Review of 'Avatar'
After all of the hype, the question is: Is this the best film ever made? Hum, all things considered, I would have to say no. But it is one heck of a film anyway.
Jake, a marine confined to a wheelchair, is sent to Pandora to far-off Pandora, an incrediblely lush, visual, alien planet. Of course, it does not help that the corporation that is mining there is hostile to the local environment and will stop at nothing to get what it wants (the, not-so imaginatively namely, “Unobtanium” ore). Jake is assigned to a scientific team who are studying some of the Pandora natives, the Na'vi, using “avatars”: Artificially created copies of the Na'vi natives that the humans can control and use for interaction with the planet. As Jake learns more and more about the Na'vi things get a bit personal…with, perhaps, predictable results.
I was lucky enough to see this in IMAX 3-D – Unfortunately, due to my suffering from a bit of jet-lag the first hour I spent in a bit of pain as I suffered from motion sickness throughout, but, I stuck with it and I am glad I did – This is undoubtably the most technically advanced movie ever made. The huge cost of the film is there to see on the screen (evidently, the most expensive film to date) – Completely believable in every way. The action scenes are incredible and the creatures bring out real emotions in the audience. The story is the real weakness here: The visuals simply overwhelm the, slightly simple, story. But, oh, what visuals! The bar has been set for future films. Set very high indeed.
Pandora is a delight to behold with it's floating islands and incredible plant life. Cameron's imagination is certainly very vivid. Moss that glows when you step on it, huge fan plants that disappear when you touch them (reminding me of some sea life here on earth), six-legged horse-like creatures, dragon-like flying animals…the list goes on and on. All of this is completely believable with vivid colours splashed across the screen (perhaps a bit too vivid…but, hey…).
Worth a watch? Are you kidding? If you have not seen it, you must…
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2010-03-05
Directed by: James Cameron
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Year: 2009
Length: 162 minutes
Genre: Science Fiction
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/
Other reviewed films by James Cameron:
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- Titanic (1997)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)