Avatar
http://cinematropolis.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/avatar_poster.jpg?w=377&h=564
I have not written a review in a long time. A very long time, in fact, something which I know you are all very upset about. This little hiatus, however, is nothing compared to the extended lunch break James Cameron has taken; twelve years have passed since he last sat behind a camera to make Titanic and, as another decade threatens to sneak up on us without a new James Cameron film, we get Avatar. Cameron?s latest has proved one of the most hotly debated internet topics of the year, earning as much criticism as it has hype, and now that its release looms over the world, can it possibly cut through all the internet speculation and actually live up to the hype?
In short, no, not quite. This is hardly a major criticism, however; after almost twenty years away from the genre, the return of the man who made some of the greatest sci-fi action films ever to what many consider his home turf could hardly avoid publicity. Expectation levels were then further raised with the news that the film could not even be produced until the right technology was built around it, and so the very fact that the film is not a flawless diamond means it will be something of a letdown to many. However, those who go into Avatar wanting to judge the film on its own merits, not by the standards of the squawking internet mob, will find themselves taking in a rich, rewarding and beautiful experience (and, of course, lots and lots of explosions) and will enjoy the film all the more for it, because the fact of the matter is Avatar is one hundred percent James Cameron?s film, and the man knows what he is doing.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2685/4054023175_f68abda86f.jpg
The plot centres on Jake Sully (Terminator Salvation?s Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine who finds himself stationed on Pandora, a lush jungle moon, to aid an ongoing mining expedition. The expedition is repeatedly stalling as a result of the Pandoran natives, the Na?vi, offering stubborn resistance to the destruction of their land, and the human financial crisis means that the need for more precious minerals becomes even more pressing. As a result, the army uses Jake?s DNA and combines it with that of a Na?vi to create an ?Avatar?, a controllable alien that can breathe the toxic Pandoran atmosphere. Jake?s Avatar must infiltrate the Na?vi in a bid to displace them from within, but Jake soon finds himself in love with a Na?vi called Neytiri, and his sympathies towards the Na?vi culture lead him into direct conflict with his own species. All pretty convoluted stuff, you might think, but Cameron throws the audience into it head first, as much of the backstory is whizzed by you within the first ten minutes of the film, and before you know it you?re watching Jake?s Avatar on the run from some less-than-accommodating Pandoran wildlife. This is the first of many big action scenes, but the film is far from an all out actioner in this vein, and the film does far more than this throughout its 150 minute lifespan.
What Avatar does more than anything is to show that Cameron really is the top of his class when it comes to action directing. There?s a real joy to be had in watching a master at work, and no director has ever put such a complex, ambitious and downright impressive landscape as Pandora on screen before. It looks and sounds astonishing. Whether it?s your eyes being massaged by gently waving foliage, your ears being bludgeoned by a roaring gunship, or your spine tingling at the sight of a gorgeous floating mountain range, complete with tumbling waterfalls, your senses will be constantly stimulated by the world that Cameron has created, in a way that no other film has ever come close to doing. It is utterly immersive in every sense of the word, and half the fun of Avatar is simply getting lost in the fine details of Pandora.
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID29730/images/AVTR-211BMD.jpg
Indeed, getting lost in the world Cameron has laid out for his audience is almost required, as those expecting an all-out spectacular action feast (although there?s hardly a shortage of action) will most likely be disappointed during the films midsection, where the films apparently indefinite timescale (there isn?t any ?ticking clock? to keep to) allows Cameron to explore something that he features prominently in all his films: the love story, and the raw human emotion that goes with it. As much as the technology that made Avatar possible is used for the grand vistas of Pandora, and the action that rages on its surface, its biggest impact is in making its alien characters feel truly alive and, well, human. Astonishingly, each of the 300 plus Na?vi seen on screen is distinct and recognisable, and each imbued with the ability to convey real emotion, whether it be through a bat of an enlarged eyelid, or a gentle swish of an lock of hair. They?re not always photo-real, but it?s hard to complain when the characters? performances are portrayed so effectively.
As Cameron goes for this raw emotional angle, however, the film can be seen as somewhat less than subtle. The angry internet brigade, whose minds have been made up on the film since the first trailer was released, will no doubt use the films? wafer thin analogies of Iraq and Vietnam, and Cameron takes the Bloody Sunday route of siding with the insurgents. There?s no question at all that the humans are the bad guys here (with a few exceptions, including Sigourney Weaver?s Dr. Augustine) ? raping Pandora with no thought for the culture of its natives in the name of supporting their own financial greed, and the ?hippie? focalisation of the narrative is, occasionally, the thing that threatens to drag down the overall experience. The film makes up for this by making the Na?vi actually worth investing in, as there?s never any doubt that they?re more ?human? than the humans themselves, but nevertheless if you don?t like your messages delivered like a brick through your window, then some parts of Avatar will grate.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/4151027001_18a2d90deb.jpg
However, if the middle of the film sags in places, then it?s only for the audience to catch their breath before the astounding third act, in which Cameron throws the proverbial kitchen sink at it in a breathless 50 minute climax, involving a titanic (ha!) human attack on the Na?vi, and the subsequent retaliation, that will surely leave even the hardiest of doubters pinned to the back of their seat in amazement. We?ve seen Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich and their ilk have their way with the action genre for twelve whole years, but with this sustained series of set pieces, Cameron shows, with verve, imagination and panache, just why we all loved him so much in the first place.
