Avatar is a high budget Hollywood production concerning a far away land, a mystical force, and an incredible battle. Somehow, I managed to not be blown-away. Oh, and it’s the return of director James Cameron to the fictive feature. By now, I too am believing there is something wrong with me.
There isn’t a shortage of danger on Pandora. Just about everything wants to kill humans. Dinosaur like creatures haunt the jungle in such numbers that the precious mineral Unobtainium is hard to extract. The company strip mining the site has a private army of mercs armed to the teeth with VTOL aircraft and what anime fans refer to as mobile suits. Their latest weapon is Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic marine and rookie avatar pilot. An avatar is what the humans colonizing Pandora have created to negotiate with the natives, known as the Na’vi. The Na’vi are ten feet tall, blue humanoids with tails, which hunt with arrows, and live on the largest deposit of Unobtainium. The avatar program replicates these creatures, but allows humans to control the impostors.
Story wise, I appreciate the complexity that Jake’s avatar provides. If Jake wakes up, his avatar goes to sleep. This allows him to quickly communicate with the human side of the story, then switch back to the Na’vis. Additionally the human faction is split between the researcher Grace (Sigourney Weaver) who wants to use the program to provide a peaceful solution for both parties, while Col. Quaritch (Stephan Lang) geared up and ready for blood (he’s a 50-year old hyperbole of an action hero, and that’s taking it lightly). All the performances are strong, but I’d like to give special mention to Zoe Saldana who provides the motion work and vocals of the Na’vi princesses Neytiri. Michelle Rodriguez is great in a limited role, providing air support and fun lines.
There is a lot with which to be wowed. Every frame looks like it costs more than entire films. The CGI work by WETA produces the most life like foliage I’ve seen, the best skin textures, the best metals; a lock for the visual effects Oscar. Ramping the renders up to 3D only increases the prestige factor and the big culprit for the astronomical and unconfirmed budget of Avatar, rumored to be as high as $500 million USD. I did see Avatar in 3D and will say that the 3D aspect is finely implemented. Maybe too good. The reason I say this is that the characters look genuinely 3 dimensional, instead of like pop-up books. However, traditional movies do a fine enough job conveying a sense of depth. I’m sure that “2D” screening will provide just as much enjoyment.
This is possibly the most difficult film to “get into”. The creatures are incredibly outlandish in concept, even the Na’vi who we are supposed to relate toward. It doesn’t help that only one of them has a personality, and by that I mean Neytiri cries a lot. It’s a cruel comparison, but at least Yoda joked around. The Na’vi are one-sided in their perfection. A rivalry between Jake and another is underdeveloped if not quickly forgotten. They don’t cheat; they don’t lie. Their lack of character flaws makes it a challenge to see them as our blemished selves.
Cameron is asking a lot of adults. We are too not only to believe in these blue giants, but to care about them as well. It would seem that the only way to do so would be to make them as real as possible, but I know from earlier this year (Up) that looks can be superficial in judging a character. We are to accept their songs and dance, their ideas, and their skimpy clothing. Standing in the way is a façade that appears similar to the corresponding actor, and this is always surrounded by a multitude of eye candy. There is so much to look at during any given scene, that my eyes had no idea what was important. Subtitles spring up, and are gone before you know any better. Cameron’s goal of creating Pandora has gone to such extremes that you forget there is supposed to be a story behind all of this, and sadly the story’s structure overstays it’s welcome when it comes to building-up a cataclysmic finale. It’s a great climax, but the tension between the humans and the Na’vi is almost painted over by the vibrancies of Pandora. **½
Loading ...
Recent Comments