The magical kingdom of Lucis is home to the sacred Crystal, and the menacing empire of Niflheim is determined to steal it. King Regis of Lucis (Sean Bean) commands an elite force of soldiers called the Kingsglaive. Wielding their king’s magic, Nyx (Aaron Paul) and his fellow soldiers fight to protect Lucis. As the overwhelming military might of the empire bears down, King Regis is faced with an impossible ultimatum – to marry his son, Prince Noctis to Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae (Lena Headey), captive of Niflheim, and surrender his lands to the empire’s rule. Although the king concedes, it becomes clear that the empire will stop at nothing to achieve their devious goals, with only the Kingsglaive standing between them and world domination.
Final Fantasy XV: Kingsglaive is a prequel for the upcoming video game Final Fantasy XV. The movie helps set up the plot and explain the complex political situation in the new fantasy world. While the game will focus on Prince Noctius and his friends on a road-trip to save the world, Kingsglaive is set in the capital of the kingdom of Lucis. The movie focuses' on a group of protectors called the Kingsglaive who borrow magic from their king, King Regis played by Sean Bean. King Regis's kingdom Lucis has been under attack by an empire called Niflheim. After an attack Niflheim proposes a treaty to end the war all together. A soldier from the Kingslaive, Nyx, played by Aaron Paul, is sent to rescue a kidnapped Princess, Lunafreya, played by Leana Headey, and discovers the treaty is simply a distraction before Niflheim's final attack on the capital.
My major complaint is the lack of female characters. I knew going in this might be a problem as only two females have been introduced in trailers for the video game. I was pleasantly surprised at a female Kingsglaive member appearing to be a main character at the beginning of the movie. However, she was the only one and it was soon apparent her only use in the movie was to be a little sister character to the male heroes who needed a little push. Princess Lunafreya mentioned multiple times that she wanted to help and fight and would not stand back as the males in the movie tried to rescue her. That was simply talk as she moved around doing what the men told her to do. I only hope that she will have a stronger role in the game. So far this feels like a step backwards from Square Enix who had two sisters, Lightning and Serah, as the main heroes in the Final Fantasy XIII saga. This was extremely discouraging to me throughout the movie.
The movie does a great job setting up the game Final Fantasy XV and the theatrical release is wonderful for keeping the hype up. I do not see this movie, however, standing alone. You need to go into it knowing the basic plot for Final Fantasy XV and an understanding of Final Fantasy games in general. Following the plot gets confusing between all the battles and fights and they expect you to already be familiar with the characters. As an avid Final Fantasy fan I enjoyed the movie and got excited to start playing the game when it comes out in November. The movie will be a nice companion to the deluxe edition of Final Fantasy XV but that is all I see it as. If you cannot wait to play the game I recommend going to see Kingsglaive in theaters (also stay through the credits for an extra scene), otherwise I suggest waiting till you play the game.
If you are interested you can watch the first twelve minutes of the movie below as well as a list of participating theaters:
http://www.kingsglaivefinalfantasyxv-movie.com/site/
Wow, this is super cool. I played Final Fantasy a bit as a child, but I didn't know they were still releasing new material, let alone a movie!
ReplyDeleteYeah! They're defiantly pulling all the stops to promote this new game. They've also realized a miniseries on YouTube and an app for a game that they apparently play in the game.
Delete