Movie Review: “Avatar”
Franck Tabouring
Seen on: December 10, 2009
The players: Director: James Cameron, Writer: James Cameron, Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez
Facts of interest: Estimated budget of the film: $230 million.
The plot: A former marine travels to a distant planet to win over the trust of the native people so the humans can crush their place and exploit their minerals.
Our thoughts: Cinemagoers worldwide have been waiting a long time for James Cameron’s passion project to hit the big screen, but now the wait is finally over. “Avatar” has officially landed in theaters, and people are flocking to screenings to find out what all the hype surrounding the film is all about. One question remains though: will “Avatar” really change the way movies are made?
Personally, I’m not quite sure it will. When it comes to visuals and 3D technology, “Avatar” is indeed a groundbreaking big-screen experience. It is by far the most visually intriguing sci-fi action flick I’ve ever seen, and the film’s beautiful design, stunning special effects and overall art direction successfully pulled me into a gorgeous world that amazed me from start to finish.
Now, before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you what I didn’t like about Cameron’s new spectacle. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say the story of “Avatar” is rather flat and quite predictable at times. The messages Cameron wants to convey are really overpowering, and the central thematic of the movie is far from original. Indeed, the story is one in need of more punch.
Sam Worthington stars as Jake Sully, a former marine who travels to the distant planet of Pandora, where humans have settled to dig for an invaluable mineral that may help solve Earth’s threatening energy crisis. The only problem for the visiting corporations are the blue-skinned Na’vi, an indigenous population resisting the humans’ exploitation of their planet’s sacred resources.
In order to win over the Na’vi’s trust and convince them to relocate without provoking war, scientists from Earth have developed a revolutionary program that allows humans to link their brain to an avatar, a remotely-controlled body that looks just like a Na’vi and can navigate on Pandora without falling victim to the planet’s toxic air.
Sully has been recruited to lead the mission, and shortly after arriving on Pandora, he finds himself exploring the beauty of this exotic place inside his very own avatar. Things quickly change when he encounters Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a beautiful Na’vi woman who shows him why the arrival of the humans threatens the existence of the Na’vi and may cause the destruction of their beloved environment.
Essentially, “Avatar” follows Jake’s journey of self-discovery inside an unfamiliar world he quickly grows more attached to than the place he knows back home. In this sense, Cameron does a rather solid job exploring the emotional transformation of a loyal human soldier who must make a crucial decision after finding a new purpose while living among the Na’vi.
It is on a broader level that I believe the story of “Avatar” fails to work. Much like many other recent films, this one spends considerable time attacking human greed, our addiction to oil, our lack of care for the environment, and the ways governments handle the war on terror. I really don’t mind all this criticism too much, but Cameron clearly doesn’t handle it creatively. On the contrary, it all sounds a bit annoying after a while.
What saves the movie is the whole visual aspect and the plot’s fast pace. Pandora is a magical world full of strong colors and exciting creatures, and even the Na’vi have something special about them that’s just hard to ignore. Exploring this new world in 3D is tons of fun, and it certainly helps raise the film’s levels of entertainment. This is pure eye candy at its best.
In terms of action, “Avatar” doesn’t disappoint either. The film is filled with impressive battle scenes that will keep you staring at the screen in full amazement, and even though most of these sequences are simple battles between the mean humans and gracious Na’vi, they are often stuffed with suspense. In other words, “Avatar” sure never gets boring.
What I also particularly enjoyed are the acting performances. Worthington and Saldana do a very convincing job inside the bodies of the blue CGI creatures, and the chemistry they share onscreen is by no means awkward or thin. Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and especially Michelle Rodriguez fuel their characters with plenty of explosive energy as well.
Freaky quote: "They've sent us a message... that they can take whatever they want. Well we will send them a message. That this... this is our land!" - Sam Worthington
The final word: There is a lot more to say about “Avatar,” but I’d rather have you discover this sci-fi epic for yourself. I sure loved the film, even though it’s by far not the masterpiece I expected. Like I mentioned above, the story falls flat, but the visuals, acting and action sure make this one a unique 3D experience. That said, it’s not one of the year’s best films, that’s for sure.
Article by Franck Tabouring
Reader Comments (1)
After years of anticipation I am glad I went to see this movie on the opening night and came out excited that what cinematic experience it was .Nothing popped out of the screen and the 3d experience was so good that I just got sucked into to the movie.The CGI of this movie is absolutely ground breaking .I didn't felt that script was bad because that's the Cameron way of writing like old style story but I felt the dialogue of the movie was a let down all in all I am gonna watch it again in 3d this time in Imax over the weekend .Merry Christmas Frank Tabouring.