7-11-2001		9-15-2001
	8-10-2001		8-10-2001

The year is 2065. The Earth was over-run by an unknown alien race, that has come to be called Phantoms. When a meteor crashed into the planet, it unleashed these Phantoms, and they began to destroy all living things they came into contact with.
All efforts of destroying these creatures have failed, and many lives have been lost. With the assistance of a great Scientist name Sid, the few surviving groups of people were able to erect giant barriers, and weapons to defend against these intruders. Now he and his assistant Aki Ross rush to find a way to end the conflict, and bring back peace to the world. But will their theory work, before other more destructive means are used?

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was released in the US in 2001, to very mixed reviews. Though it was highly promoted by Sony Pictures, it failed miserably in theaters, nearly bankrupting Squaresoft, and delayed the merger of Square and Enix. The total cost of the film was $137 million, and the world wide gross only came to $85 million. In 2001, this was the largest loss for any film in history. Roger Ebert was a huge supporter of the film. This was shocking to actually see, as he is very critical of films. But he said: "that The Spirits Within was a technical milestone, and though it had a nut and bolt story, with less intelligence and daring of say A.I., I hope it succeeds in hopes of seeing more films like it.". And he ended up giving it a 3 1/2 out of 4.
But despite the negative reviews, it was a relatively good movie to watch.
First of all, the graphics found in this film were beyond anything seen in film history. The detail of the characters, backgrounds, shading, and rendering were stunning from beginning to end. It truly showed the possibilities for computer animation in the film industry. It also set a unprecedented bar for future CG films that would come out. Everything from eyes, to clothing, to single strands of hair were given the utmost detail, for the reality of the film. Even as CG films such as Advant Children: Final Fantasy VII have come, the graphics of TSW are still boggling.
The voicing of the characters was also done well. The cast was lead by Ming Na for Aki Ross (Mulan), and she was followed by a great ensemble that included Steve Buscemi, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, and James Woods as General Hein. The voices perfectly matched their character counterparts, and made them come to life. They were all for the most part, perfect matches. I could not think of another person to play say Dr Sid, than Mr. Sutherland.
The music was of typical Sci-Fi sounds, showing a vast similarity to the Aliens trilogy. This is probably accounted with the fact that the composer, Elliot Goldenthal, worked on both films. It was greatly done with TSW, and was interlaced with the right moods and tones at the right times. The music definitely had moving, sweeping, epic feelings throughout the entire film
The story, seems to be where the film suffers the most. Though it is a solid plot and story line, it just seems like there could have been (and should have been) so much more to it than what you see on the screen. The biggest misconception is that the story revolved around a Final Fantasy Universe, when it actually had more similarities to the Illusions of Gaia game. This disappointed a great many fans, and could be one of the larger factors to the loss the movie had in the theaters.

Aside from that, it was just a very slow moving plot, and it almost made you a bit bored after a while.
It was released to VHS and DVD later in the year, and sold fairly well, for being a financial bomb at the box office. In time, it has grown quite a fan base, and has now become something of a classic. It is also a major milestone in the film industry. Without The Spirits Within, Advent Children would not have followed suit years later.
I suggest seeing the film, then judging for yourself how well this movie is.