Very few movies leave me speechless when I walk out of a theatre, but Avatar brought that feeling of disbelief to a whole new level after my IMAX 3D experience. Opening day, 3:45 pm at Jordan’s IMAX Theatre with basses built into the seat to kick your ass while you watch the movie’s thunderous scenes, I sat completely immersed in the world of Pandora for an unknowing 2 ½ hours. Would I say money well spent? Definitely! To give you a quick summary of my review: the story was simple with many underlying meanings about the human race and current state of the world, the animation of the entire world of Pandora was visually orgasmic, and lastly the casting choice, for the most part, was spot on and could barely be improved.
Directed and written by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation), Sigourney Weaver (Aliens), Giovanni Ribisi (Boiler Room), Stephen Lang (Public Enemies), Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and the Furious), Joel Moore (Grandma’s Boy) and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek), Avatar was able to portray its visuals and message clearly as a result of some fine acting by its largely average cast. The performance capturing technology was unbelievable and was extremely seamless as you will be able to tell when you watch the movie yourself. The only person who I was hoping to see deliver a better performance that wasn’t so cartoony was Sam Worthington, the entire movie he seemed to be just an average actor putting on an average performance. Luckily we have the amazing scenery and visuals to distract us. I’ll say this, Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) was casted perfectly and nailed his part as the strong, mercenary colonel that could get things done without hesitation, it was almost scary how perfect he was. Also, visually, Sigourney Weaver’s avatar looked just like her; it was the only one where her body was literally infused into the world of Pandora.
Avatar’s simple story and messages were clear and in your face throughout 90% of the movie. The story, put simply, is about a company who wants to mine an extremely valuable mineral on the planet of Pandora but must get through the indigenous population, the Na’vi, whether peacefully or through the use of mercenaries. The use of the Avatar’s, human controlled Na’vi replicas, is suppose to be a diplomatic way of connecting with the Na’vi so that they might move without any casualties and so that the company can learn about then environment and its people. Finally, Jake Sully (Worthington) is brought in to operate an Avatar and he is chosen to learn the ways of the Na’vi, he is the official bridge between the humans and the Na’vi and must find a way to convince them to leave their homes so that the company can profit. The story has a lot of environmental conflicts which play off the current state of the world’s resources as well as that of human history. An example would be when the British, and later Americans, stole land from the Native Americans with disregard for their spiritual connections to the land as well as their rights as human beings. It is this message which is being portrayed throughout the movie, that environmental degradation, human rights, and disregard for life in general comes second to profit and immediate gratification. The beautiful part about this story is that you find yourself connecting with the tribal Na’vi and become so immersed in their world that you begin to hate the humans, you wish you could fight alongside the Na’vi, fly through the floating mountains on a Banshee, and hopefully take down the corporation. Also, in a weird way, you find yourself really liking Neytiri, a very attractive Na’vi tribal leader who happens to be Jake’s Na’vi traininer. By the end every guy in the theatre seemed pretty jealous of Jake Sully by then end of the movie. Looking past that, I thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) the entire movie because of how emotional and fun she was throughout the 2 1/2 hour duration. Finally, because I do have to mention some sort of negative, the story does get a little ridiculous at the end before the final battle, I don’t want to spoil it but many of you will at least say this word when it happens, “really?” or you might be so mesmerized by the beauty that you don’t even notice it.
The last part of the movie I would like to review is the visual aspect of the film. The movie was elegant, beautiful, and seamless. This was my first 3D movie experience and I have no complaints. I always hear people talk about the crappy 3D technology for a majority of movies but this did not fail me and everyone was in awe the first 10 minutes of the film. There were “ooohs” and “ahhhs” coming from all around me with a smile on everyone’s faces. The creatures of the film were my favorite parts to watch because you can see how creative yet similar the creatures were to some real life and imaginary creatures. There was one animal that looked like a combination of a rhino and a hammerhead shark that was as big as a stegosaurus, it was called a Hammerhead Titanothere and was my favorite creature.
Even the human weapons and vehicles were pretty cool and almost reminiscent of the halo vehicles at points. They rode in scorpion helicopters, the Samson, a plane/helicopter vehicle, and some troops got the awesome mech warrior A.M.P. suits which were tough to destroy in battle. Lastly, one of the best scenes in the movie comes at the end, it is a visually epic battle between the mercenaries and the Na’vi and it lasts for about 20 minutes. You sit in your seat, palms sweating, rarely blinking, for the buildup and fight is so impressive it requires two sighs of relief when it finishes.
Finally, when you combine the creatures, the 3D technology, the unbelievably colorful and vibrant world of Pandora with epic fight scenes, you have yourself a breathtaking movie that makes you leave with the biggest smile on your face, almost as if you just got laid. I would recommend Avatar if, for nothing else, the satisfaction you will receive from your first experience stepping into the world of Pandora. If you haven’t already seen it, you will be in for the ride of your movie life, if you have seen it then see it again for beautiful nature of Pandora. Oh and by the way, the only real way to see this movie is in IMAX 3D.
Rating: A visually stunning fantasy adventure (or a visually orgasmic fantasy adventure of epic proportions)
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