First Hit: A visual extravaganza and a very satisfying 160 minute film.
I went to the theater skeptical of this latest James Cameron film. His last big film, Titanic, was one of the most boringly long and overdone films I’d ever seen. However, he more than made up for it with Avatar.
Sure, there was some clunky dialog (“We’re not in Kansas anymore” – In the year 2154 they wouldn’t know about this line from the Wizard of Oz) and there were some overly staged and orchestrated scenes (Sitting around the Tree of Souls), however all in all this was a wonderfully entertaining film.
In brief; the story line is that humans, from a dying earth, are mining “Unobtanium” (a substance which is expensive but we are never told how humans will use it), on this phantasmagoric planet called Pandora (Yes, Pandora like the box).
The Na’vi, who are about 10 - 12 feet tall and have blue skin, live on this beautiful planet. They live in harmony with the nature of their planet and reside in a tree that is over a thousand feet tall. In this operation to mine Unobtanium, the company supports and tolerates some scientists who are attempting to learn about and live within the spirit of the Na’vi people by using Avatars (A body made of both Human/Na’vi chromosomes).
Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington), a paraplegic Marine, is pressed into action to control one of the Avatars. He slowly befriends Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) who is the daughter of the spiritual leader of the Na’vi. She sees something special in Jake and teaches him their ways.
While he learns their culture and earns their trust, his human military leader Colonel Miles Quaritch (played by Stephen Lang) is pushing him to either negotiate with the Na’vi to move their home to make room for more mining of Unobtanium or to provide him with enough information to destroy the Na’vi in their home.
Cameron did an outstanding job of keeping this long film moving (he learned from Titanic). Although clunky at times, the dialog, storyline and action were well gauged. However, the thing that impressed me the most about this film was the use of the digital 3D. Cameron didn’t use the 3D as a gimmick to push stuff in your face. It was used to put you, the movie goers, into the film. It made you part of it. It was not distracting it was enhancing. The small touches of flying bugs popping up here and there along with the depth it added to each scene was amazing. The digitalized enhanced Na’vi were wonderfully created and did not seem false or unreal in any way. The creatures and fauna created as part of the planet’s life were beautifully created and represented.
Overall: This film was very satisfying. It was fun, visually stunning, and the story was adequate enough to push this full blown film forward. I really enjoyed it.