James Cameron no longer needs cameras to make a film. He only needs the power of HIS MIND.
‘Avatar‘ is a visually stunning piece of work, best seen on as big a screen as possible. It is certainly not a revolution in filmmaking, and it will not change the way you see movies.
It pushes the limits of CGI, thanks to the folks at WETA Digital, and James Cameron’s solid direction makes the entirety of ‘Avatar’ interesting to look at. Each frame is filled with life, and the experience (at least on an IMAX screen) was almost totally immersive.
A while back I had heard the movie being referred to as “Dances with Smurfs,” and “Dune without the Sand.” After seeing ‘Avatar,’ I’d say those are ways to describe the plot. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a human who, through the power of SCIENCE, is able to transfer his consciousness into the body of a Na’vi, a tall blue alien native of the planet Pandora.
The humans want to raze the forest to get their hands on a rare substance called unobtainium (yes, you heard me… more on that here), so they get Jake to spy on the Na’vi, who have been resisting the more technologically savvy (and much shorter) humans. Will Jake see the beauty in the world of Pandora and have a change of heart? What do you think?
Cameron pulls a neat trick to get us into the alien world of the Na’vi: he takes the human Worthington, and puts him in a box so he can become one of them. Jake’s Big Blue Alien is his Avatar, and Jake is ours. Like Jake, we’re sitting in a box and transported to another world. On an IMAX screen, in 3D, it’s an incredible experience.
Unlike what you might have seen in ‘Terminator Salvation,’ Worthington can carry a film. His accent is a little wobbly, but his physicality and sincerity more than make up for that. There’s no sense of irony in Jake Sully, and that’s nice to see. He was my main worry about ‘Avatar,’ but that went away about three minutes into the two and a half hour running time.
One of the great things about women in James Cameron films is that they’re never just “The Girl.” Zoe Saldana gives a convincing performance as Neytiri, a Na’vi warrior who befriends Jake. Not once did I think “Hey, that’s Uhura.” Sigourney Weaver is, as expected, incredible. Amidst seven trillion dollars worth of effects, she stands out as a powerhouse.
Requisite Twilight slam: "We may look silly, but at least we don't sparkle in sunlight."
The Bad Guys(tm) don’t fare as well in the characterization department. In fact, they’re downright cartoonish. Giovanni Ribisi plays the logical evolution of Paul Reiser’s character from Aliens, and Stephen Lang plays Hardass McStereotype, the trigger-happy soldier with a penchant for cliches (he actually says “We’re not in Kansas anymore”).
The "Alternate Universe Vanilla Ice" subplot was removed from the final cut.
The plot feels overly familiar, but that’s okay. The whole world is new, so I suppose a more “traditional” story keeps things grounded for us. If Cameron hadn’t touted ‘Avatar’ as changing the way we watch movies, then I probably wouldn’t give it a second thought. It was Cameron himself who set that expectation, so I couldn’t help going into the movie thinking “Okay, Cameron… back up your statement.” From what I saw on the screen, he didn’t make his point. I don’t think anyone is going to measure their movie-going lives as “Before Avatar” and “After Avatar.”
I don’t want to end this review on a negative note. I do recommend ‘Avatar.’ if you go in expecting a decent movie with great visuals, that’s what you’ll get.
3 Comments
If 3-D does catch on, will we all be buying custom glasses? As I tossed off my used-once specs after the show, I shuddered to think how many tonnes of plastic this film is eating up across the world. Sure, the theater provides a “recycle your glasses” box, but how wasteful can we be? Besides, the damned things left big red marks on our noses!
Let’s face it: 3-D is a technology that will always have great future promise, but no matter how much money is thrown at it, never manages to take hold. Sort of the Toronto Maple Leafs of cinema.
Thanks for the thoughtful review: for me, Avatar’s special effects aren’t enough to balance out a plotline that yawns. The result is a film I’d watch once for the spectacle, and that’s it. It’s an interesting contrast with Up in the Air, a film with minimal spectacle, an unconventional plot and lots of meaty and clever dialogue; a film that draws me back to watch it again.
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Are certain characters in this movie stereotypical? Yes. But there are also moments that are unique to Avatar, from the paraplegic hero to the tender alien-human moment toward the end. By the end of this film, both the glorious special effects AND the story will have you in tears. Ignore this tepid endorsement, and go see Avatar!
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You got it all wrong buddy – this movie is certainly a revolution in filmmaking and this is exactly why I am going to measure my movie-going life as “Before Avatar” and “After Avatar”.
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