It?s an explosive finale that is perhaps symbolic of the Avatar experience as a whole, especially if it is seen in 3D; which, of course, Cameron recommends you to. It?s one of those rare films that is genuinely enhanced considerably by viewing it from behind a pair of polarised glasses, to the extent that there is actually very little point in even bothering with the 2D version. Cameron?s much-vaunted technology superbly surrounds the audience in his world, with each detail painstakingly rendered in front of your eyes, from the tiniest grain of sand to the most sweeping of epic landscapes. If you haven?t taken the 3D plunge yet, there is no finer example than Avatar out there that shows just what 3D can do for the filmwatching experience when used correctly, and by the end of it you?ll be begging for a return to the lavish universe that the last 150 minutes of your life was spent in.
What Avatar is then, despite its flaws, is a renaissance for filmmaking. It may not seem like it from the outside, but, to use an old reviewers? cop-out, it really does need to be seen, nay, experienced, to be truly appreciated. Yes, the plot lacks urgency and direction at times, and at its core it is a generally formulaic tale. However, all this melts away as soon as Cameron reveals just what he?s been planning for the last decade, and the fact is revealed that there?s rarely been a film released that was directed with anything like this level of scope. In 2D, this isn?t quite as pertinent, but when you view it the way it was intended to be viewed, it transcends the silver screen and manages to weave a magic all on its own. Warts and all, Avatar is an utterly brilliant, captivating experience that is the perfect way to end Cameron?s twelve year exile. Could it be that, as we come to the end of the decade, we see its best film released right at the death? Not quite, but, as an experience, and an unforgettable, fantastical one at that, Avatar is as good as anything out there. The King of the World has taken cinema to another world here, and we only hope it isn?t another twelve years before we visit it again.
<spoiler=Other reviews><url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.122501>Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.128226>Killer7
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.131835>Inglourious Basterds
http://cinematropolis.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/avatar_poster.jpg?w=377&h=564
I have not written a review in a long time. A very long time, in fact, something which I know you are all very upset about. This little hiatus, however, is nothing compared to the extended lunch break James Cameron has taken; twelve years have passed since he last sat behind a camera to make Titanic and, as another decade threatens to sneak up on us without a new James Cameron film, we get Avatar. Cameron?s latest has proved one of the most hotly debated internet topics of the year, earning as much criticism as it has hype, and now that its release looms over the world, can it possibly cut through all the internet speculation and actually live up to the hype?
In short, no, not quite. This is hardly a major criticism, however; after almost twenty years away from the genre, the return of the man who made some of the greatest sci-fi action films ever to what many consider his home turf could hardly avoid publicity. Expectation levels were then further raised with the news that the film could not even be produced until the right technology was built around it, and so the very fact that the film is not a flawless diamond means it will be something of a letdown to many. However, those who go into Avatar wanting to judge the film on its own merits, not by the standards of the squawking internet mob, will find themselves taking in a rich, rewarding and beautiful experience (and, of course, lots and lots of explosions) and will enjoy the film all the more for it, because the fact of the matter is Avatar is one hundred percent James Cameron?s film, and the man knows what he is doing.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2685/4054023175_f68abda86f.jpg
The plot centres on Jake Sully (Terminator Salvation?s Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine who finds himself stationed on Pandora, a lush jungle moon, to aid an ongoing mining expedition. The expedition is repeatedly stalling as a result of the Pandoran natives, the Na?vi, offering stubborn resistance to the destruction of their land, and the human financial crisis means that the need for more precious minerals becomes even more pressing. As a result, the army uses Jake?s DNA and combines it with that of a Na?vi to create an ?Avatar?, a controllable alien that can breathe the toxic Pandoran atmosphere. Jake?s Avatar must infiltrate the Na?vi in a bid to displace them from within, but Jake soon finds himself in love with a Na?vi called Neytiri, and his sympathies towards the Na?vi culture lead him into direct conflict with his own species. All pretty convoluted stuff, you might think, but Cameron throws the audience into it head first, as much of the backstory is whizzed by you within the first ten minutes of the film, and before you know it you?re watching Jake?s Avatar on the run from some less-than-accommodating Pandoran wildlife. This is the first of many big action scenes, but the film is far from an all out actioner in this vein, and the film does far more than this throughout its 150 minute lifespan.
