25 October 2016

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (Japan, 2016)

The magical kingdom of Lucis is home to the hallowed Crystal, but the menacing empire of Niflheim will stop at nothing to make it theirs. War has raged between the two for as long as most can remember. King Regis of Lucis commands an elite force of soldiers dubbed the Kingsglaive. Wielding their king's magic, Nyx Ulric and his fellow glaives stand before the crown city of Insomnia, fighting to stay the inexorable advance of Niflheim's imperial army.

Kingsglaive is the latest in the CG fests that's been rolled out by game developer giant Square Enix, preceded by The Spirits Within (2001) and Advent Children (2005). It's basically an introduction to an upcoming game, but it's so completely crazy that fans of computer animated films can enjoy the spectacular end overly epic fights taking place all over Kingsglaive's running time. You're thrown into a storm of names and political intrigues, and it can certainly be hard to follow everything that's going on, but the animation is beyond beautiful and seeing it a second time can help with getting a grip on the story rather than just drool over the visuals. Sure, it can be regarded as mere guilty pleasure, but it's way better and more developed than  the often dreadful Advent Children. Kingsglaive takes every amazing fight in that movie and cranks it up to 11. A bit cheesy and melodramatic, but entertaining nontheless if you're in the mood for explosive eye candy.


Genre: Animation/Action