Review/Commentary: Avatar
January 2nd 2010 23:34
Happy New Year everyone!
Avatar (Cameron, 2009)
Only 3 weeks since its release, James Cameron’s Avatar has become more than a movie. It is a full-fledged theater experience. I saw Avatar in IMAX 3-D (the only way to even consider seeing it, in my opinion) with a sold-out crowd. I had to separate from my party and sat in the middle of 4 pre-teen boys and girls. From the second the theater went dark, there was not a sound to be heard from the audience for the next 3 hours. I’m still in shock over this. One must understand my theater going experiences are usually pretty abysmal. I have to deal with constant talking in the form of DVD commentary, cell phones, crying kids, and more usually every time I see a film. I haven’t heard complete silence in a movie theater since The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The audience and I were completely lost within the world of Pandora. Avatar is one of the most visually stunning films I’ve ever seen. The 3-D, like Roger Ebert says, is not a gimmick but a completely natural inclusion to the film. And as most have said, it’s the story where the film falters.
The dialogue is not very strong or particularly memorable. The story is nothing inherently original but it still does strike a cord. The tones of racism and genocide are completely inescapable. While watching the film, many will relate the goings on to our nation’s history of war and genocide. Other prominent themes are the evils of capitalism and the destruction of our natural habitat. And although the story is not particularly original in its themes (and yes, I’m going to state that the Ferngully comparisons are unmistakable. And I happen to love Ferngully, unlike most. It;s part of my childhood. And so when our two Avatar’s are hopping along a forest which begins glowing under their feet I was transported back to dear old Crysta and Zak) it still contains moments of incredible resonance; my eyes did well up with tears on a few occasions. The characters are mostly archetypes – not overly fleshed out but you know their basic function, motives and characteristics. Sam Worthington as Jake Sully is surprisingly much more effective in human form rather than in his Avatar shell. Worthington’s physical traits in human form are drastically different in about 5 different scenes in the film. It’s almost as if we’re not watching the same actor. Although his line delivery as his Avatar can get rather grating, he is spot-on as a helpless marine with nothing to live for until he discovers otherwise.
As for the rest of the cast, it’s lovely to see Sigourney Weaver as a brilliant kick-ass blend of Ripley and Dian Fossey. Giovanni Ribisi plays a perfect slime-ball and is so terribly under-used (or misused) that I almost clapped with joy every time he was on screen. By far, though, the best performance comes from the only main character whose performance is motion-captured – Zoe Saldana as Neytiri. The performance is raw and palpable. Her range of facial expressions is endless. It’s probably one of the best performances I’ve seen all year and it’s a performance capture. Like Gollum and King Kong, the depth of the character of Neytiri gained through this visual medium is astounding. The score by James Horner has some beautiful moments but for the most part contains an epic soaring composition that proceeds to overwhelm the audience with its presence rather than simply co-exist amongst the story.
It’s understandable why everyone, including respected film critics and even the awards’ circuit is in love with this film. But what’s surprising is the blatant admittance of the less than brilliant script and moreover, that the visual amazement is mostly due to the 3-D.
I recommend the film whole-heartedly in IMAX 3-D if you can find it, or at the very least 3-D. For 3 hours, I was not once bored. I’m not sure I’d be able to say the same if I saw it in 2-D. In fact, I’m not sure I’d even want to see it again if I couldn’t in 3-D. People say that Avatar will change the way mainstream movies are made. Right now, we’re experience a surge of 3-D in the Animation and Horror genres. Most believe that Avatar will expand the genres that incorporate 3-D into their films. I’m hesitant on this aspect. Avatar works in 3-D due to its epic broad scale and the world in which it portrays. The Lord of the Rings trilogy would also be a perfect fit for 3-D. But that doesn’t mean that every action or Sci-Fi film that comes into conception (and please let’s not even think of Romantic Comedy, okay?) should partake in this new insurgence. Only time will tell.
To conclude, Avatar is a perfect example of escapist cinema. If you want to get lost in another world for 3 hours, I can’t think of a better one since The Lord of the Rings. While Avatar is not one of my favorite films of the year, I’m sure it will be rather high on my greatest list due to its technical achievements. That said, if it receives a screenplay nomination, there is no hope for humanity.
