Originally posted by: Everescent
There was a storyline? I must have missed that among all the ass-kicking and sweet effects. Honestly, in terms of coming up with stories (for movies and animes, not necessarily for video games), I don't really give the Japanese much credit. I take everything with a grain of salt, because their culture is vastly different from ours, and as anyone who has been to Japan will tell you, Japanese TV is terrible. This is a generalization, of course; there are animes, movies, etc. out there, made in Japan, with good plots, but I simply don't put as much weight on it when I'm watching something that's been brought over from Japan and subbed, because it's not going to cater to my westernized tastes.

Being emo is popular in Japan. All of the cool characters do it. Cloud does it, and they love him for it. Sasuke (from Naruto) does it, and he's the most popular character in the series. Katsushirou (Samurai 7) did it, and he has girls falling all over him in the anime. Being emo isn't nearly as well-received in the Americas. Their plots are structured differently as well, and so we might not find them to be spectacular.

Really, I just enjoyed the movie because it made the characters I loved from FFVII come to life as impressively-rendered figures to do a bunch of totally awesome fighting.

What the hell are you talking about?! Animes usually are ten times more in-depth and story driven than most American cartoons (or even live action shows, for that matter).

Look at Monster, Kino's Journey, Evangelion, Trigun, Most all Gundam series (with a few exceptions), Paranoia Agent, DNAngel. These are just ones I was able to come up with OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. If I were to actually sit down and try to compile a full list, I'm POSITIVE I could get in excess of 50 anime which are all driven by the plot and are not just "senseless action."

Of course animes like DBZ or Naruto are going to be more about the ACTION than the story, but they're SHOUNEN JUMP. They're intended for CHILDREN, even over in Japan. The target audience for Naruto is like, 10 - 15 over there. That's why generally these animes are FROWNED UPON, even in the major anime sub-society. Really, when was the last time you saw someone over the age of 15 talking about how SUPER COOL Dragon Ball Z was?

But you know, you must be right. SpongeBob Square Pants is obviously so much more story driven than any Japanese cartoon!

Also, the "ass-kicking" in AC was RIDICULOUS. It wasn't "BADASS" or "SUPER NEAT LOL XD" it was just plain annoying. I mean, obviously the action doesn't need to be REALISTIC, but they broke the suspension of disbelief. I've played through the game several times. It's my second favorite game of all time. But y'know, I don't remember Cloud ever flipping around in the air and then cutting through a motorcycle which was hurled at him by a guy who used his legs to throw it and nothing but one of his arms to support him. I also don't remember him ever jumping literally THOUSANDS of feet into the air so that he can kill a SUMMON MONSTER. I also don't remember him ever being able to take a gun shot DIRECTLY TO HIS FACE from point blank range and not being hurt at all (save a small scratch).

Here's a few shots to show you what I'm talking about (in case you haven't seen the movie):
Throwing a motorcycle
Flipping around in midair to cut through the motorcycle
Being shot in the face from point blank range

It sure was a good thing he had those secret deflective sunglasses! XD
I hate to think what would have happened if he hadn't been wearing them! XD

Also, the story wasn't just BAD. It was COUNTER PRODUCTIVE to the plot of the GAME! It wasn't consistent or accurate at all! I mean, everything from the major problems (Rufus working with Kadaj) to the tiniest little details which you would think they'd be able to fix (the summon materia was blue instead of red). It seriously felt like the writer and director HADN'T EVEN PLAYED THE GAME.

Also, that whole "lol japanese love emo" statement was so stupid. There are just as much "emos" (i hate that term) on American TV as Japanese. Hell, some of the most popular teen shows of ALL TIME had "emos" as the main stars. Look at the OC for crying out loud! Or even Dawson's Creek! They might not of had the look, but they had the attitude.

Also, Sasuke was the most popular character even BEFORE he went emo. He's always been popular because he's BADASS and STRONG. He didn't turn emo until episode 107, when he first realizes that Naruto is stronger than him. The point is, people love him for being BADASS, not emo. His popularity has actually GONE DOWN since he turned emo. He's not even in the opening or closing credits currently!

Ugh. You know, there are SO MANY THINGS wrong with this movie. I honestly could go ON AND ON about how it's terrible, but something tells me you wont listen and don't care. The bottom line is: People who like a movie like AC probably like any kind of "extreme super cool action movie" that's spoonfed to them.

So here are some recommendations for other '05 movies I think you'll enjoy:
Into the Blue.
The Transporter 2.

-edit-
Also, I forgot to add this: FF7 (the game) had one of the most IN-DEPTH STORYLINES IN ANY GAME EVER. That's why it was so revolutionary. It was one of the first console games to have more than 20 hours of gameplay. There was so much going on and so many sub plots. What I'm trying to say here is this: If FF7 the game had a CRAZY in-depth story, then you would EXPECT a sequel to have a GREAT story as well. Don't compare Advent Children to animes like Naruto. Compare it to the game which it's meant to be paired with.