Review of Avatar

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Review: Avatar Movie

January 8th, 2010 |
Author: admin

I have just come back from seeing Avatar in IMAX 3D with my GF. Let me say that I feel like I just swallowed the red pill and a whole new world has just opened up. That world is called Pandora and oh boy movies will never be the same. I have seen the future and it is 3 Dimensional. I however do have my criticisms.My GF actually liked it even more than I did and I loved it.

If there was ever a movie you have to see in the theatre to appreciate it is this one. Hype or no hype you should go see this movie. Its PG-13 guys, girls, moms, dads, kids, geeks, artists, jocks, whatever you are into you can appreciate this movie. Even with the bells and whistles the story is still simple and timeless.

Avatar is like watching a color movie after every movie before was B&W. It is that kind of spectacle. The story is Dancing with Smurfs meets Return of the Jedi. it doesn’t break any new ground like the rest of the movie. I will write more about that in the detailed review.

This review is spoiler free and I am not going to talk about the plot you can find that in a million other places.

In the detailed review below I am going to talk about the IMAX3D experience, the story, the characters, the music/sound, the action, the direction/production, the chick factor, the themes and then summarize my thoughts on the movie and its place in movie history.

If its too much text for you just skip to the summary.

Cinematography/IMAX3D

Yes there have been many 3D movies before but nothing like this. This will truly change cinema and the movie experience. Every movie should be in IMAX 3D. They had 3D previews for Alice in Wonderland and a kids movie and they look amazing. Even chick flicks are better in 3D. Next to being in the movie or on Star Trek’s holodeck this is as close as you can get to the action. You feel the action in front of your face. There is no way you can get this experience at hom. 3D is the future and its hear to stay and it looks wonderful. Get ready for Bluray-3D it will soon be coming into your homes. I don’t want to see another movie that isn’t 3D its that good. While the preview looked a bit cartoony. Pandora felt real. I felt I was on another world and what a world it is. words can not describe how amazing the world and its creatures are. You have to see for yourself. The CGI and characters blended well and the colors and world felt so vibrant. Also this is a 360 degree movie. The action takes place up and down as well as side to side. I don’t know anything short of Avatar II that will top this.

Music/Sound

I am a big fan a xray dog, immediate music., Howard Shore, John Williams. I love epic movies with Epic music. The music was good but not great . It wan;t over the top like Michael Bay movies. There were some epic scores but overall the music and sound was subdued and in the background. Maybe it was the theater but I did hear 3D sound taken advantage of like it was when I saw transformers IMAX. Overall music/sound was average for an action movie.

Story/Characters

Wheras the movie is 3 dimensional the characters were not. Stereotypical one dimensional characters and the plot was very cliched and familiar. No new ground here. The story had 3 acts and it was Dances with Wolves meets Dragonriders of Pern/Dune meets Return of the Jedi. Cameron stayed with what was familiar and would have the most mass appeal. The acting was good and most of the screentime went to the blue Na’vi characters. They were not as cartoony as it looked in the previews. They do not resemble smurfs as they are 10 ft tall and can kick ass. Also should note the female Na’vi is damm sexy as seen in the picture included. Everything was beelivable and as I mentioned I definitely felt I was on another world. The actors did very well and Steven Lang is great as the milatary bad guy. I am probably the only one that remembers him from Band of the Hand. Michele Rodriguez and Sigorney Weaver were also very good even if their roles did not have much depth. I wonder if some of their tme was edited out. The main characters were spectacular, memorable and well played.

Action

The action mainly takes place in the last act of the movie. It was very Return of the Jedi with a battle on the ground and in the air. with natives going against superior technology. IT was amazing and definitely raises the bar for epic battles. The large scale and one on one fight scenes were incredible. Seeing a 10 ft Na’Vi tossing 6ft humans around was great and seemless. The air battle was epic and the the one on one fight scenes did not feel like CGI. Everything is also enhanced by the 3D depth. Best Action scene ever.

Chick Factor

Will chicks dig this movie? Absolutely. Where Titanic was a chick movie that guys could tolerate this is an action movie with a classic love story. The guy fights to get the girl , the girl kicks ass and gets the guy. AsI mentioned most of the girls I saw it with loved it and identified with the characters and theme and loved the movie. Guys will say this was a great action movie with a love story. Girls will say its a great love story with good action.

Themes

There were many themes in this movie. Anti-Imperialism, Anti-War, Anti-exploitation. Definitely had many “green” themes and also love conquers all.

One thing also that was never mentioned was why the metal “unobtainium” great name BTW was so valuable. I expected them to tie that it was created naturally like our coal and fossil fuels. this may be a expanded on in a sequel as I expect there to be 2 more at least.

Everyone was definitely rooting for the Na’Vi against the evil US corporation and its soldiers. The theme definitely add to the movie. You can tell Cameron working on undersea documentaries has made him appreciate nature much more and it shows in this movie. He put his heart into the theme and while the characters and diologue don’t have depth the theme resonates well and comes thru strongly in his work it makes up for the weak plot and supporting actor diologue

Direction/Production

Cameron had the idea for Avatar 15 years ago and he spent the last 3 years making it. His attention to detail in this movie is incredible. Everything just fits in place and the polish and post production work must be time consuming. The mood is set quickly and everything is believable. He leveraged Titanic to get FOX to shell out $400 million to make a movie. That is unheard of, Avatar has to be a top 5 movie of all time just break even. You have to see the movie in a theater bootlegging it on HD will not cut it. This brings back the movie house experience.

Though some parts are lacking taking the movie as a whole it is spectacular.

Summary

This is a must see movie and it must be seen in IMAX 3D. It is worth driving 30 miles for. Trust Me. It does have something for everyone. Some people like the story, some the action, others the theme but no matter what you will like the 3D and you will love Pandora. The the dialogue is weak, the story cliche and supporting characters one dimensional but it doesn’t really matter that much it is still a great movie. It is literally out of this world and Cameron has raised the bar for everyone in the movie industry. This movie is that groundbreaking it will change Cinema and the movie experience for years to come. Go see it know and pray that every movie from now on is in IMAX 3D and they start making 3D Tv’s. The jump to HD is nothing compared to the jump to 3D. No excuses go see this movie. You will be entertained and probably blown away as I was.

Review

Pros	Cons
Visuals and 3D are Amazing, Good Action, Groundbreaking Entertainment, Good Acting	Plot is Cliche and Predictable, Sound is Average