Avatar (Cameron, 2009)
Only 3 weeks since its release, James Cameron’s Avatar has become more than a movie. It is a full-fledged theater experience. I saw Avatar in IMAX 3-D (the only way to even consider seeing it, in my opinion) with a sold-out crowd. I had to separate from my party and sat in the middle of 4 pre-teen boys and girls. From the second the theater went dark, there was not a sound to be heard from the audience for the next 3 hours. I’m still in shock over this. One must understand my theater going experiences are usually pretty abysmal. I have to deal with constant talking in the form of DVD commentary, cell phones, crying kids, and more usually every time I see a film. I haven’t heard complete silence in a movie theater since The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The audience and I were completely lost within the world of Pandora. Avatar is one of the most visually stunning films I’ve ever seen. The 3-D, like Roger Ebert says, is not a gimmick but a completely natural inclusion to the film. And as most have said, it’s the story where the film falters.
The dialogue is not very strong or particularly memorable. The story is nothing inherently original but it still does strike a cord. The tones of racism and genocide are completely inescapable. While watching the film, many will relate the goings on to our nation’s history of war and genocide. Other prominent themes are the evils of capitalism and the destruction of our natural habitat. And although the story is not particularly original in its themes (and yes, I’m going to state that the Ferngully comparisons are unmistakable. And I happen to love Ferngully, unlike most. It;s part of my childhood. And so when our two Avatar’s are hopping along a forest which begins glowing under their feet I was transported back to dear old Crysta and Zak) it still contains moments of incredible resonance; my eyes did well up with tears on a few occasions. The characters are mostly archetypes – not overly fleshed out but you know their basic function, motives and characteristics. Sam Worthington as Jake Sully is surprisingly much more effective in human form rather than in his Avatar shell. Worthington’s physical traits in human form are drastically different in about 5 different scenes in the film. It’s almost as if we’re not watching the same actor. Although his line delivery as his Avatar can get rather grating, he is spot-on as a helpless marine with nothing to live for until he discovers otherwise.
As for the rest of the cast, it’s lovely to see Sigourney Weaver as a brilliant kick-ass blend of Ripley and Dian Fossey. Giovanni Ribisi plays a perfect slime-ball and is so terribly under-used (or misused) that I almost clapped with joy every time he was on screen. By far, though, the best performance comes from the only main character whose performance is motion-captured – Zoe Saldana as Neytiri. The performance is raw and palpable. Her range of facial expressions is endless. It’s probably one of the best performances I’ve seen all year and it’s a performance capture. Like Gollum and King Kong, the depth of the character of Neytiri gained through this visual medium is astounding. The score by James Horner has some beautiful moments but for the most part contains an epic soaring composition that proceeds to overwhelm the audience with its presence rather than simply co-exist amongst the story.
It’s understandable why everyone, including respected film critics and even the awards’ circuit is in love with this film. But what’s surprising is the blatant admittance of the less than brilliant script and moreover, that the visual amazement is mostly due to the 3-D.
I recommend the film whole-heartedly in IMAX 3-D if you can find it, or at the very least 3-D. For 3 hours, I was not once bored. I’m not sure I’d be able to say the same if I saw it in 2-D. In fact, I’m not sure I’d even want to see it again if I couldn’t in 3-D. People say that Avatar will change the way mainstream movies are made. Right now, we’re experience a surge of 3-D in the Animation and Horror genres. Most believe that Avatar will expand the genres that incorporate 3-D into their films. I’m hesitant on this aspect. Avatar works in 3-D due to its epic broad scale and the world in which it portrays. The Lord of the Rings trilogy would also be a perfect fit for 3-D. But that doesn’t mean that every action or Sci-Fi film that comes into conception (and please let’s not even think of Romantic Comedy, okay?) should partake in this new insurgence. Only time will tell.
To conclude, Avatar is a perfect example of escapist cinema. If you want to get lost in another world for 3 hours, I can’t think of a better one since The Lord of the Rings. While Avatar is not one of my favorite films of the year, I’m sure it will be rather high on my greatest list due to its technical achievements. That said, if it receives a screenplay nomination, there is no hope for humanity.
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