Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

A computer-generated story of earthlings battling wraithlike alien invaders. It's 2065; lithe scientist Dr Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na) is trying to harness the spiritual power of near extinct plants and animals to overcome the extra-terrestrials' grip on the planet. Protecting her are square-jawed trooper Gary Edwards (Baldwin) and his assault team, but the project faces an uncertain future: hawkish General Hein (Woods) favours a space-launched raygun aimed at the aliens' nerve centre - putting the Earth itself at risk. It's hard not to be impressed by writer/director Sakaguchi's visualisation of military hardware and squishy monsters. The human figure, however, remains a challenge to current CGI technology, since the detailing of hair and freckles, for instance, proves rather more credible than the marionette-like impression created by cold eyes and oddly unconvincing body movements.