What Avatar does more than anything is to show that Cameron really is the top of his class when it comes to action directing. There?s a real joy to be had in watching a master at work, and no director has ever put such a complex, ambitious and downright impressive landscape as Pandora on screen before. It looks and sounds astonishing. Whether it?s your eyes being massaged by gently waving foliage, your ears being bludgeoned by a roaring gunship, or your spine tingling at the sight of a gorgeous floating mountain range, complete with tumbling waterfalls, your senses will be constantly stimulated by the world that Cameron has created, in a way that no other film has ever come close to doing. It is utterly immersive in every sense of the word, and half the fun of Avatar is simply getting lost in the fine details of Pandora.
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID29730/images/AVTR-211BMD.jpg
Indeed, getting lost in the world Cameron has laid out for his audience is almost required, as those expecting an all-out spectacular action feast (although there?s hardly a shortage of action) will most likely be disappointed during the films midsection, where the films apparently indefinite timescale (there isn?t any ?ticking clock? to keep to) allows Cameron to explore something that he features prominently in all his films: the love story, and the raw human emotion that goes with it. As much as the technology that made Avatar possible is used for the grand vistas of Pandora, and the action that rages on its surface, its biggest impact is in making its alien characters feel truly alive and, well, human. Astonishingly, each of the 300 plus Na?vi seen on screen is distinct and recognisable, and each imbued with the ability to convey real emotion, whether it be through a bat of an enlarged eyelid, or a gentle swish of an lock of hair. They?re not always photo-real, but it?s hard to complain when the characters? performances are portrayed so effectively.
As Cameron goes for this raw emotional angle, however, the film can be seen as somewhat less than subtle. The angry internet brigade, whose minds have been made up on the film since the first trailer was released, will no doubt use the films? wafer thin analogies of Iraq and Vietnam, and Cameron takes the Bloody Sunday route of siding with the insurgents. There?s no question at all that the humans are the bad guys here (with a few exceptions, including Sigourney Weaver?s Dr. Augustine) ? raping Pandora with no thought for the culture of its natives in the name of supporting their own financial greed, and the ?hippie? focalisation of the narrative is, occasionally, the thing that threatens to drag down the overall experience. The film makes up for this by making the Na?vi actually worth investing in, as there?s never any doubt that they?re more ?human? than the humans themselves, but nevertheless if you don?t like your messages delivered like a brick through your window, then some parts of Avatar will grate.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/4151027001_18a2d90deb.jpg
However, if the middle of the film sags in places, then it?s only for the audience to catch their breath before the astounding third act, in which Cameron throws the proverbial kitchen sink at it in a breathless 50 minute climax, involving a titanic (ha!) human attack on the Na?vi, and the subsequent retaliation, that will surely leave even the hardiest of doubters pinned to the back of their seat in amazement. We?ve seen Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich and their ilk have their way with the action genre for twelve whole years, but with this sustained series of set pieces, Cameron shows, with verve, imagination and panache, just why we all loved him so much in the first place.
It?s an explosive finale that is perhaps symbolic of the Avatar experience as a whole, especially if it is seen in 3D; which, of course, Cameron recommends you to. It?s one of those rare films that is genuinely enhanced considerably by viewing it from behind a pair of polarised glasses, to the extent that there is actually very little point in even bothering with the 2D version. Cameron?s much-vaunted technology superbly surrounds the audience in his world, with each detail painstakingly rendered in front of your eyes, from the tiniest grain of sand to the most sweeping of epic landscapes. If you haven?t taken the 3D plunge yet, there is no finer example than Avatar out there that shows just what 3D can do for the filmwatching experience when used correctly, and by the end of it you?ll be begging for a return to the lavish universe that the last 150 minutes of your life was spent in.
What Avatar is then, despite its flaws, is a renaissance for filmmaking. It may not seem like it from the outside, but, to use an old reviewers? cop-out, it really does need to be seen, nay, experienced, to be truly appreciated. Yes, the plot lacks urgency and direction at times, and at its core it is a generally formulaic tale. However, all this melts away as soon as Cameron reveals just what he?s been planning for the last decade, and the fact is revealed that there?s rarely been a film released that was directed with anything like this level of scope. In 2D, this isn?t quite as pertinent, but when you view it the way it was intended to be viewed, it transcends the silver screen and manages to weave a magic all on its own. Warts and all, Avatar is an utterly brilliant, captivating experience that is the perfect way to end Cameron?s twelve year exile. Could it be that, as we come to the end of the decade, we see its best film released right at the death? Not quite, but, as an experience, and an unforgettable, fantastical one at that, Avatar is as good as anything out there. The King of the World has taken cinema to another world here, and we only hope it isn?t another twelve years before we visit it again.
<spoiler=Other reviews><url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.122501>Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.128226>Killer7
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.131835>Inglourious Basterds
