All these people who have discovered Cloud in Kingdom Hearts or Deviant (Fan) Art seemed to regard him as this tremendous Emo, and Advent Children only legitimized that misapprehension.In the original game, he is more moody and defiant. It's true that he had an inferiority complex larger than his sword, but he did not mope about like some spoiled suburban brat: he brooded, the pastime of many a manly badass! I will grant that brooding can easily devolve into moping, as Squall demonstrates in FF8, but Cloud never succumbed to such childishness. Even his initial apathy is tempered by his willingness to do anything move forward, be it cross-dressing or dragon slaying. And as the plot progresses he shrugs off his Ennui, becoming a confident and compassionate leader.

There was that one bit where he sat slack-jawed and drooling in a wheel chair, but I chalk that up to mako-poisoning.

Don't get me wrong, it makes sense that a guy would mourn for his dead lady love, but Cloud seems to have come to terms with Aerith's passing by the end of the game. Yet Advent Children has him wandering around (or "Drifting" as Tifa chides) for ninety percent of the film. We only get a couple fleeting glimpses of this old, awesome Cloud (like when he casually dodges Reno's assault and locks him out of the room). Apparently, giving Sephiroth the slice and dice is the only thing that will pull him out of a funk. And awesome as that final limit break finish is, the damage to his character has been done. Cloud will forever be remembered as a Mopey Mcmiserable.

Aside from that rather significant complaint, my opinion of Advent Children mirrors Shihnongs. Nothing is completed in the complete version, but fans will have fun reuniting with their favorite characters. The Turk scenes alone make it worth the watching really. Probably better to rent than buy though, unless you want a presentation piece for your new HDTV.