Gosh, this is a strange one. "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" was directed by game series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and produced by Square Pictures, an all-new film division of the company that made the games.
Its deep creative connections to the games makes it all the more baffling that it is basically unrecognizable as a "Final Fantasy" product. Instead of telling a highly dramatic story in any of the games' iconic fantasy worlds, it's a somewhat dull science fiction tale set in post-alien-invasion Earth.
Its characters are all fully computer-animated, but made to look realistic instead of cartoony. It was ambitious, but the technology just wasn't there at the time, so everyone has creepy, dead eyes.
Having said all of that, I don't hate "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." There are glimpses here and there of the "Final Fantasy" soul, with some great visuals near the end of the movie.