Movie
Description
Cloud Strife is the protagonist of the 2005 film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The story takes place two years after the events of the original Final Fantasy VII game. Following the defeat of the planet-threatening meteor and the madman Sephiroth, Cloud has tried to build a quiet life. He has distanced himself from his former allies and now works as a courier, living alone in the city of Edge, which was rebuilt near the ruins of the former Midgar.
Physically, Cloud remains a young man in his early twenties with notably spiky blond hair and distinct mako-infused blue eyes that mark him as a former member of the elite soldier unit known as SOLDIER. In Advent Children, his appearance has been redesigned for a more realistic look. He wears a dark, high-collared coat, a simple black shirt, and durable pants suited for action. His most iconic possession remains his sword, or rather, an entirely new set of weaponry. He now carries a collection of six interlocking blades known collectively as the Fusion Swords, which can be combined into a single, massive Buster Sword. He also rides a new, heavily customized motorcycle named Fenrir.
This film portrays Cloud in a deeply somber and withdrawn state. The creators deliberately presented him as more tormented than at the end of the original game. He is haunted by profound guilt over the deaths of his friends Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough. His psychological burden is compounded by his contraction of Geostigma, a terminal, incurable plague that afflicts many survivors of the meteor crisis. Cloud blames himself for his illness and for failing to prevent the suffering of others. He has become distant, refusing to answer phone calls from his friends and isolating himself because he feels unworthy of their help and fears he cannot protect anyone. A recurring visual motif is a grey wolf that appears before him, which represents the deepest, most burdened part of his psyche.
Despite his isolation, Cloud is drawn back into action when three young men named Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo appear. These remnants of Sephiroth seek to reunite with Jenova's head and revive their progenitor. Cloud is initially reluctant to fight, believing himself unfit to help anyone. His motivation throughout the film is not to save the world, but to seek forgiveness and to protect the children who look up to him, specifically a young boy named Denzel, whom Cloud has taken in. Denzel, who also suffers from Geostigma, lives with Cloud and Tifa Lockhart, Cloud’s childhood friend. Tifa serves as a grounding presence, urging Cloud to return home and confront his responsibilities rather than endlessly drifting. Her role is to help him move past his self-pity.
Clouds most significant relationships in the film are with the memory of Aerith, whose lingering presence in the Lifestream guides and consoles him, and with his archnemesis Sephiroth. The narrative forces Cloud to confront his past failures directly when Sephiroth is reborn. This confrontation becomes the catalyst for his development. Cloud finally admits that he carries the memories and spirit of his fallen friends with him, realizing that nothing he cherishes is truly lost. He overcomes the corrupting influence of Geostigma, which is healed by the pure water in Aeriths church. By the end of the film, Cloud forgives himself, accepts that he is not alone, and smiles genuinely for the first time, symbolizing his emotional return to life and community.
As a combatant, Cloud possesses superhuman speed, agility, and strength. He is able to dodge bullets, leap great distances, and slice through massive concrete structures with ease. His swordsmanship is highly skilled, and he can separate and recombine his Fusion Swords during combat for different tactical advantages. His ultimate technique, performed during his final duel with Sephiroth, is a devastating multi-strike attack known as the Omnislash Version 5. While he shows vulnerability and is nearly defeated, his resolve allows him to harness his full power, demonstrating that his true strength comes from his bond with his friends, both living and dead.
Physically, Cloud remains a young man in his early twenties with notably spiky blond hair and distinct mako-infused blue eyes that mark him as a former member of the elite soldier unit known as SOLDIER. In Advent Children, his appearance has been redesigned for a more realistic look. He wears a dark, high-collared coat, a simple black shirt, and durable pants suited for action. His most iconic possession remains his sword, or rather, an entirely new set of weaponry. He now carries a collection of six interlocking blades known collectively as the Fusion Swords, which can be combined into a single, massive Buster Sword. He also rides a new, heavily customized motorcycle named Fenrir.
This film portrays Cloud in a deeply somber and withdrawn state. The creators deliberately presented him as more tormented than at the end of the original game. He is haunted by profound guilt over the deaths of his friends Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough. His psychological burden is compounded by his contraction of Geostigma, a terminal, incurable plague that afflicts many survivors of the meteor crisis. Cloud blames himself for his illness and for failing to prevent the suffering of others. He has become distant, refusing to answer phone calls from his friends and isolating himself because he feels unworthy of their help and fears he cannot protect anyone. A recurring visual motif is a grey wolf that appears before him, which represents the deepest, most burdened part of his psyche.
Despite his isolation, Cloud is drawn back into action when three young men named Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo appear. These remnants of Sephiroth seek to reunite with Jenova's head and revive their progenitor. Cloud is initially reluctant to fight, believing himself unfit to help anyone. His motivation throughout the film is not to save the world, but to seek forgiveness and to protect the children who look up to him, specifically a young boy named Denzel, whom Cloud has taken in. Denzel, who also suffers from Geostigma, lives with Cloud and Tifa Lockhart, Cloud’s childhood friend. Tifa serves as a grounding presence, urging Cloud to return home and confront his responsibilities rather than endlessly drifting. Her role is to help him move past his self-pity.
Clouds most significant relationships in the film are with the memory of Aerith, whose lingering presence in the Lifestream guides and consoles him, and with his archnemesis Sephiroth. The narrative forces Cloud to confront his past failures directly when Sephiroth is reborn. This confrontation becomes the catalyst for his development. Cloud finally admits that he carries the memories and spirit of his fallen friends with him, realizing that nothing he cherishes is truly lost. He overcomes the corrupting influence of Geostigma, which is healed by the pure water in Aeriths church. By the end of the film, Cloud forgives himself, accepts that he is not alone, and smiles genuinely for the first time, symbolizing his emotional return to life and community.
As a combatant, Cloud possesses superhuman speed, agility, and strength. He is able to dodge bullets, leap great distances, and slice through massive concrete structures with ease. His swordsmanship is highly skilled, and he can separate and recombine his Fusion Swords during combat for different tactical advantages. His ultimate technique, performed during his final duel with Sephiroth, is a devastating multi-strike attack known as the Omnislash Version 5. While he shows vulnerability and is nearly defeated, his resolve allows him to harness his full power, demonstrating that his true strength comes from his bond with his friends, both living and dead.