For a long time I thought that no other movie was going to knock Titanic off its Box Office throne. When The Dark Knight was released I was sure that Christopher Nolan’s second film in his new and “realistic” Batman franchise would be the one to finally top James Cameron’s last movie in 12 years at the box office. The Dark Knight made $1 billion internationally, but was still a tad off from getting to Titanic-like status, by about $800 million. But it finally looks like James Cameron’s romantic epic is about to topped … by another James Cameron film. Press suspect that Cameron’s new 3D epic, Avatar, will be finally knocking Titanic off its throne in a matter of weeks. But box office news aside, the question is; is Avatar worth the hype?
The film opens with our hero Jake Sully, an ex-marine, played by Rockingham native Sam Worthington, waking up from a 6 year space trip in cryo. How does a paraplegic find his way into outer-space? Turns out he has a twin brother with whom he shares the same DNA, presenting him with an opportunity to explore a new world, and walk again, through his brothers’ Avatar; a Na’vi being mixed with human DNA which allows human users to control them. It doesn’t take long until we’re already on Pandora, the small moon in which the story takes place, where a greedy human corporation is trying to mine for Unobtanium with the largest deposit of it laying directly under Na’vi territory.
The corporation wants it, at the cost of Na’vi lives. Jakes’ job is “infiltrate” the Na’vi tribe and convince them to movie, or it’s goodnight to the blue people. I could continue on with the plot but, to be honest, the story in Avatar isn’t anything new, it’s been told before. But never like this. This movie is truly an experience, an completely immersive. This is where the film truly shines.
That’s not to say that one can’t connect to the films story; it’s the classic tale of an outsider learning the ways of the Natives and turning on his people, becoming a “traitor” in their eyes. Some people have said this movie is racist, with a “white man” joining the Natives and ultimately saving them. One could see this I suppose, if it wasn’t for the fact that the invading force isn’t just White people, but HUMANS as a whole. Humans of many different ethnic groups who don’t care who gets in the way of what they want. And while the story isn’t anything groundbreaking, I found myself completely immersed into this world. When you feel like you’re really there, and the acting from all the leads is top notch, you simply don’t care and accept the fact that this is a story being told like never before.
The cast give strong performances with Zoe Saldana, who appeared in the fantastic Star Trek last year, playing Na’vi Netyri probably being the highlight of the show. The audience can’t help but fall in love with this character, and the more emotional scenes come across as heartbreaking. Sam Worthington proves once again that he’s a rising talent in Hollywood and definitely one to watch. His performance, and Zoe Saldana’s for that matter, isn’t lost in all the CGI, with their facial animations being the best I’ve ever seen. Their performances, and every other Na’vi characters, is 100% there and helps us believe the characters and the journey they’re taking. Sigourney Weaver is also fantastic as always as the snappy, smoking Dr. Grace Augustine, the head of the Avatar program on Pandora. Stephen Lang is also completely badass as Colonel Miles Quaritch, the merciless head of the mining operation's security detail.
This movie gave me one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve ever had. It worked on in James Cameron’s favour; waiting 12 years for technology to catch up to make his vision come true. The CGI in Avatar is truly the best I’ve ever seen, with many moments in the film where it looks like they’ve put some prosthetics on the actors’ faces and painted them blue. Alien creatures often look like they’re real, with many close ups showing amazing detail that make us believe that such bizarre creatures are really there. That is, until we snap back to reality. Snapping back to reality after seeing Avatar, in glorious 3D, can kinda suck. It’s so immersive that you want to be there. And there’s so much that one could talk about in this movie that they could end up writing a review that they think they might be getting too long. I’ve skimmed over A LOT of detail, but none that everybody hasn’t seen yet anyway. Either way, James Cameron came back and bitch slapped all the haters and doubters. Especially with the final battle which firmly positions Cameron back into the spot of one of the greatest Action directors of all time. He’s back, and he sure delivered.
I did not like this movie. The visuals, 3D and special affects et. al. were superb. The character development, non-existent.
ReplyDeleteTo spend this much money on a movie that shoves obvious platitudes down our collective, or so called ignorant throats. was insulting.
Obviously the money was well spent, as it is grossing disgusting amounts of money.
Micheal Moore, on the other hand, with his documentaries, whether you agree or not, has managed to alert the public to what he perceives as the capitalistic scourge, has managed this with little money and a tad more tactical omphe.
On the technical side, Cameron has created a visual masterpiece which in itself must be celebrated but in terms of a movie that means anything: Not my cup of tea. I don't like movies that try to mean something but fail except at the lowest common denominator.