Avatar is the story of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) who is a paraplegic ex-Marine whose twin brother was a scientist destined for the alien planet of Pandora to do research. Jake takes his place in the Avatar Program. The Avatar Program puts scientists and researchers in bodies of native creatures, the Na’vi, that have been created for the scientists so they can survive on the planet. Jake takes over his brother’s avatar and the head scientist Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) assigns him as security. While in the forest Jake gets lost and is assisted by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). The humans are on Pandora to mine an energy source called unobtanium. Head of the mining program Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) and military commander Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) have sinister plans to move the Na’vi and destroy the landscape for mining.
Avatar has already grossed $1,137,846,909, according to Box Office Mojo, so my opinion on this movie will not change its commercial success. No matter what I have to say people will still stream into the theater and pay good money to watch it.
Let’s get some of my negatives out of the way first. I am not nearly as cynical and embittered towards big-budget movies as I used to be, but there are a lot of things about Avatar that don’t sit right with me. All the legal issues and questions surrounding the originality of the movie bothered me. The animated films Delgo and Battle for Terra both have threatened legal action. Neither really have much legal merit. However, the film Call me Joe might have a case. If you want to learn more about it Cinema Blend has the story. Plus, James Cameron is responsible for Titanic. So, with all of that I went into the theater very skeptical and guarded, but the movie surprised me.
The experience was amazing. I went to see Avatar in Digital 3-D at Regal Cinemas. The visuals are stupendous, and in 3-D there is another added level to the experience. The special effects take it to another level. James Cameron promised that this would revolutionize filmmaking and usher in a new era, and he may not be wrong. There are several examples of all digital filmmaking, Beowulf and The Polar Express among them, none of which have been overly successful. Even though Avatar isn’t entirely digital, its digital scenes stand head and shoulders above any of those movies. The experience is entirely new and wonderful. The landscapes are magical, the floating mountains are majestic, and the forests are beautiful and alive with unique plant life. It is clear that a lot of imagination went into creating this world. And these visuals prop up the rest of the movie. It is easy to get lost in how beautiful the world is.
The alien creatures are interesting, but they don’t seem entirely original. Most of the creatures seem very similar to creatures in other movies, they reminded me of creatures from Star Wars II and III. The Na’vi were very well made. They moved very fluidly. Zoe Saldana (Star Trek) did an amazing job. Her moves and mannerisms were consistent, which is very important. There was some good acting all around. Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Ghostbusters) is no stranger to Science Fiction. Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation) is shaping up to a promising action hero. Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan) did a great job as a scheming executive and was surprisingly evil.
In the end, it's definitely a benchmark film. It will be remembered as a great movie for the way it advanced effects. Few movies can have a great script and a great look. It doesn’t break any new ground with its story. At any given point it can seem like (or look like) Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, or Star Wars. But even Star Wars is a cowboy-samurai space movie at its core. It will get some obligatory Oscar attention. James Cameron, Zoe Saldana, and the visual effects crew will most likely get nomination. It's going to spark a lot of other filmmakers to be more adventurous and arduous with special effects. But it's probably going to be overshadowed in the movies that follow up. It is always a tougher road for the pioneers. It was enjoyable and really cool in 3D. It’s definitely worth a watch in theaters.
Rating: 3.5/5
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