I went in to see Avatar wanting to dislike it. I had listened to the Filmspotting podcast's review and was all ready to hate it. I had made a bet with myself, thinking that I would love the visuals but dislike the weak narrative. But that's not what happened. Let me get the negative out of the way first. I did see the movie in 3D but not in IMAX. I was not impressed. To me the 3D was distracting and a gimmick as it was one of the strongest drawbacks to the movie. The world of Pandora is beautiful to behold and the ghost-like 3D images pulled me out its rich texture. A few times I peeked out of the glasses wanting to see the crisp colors on the screen instead of spears being jabbed at me in "amazing" 3D. I wanted to take in more of amazing art that unfolded on screen and not appear to be balanced over a cliff in 3D.That did nothing for me.
And the acting... Well, well. How can I say this without it coming off negative? The human actor parts of the film kept pulling me out of the story. Giovanni Ribisi as a ruthless businessman and Matt Gerald as a gun-ho corporal were so over the top that I believed in the emotions of all the Na'vi people more than those of the human actors. The 2D "we hate the hostiles" attitude came off weak, too simplistic and annoying.
Closely tied to the bad acting is the storyline. Have you seen "Dances with Wolves," "Pocahontas" or "Princess Mononoke"? Then you know the plot and how things are going to work out. (And if you'd like to discover more of the planet as "Gaia" theme, I highly recommend you watch the japanese anime series "Arjuna." This series thoroughly addresses our relationship with mother Earth in a complicated and engaging way.)
Now with all the negative off my chest, what did I think of the film? Gone are the days of Jar Jar from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. In ten years, technology has advanced to such a point that I can believe that a CGI character is real--moves real, expresses emotion believably and interacts with live actors naturally. Zoe Saldana who is the voice actor for Neytiri breathes life into her character. As Neytiri jumps, flashes her teeth in anger or cries, Saldana's voice melds with the onscreen image as though she is using an avatar herself. The CGI character we see is seamless with the human voice. She's beautiful to behold.
Watching the forest of Pandora come to life is an amazing treat and well worth the price of admission as you've not seen anything like this before. Do not be surprised when Avatar is nominated for best picture of the year. There is an energy in this film that speaks to both men and women, reaches into our core selves asking that you put aside some of the lame plot (what's the point of "unobtainium" anyway?!) but to allow the child within to enjoy the world that unfolds before you. My favorite parts are the forest night scenes. The phosphorescent glow of the plants and the creatures at night are breathtaking, but it's not just the visual art that is award winning. The interaction between Jake and Neytiri is just plain awesome to behold. Are we watching animation or are we watching real actors come to life? Yes, there are other Na'vi that are not as well drawn out on the screen, but I never felt the awkward moment knowing that a character was CGI and just looked wrong. Instead I was drawn into the forest and amazed at the attention to detail: Cracks in Neytiri's war paint as she scrunches her face to flash her teeth at her enemy.
Avatar has already crossed the $1 billion dollar mark and I suspect that there will be no slowing in sight as the mid week screening I took in last night was packed and the IMAX shows were all sold out. If you're on the fence about seeing this film, go. You will have spent $14 in worse ways. No, it's not a perfect film as just a little more time on the script could have done wonders. But you have not seen anything so beautiful and magical. Funny enough, I want to see the film again, but in 2D and not in 3D so that I can take in all that I missed. Enjoy yourself with this film as there's a lot to love.
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