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Just relax and let your mind go blank
Dec. 20th, 2009 09:40 pmI don't know why anyone would bother to go and see Avatar. It's all just a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap.
Only kidding. Avatar is made of pure awesomeness and is very, very, very, very, very shiny. When can I see it again? :o)
The plot, such as it is, sees paraplegic marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) assigned to the alien moon of Pandora, where his mind is uploaded to an 'avatar' body so he can infiltrate the indigenous Na'vi. The humans want to mine the area inhabited by the Na'vi and Jake's mission is to persuade them to relocate. But then Jake meets hot Na'vi girl Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), takes a fancy to her, and starts to turn native. The tensions between humans and Na'vi gradually spiral out of control towards outright war, with Jake caught in the middle.
I've read varying estimates about how much this film cost, all of them expensive, and you can certainly see where the money went. Pandora is an incredible creation, an alien world fleshed out in every beautiful and deadly detail. Basking in the glow of a blue gas giant, its dense jungles and floating mountains are home to glowing plants, hammerhead beasts, psychic horses, and lots more besides.
The human marine base is everything you'd expect from the Jim Cameron who brought us Aliens: Sigourney Weaver on form as a no-nonsense science adviser? Check. Evil corporation putting money before lives? Check. Badass female marine? Check. Lots of guns, armoured vehicles and big alien-killing robot suits? Oh yeah.
The 3-D is immersive rather than full of in-your-face gimmicks, drawing the audience deeply into the soaring vistas, vertiginous clifftops and thick foliage. It's cheesy to say, "It feels like you're really there!" but this really is an amazing treat for the eyes. The bar has definitely been raised. (Also, unlike so many other action directors, Cameron knows how to point a camera!)
On the downside, apart from the avatar concept itself, the story is far less innovative than the FX, full of clichés and bits that practically scream at you, "This is a plot hook! It'll be important in about an hour!" Occasionally this become irksome. For example, at one point a major character is killed off, and it's clear while you're watching it that the only reason is to set up a similar thing for another character later on. The running time (well over two and a half hours) is also a tad over-indulgent, and could easily stand to lose half an hour or more.
For the most part, however, these shortcomings don't matter in the slightest. You'll be too lost in the visuals and the action to care. The characters are engaging enough; you feel for the Na'vi's plight; and there's enough events going on to keep things moving. It feels like a great big adventure should and it's fun too. And the payoff of all the obvious set-ups is a final battle so big and so packed full of mind-boggling ideas that the word 'epic' seems pathetically inadequate.
Did I say the running time was too long? Nah, it'd be a shame to cut a film shorter when it looks as good as this. Frankly I could quite happily spend all day watching blue cat people on flying wyvern-things battling it out with marines in assault choppers :o)
Did I mention the shiny?
Only kidding. Avatar is made of pure awesomeness and is very, very, very, very, very shiny. When can I see it again? :o)
The plot, such as it is, sees paraplegic marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) assigned to the alien moon of Pandora, where his mind is uploaded to an 'avatar' body so he can infiltrate the indigenous Na'vi. The humans want to mine the area inhabited by the Na'vi and Jake's mission is to persuade them to relocate. But then Jake meets hot Na'vi girl Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), takes a fancy to her, and starts to turn native. The tensions between humans and Na'vi gradually spiral out of control towards outright war, with Jake caught in the middle.
I've read varying estimates about how much this film cost, all of them expensive, and you can certainly see where the money went. Pandora is an incredible creation, an alien world fleshed out in every beautiful and deadly detail. Basking in the glow of a blue gas giant, its dense jungles and floating mountains are home to glowing plants, hammerhead beasts, psychic horses, and lots more besides.
The human marine base is everything you'd expect from the Jim Cameron who brought us Aliens: Sigourney Weaver on form as a no-nonsense science adviser? Check. Evil corporation putting money before lives? Check. Badass female marine? Check. Lots of guns, armoured vehicles and big alien-killing robot suits? Oh yeah.
The 3-D is immersive rather than full of in-your-face gimmicks, drawing the audience deeply into the soaring vistas, vertiginous clifftops and thick foliage. It's cheesy to say, "It feels like you're really there!" but this really is an amazing treat for the eyes. The bar has definitely been raised. (Also, unlike so many other action directors, Cameron knows how to point a camera!)
On the downside, apart from the avatar concept itself, the story is far less innovative than the FX, full of clichés and bits that practically scream at you, "This is a plot hook! It'll be important in about an hour!" Occasionally this become irksome. For example, at one point a major character is killed off, and it's clear while you're watching it that the only reason is to set up a similar thing for another character later on. The running time (well over two and a half hours) is also a tad over-indulgent, and could easily stand to lose half an hour or more.
For the most part, however, these shortcomings don't matter in the slightest. You'll be too lost in the visuals and the action to care. The characters are engaging enough; you feel for the Na'vi's plight; and there's enough events going on to keep things moving. It feels like a great big adventure should and it's fun too. And the payoff of all the obvious set-ups is a final battle so big and so packed full of mind-boggling ideas that the word 'epic' seems pathetically inadequate.
Did I say the running time was too long? Nah, it'd be a shame to cut a film shorter when it looks as good as this. Frankly I could quite happily spend all day watching blue cat people on flying wyvern-things battling it out with marines in assault choppers :o)
Did I mention the shiny?
