I’m going with this word in describing my Avatar experience – IMMERSING!
I’m not sure what I’ll write in this review, so this serves as my *SPOILER ALERT*
I’d try to shy away from reviews before I watched the movie and in writing this review(though I caught a few drift here and there – it’s getting harder and harder to be spoiler free this days). So back to my original thought, and I will say again, in watching Avatar I have to say I am totally immersed in the experience.
This is how I’ll describe Avatar it’s started as a space sci-fi flick, then turns into a natgeo experience, which becomes a CNN coverage, transported back into an epic movie, then wraps-up as a regular Hollywood event blockbuster popcorn film.
If that didn’t cover it, I’ll try another description - it’s a Pocahontas love story, complete with Braveheart inspirational talk, with a dash of matrix, a reversed “close encounter kind of movie”, with a star trek/star wars locale with the main point of view are of the indigenous natives, then insert some LOTR or other fantasy type movies, and yes a supersize “Fern Gully”, now make it all coherent and that’s James Cameron’s Avatar.
I hope that made sense, if it did not well I guess it’s a “you should have been there sort of thing”. Which really is what Avatar makes you feel, it makes you feel that you are really in this world, Pandora. Pandora is a living breathing ecosystem complete with its fauna and flora. Let’s talk first about the CG, and to be honest I did not notice it. Which is a good thing because my brain has been tricked in processing everything I see as “real” and not computer constructs.
When I watched the first Transformers movie I was amazed how real those robots seems but I don’t think they could match the complexities on how these Nav’i'’s were rendered. These blue human-cat humanoids are flesh and blood, no “Jar-Jar Binks” here (No sah… mee… sah… think no Ja-Jar heer). So, I have to say Mr. Cameron just made Mr. Lucas look like an amateur.
I have to say the tech here is a benchmark/milestone, which all new movies’ CG should match or surpass.
So we’re finish with the effects, how about the story. To be honest it’s not really that original, you have watched most of these scenes before in other movies, but then again seeing it here just brings it in a whole other dimension. The story is compelling, and it served well the vision of what the director has for the film. Let’s leave it at that, I’m not sure I’m giving out Oscars for just the story alone..
For the acting, I have to limit what I have to say to Worthington, and I’ll say he is ok in the part. I would even say he was beneficial to it, because any other A-list actor would have just ruined the “immersion” because of the baggages they carry. Atleast Worthington for now is still sort of a Hollywood enigma. The others are all good for their part, some are cliché’s, but who is not right? The real star of the movie is Pandora itself, and if Mr. Cameron does not make a sequel, there’s a tinged of sadness that we won’t be able to visit this rich and fascinating world again.
….oooops… I almost forgot about the 3D part, I loved it I guess that is the main reason why I was totally “immersed”. 3D here was made integral to the movie and not just in your face gimmick, So kudos.
-access out. God speed and MABUHAY!
p.s. Seeing the catlike Nav’i… imagine them as Lion-O and the other Thundercats… Mr. James Cameron if you happen to read this… *wink* *wink*