Avatar
James Cameron’s long-awaited 3D sci-fi opus has finally made it to the screen and with all the hype and high expectations, I can gladly tell you that this was completely worth almost a decade of production. I’d been following this one for as long as I can remember before I even knew what it was about. I just heard James Cameron say a few years ago “This will be the greatest 3D movie ever and this generation’s Star Wars” though I can’t say I agree with the latter, this is easily the best 3D movie ever made and without a doubt has the best CGI of all time.
The story here is simple (Which has been the critic’s main complaint) it’s your typical “Going Native” story of a character who ends up defending who he thought was his enemy and embracing their culture and world. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a crippled Marine who, after his twin brother’s death, is selected for the Avatar Program due to his genetic match. Heading to the Amazon-like moon of Pandora inhabited by the Na’vi, Jake learns to control a separate being, an “Avatar” which is a human-Na’vi-hybrid. His mission is to learn more about the people and attempt to convince them to move off of their land. All in an effort to mine portions of the moon for a rich mineral only referred to as “unobtanium” which I hope is supposed to be a joke.
It doesn’t take long for Jake to sympathize with the natives and learn about their ways and side with them. He even falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) a Na’vi princess. What follows is an exciting, stunning and beautiful 3D adventure through a jungle-like alien world that is mesmerizing. The otherworldly CGI transcends modern film technology becoming something new. Never have actors been able to seem so natural through computerized characters and carry a movie so strongly. Zoe Saldana is a standout in my mind and Sam Worthington as well proves to be a strong
Never have actors been able to seem so natural through computerized characters and carry a movie so well. Zoe Saldana is a standout in my mind and Sam Worthington proves to be a suitable lead despite some stiffness. In the way of live-action performances, Stephen Lang (who I’m not familiar with) steals every scene he’s in as the cold-hearted Colonel Quaritch.
Though Avatar isn’t a hit with everyone and I’m still shocked whenever I hear someone who was not impressed by the film’s visuals. I suppose expectations have been high, but I think if anyone sees this and gets hung up on the story, then they have a rod up their butt. Have you ever seen a movie this eye-
Have you ever seen a movie this spectacular? No way. This is a groundbreaking achievement in film technology and for that reason, I have nothing but praise for this trailblazer. If a movie should accomplish anything, it should be to suck you into another world and make you care about what you’re seeing and this did it for me, thus Cameron is still king.