Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016) - Movie Review

This is going to be a different kind of review than I am used to writing for this blog. See, for the most part, I rather obviously view and critique films from the perspective of a film-goer: Is it entertaining, is it smart, is it using the visual medium properly, etc. However, because this film is ingrained in something that is a rather prominent part of my childhood and my history as a gamer, I will be looking at this film from that perspective. From watching my uncle play Final Fantasy IX to playing the PS2-era titles in the franchise to rediscovering emulators and the PS1 era to purchasing the X/X-2 HD Remaster, this franchise has formed a rather large part of my tastes when it comes to games.

However, even with it containing some of my all-time favourites in the form of IX, X and XII, it has fallen extremely far in recent times. Between the mockery that was Final Fantasy XIII to the wrong-headed idea to turn it into a trilogy to both attempts to make XIV’s MMO work, with Square-Enix apologising profusely for the latter, it genuinely seems like the glory days of the series with its iconic characters, locales, combat and even musical cues are far behind them. So, when it was announced the latest instalment in the series was getting a companion film made and released, I… was rather hesitant. I mean, outside of working as a film in its own right, this film has to prove to me that this is a game universe worth investing in again, and after the travesty of Lightning and the Annoying Bunch, that is a tough ask.

Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) - Movie Review

One of the main reasons why I don’t even try to be objective in these reviews is that there are several conflicting ways that a film can be enjoyed. It can be from how legitimately good a film is or it can be from how unbelievably bad a film is, and any variation between the two. While it’s easy enough to get a grasp on what film is legitimately good, it’s a little harder to determine what makes an enjoyably bad film, since it falls under that generally ambiguous realm of subjectivity that is comedy. What’s more, people rarely if ever actively find a film that fits into that category on purpose; somehow, I doubt that the phenomenon that is The Room was actively sought out for in the beginning. It is with all this in mind that we venture into today’s subject.