fantasy XIII
• Jump Festa 2009
• Tokyo Game Show 2008
• DKΣ3713 2008
• Tokyo Game Show 2007
• Square Enix Party 2007

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete is not going to serve as reference material for the UHD format, not because Sony did poor work on the disc but because the older animated material and the essentially bleak gray-dominant tones don't exactly equal an eye-catching image. It looks fine within its context and the HDR application is particularly vital to the movie looking its best. The new Atmos soundtracks are excellent. No new extras are included. For hardcore film and franchise fans only.