Before I begin this review, let me say that watching 'Avatar' in 3-D is the ONLY way to watch it. Avatar 2-D just doesn't do. The 2D version does no good in helping you spot minute details nor does it make you perceive 'depth' ,which pretty much defines AVATAR as an animation masterpiece.
So say no to 2D!
First off I would like to paraphrase a statement made by a reviewer - " Avatar would not be nominated in any of the acting categories but It will pretty much lap up every technical award. It is movies like these that make the audience realize the significance of Technology in cinema.". I have to agree with him.
Also, I would like to answer some FAQs first off for people who have better things to do than reading a review.
1. does Avatar live up to all the hype and hoopla that been going around for nearly a year ? Most Definitely.
2. For those methodist freaks - Does it have a good story backed by a brilliant screenplay and editing? yes.
3. And finally, Is it groundbreaking?? U BET!!!!!
Moving onto the review :
James Cameron's latest installation, 'Avatar' is strikingly contrasting with his previous ventures, but matches them in grandeur. Known as a Legendary filmmaker in the movie circles , he is an inspiration for mainstream film directors/critics Peter Jackson, Steven Speilberg, to name a few. Here is the synopsis of the movie :
Jack , the protagonist is a crippled marine who is promised with new legs by his boss colonel () for delivering intel about the 'Na'vi', an alien race existing on the planet Pandora. He is made to join a cabal of Na'vi researchers who have developed technology to transfer human consciousness onto Na'vi bodies, the latter being their avatars.The humans intend to establish their dominance on Pandora by evacuating/exterminating the Na'vi population.
While at first Jack takes his job seriously, he falls in love with the Na'vi way of life and becomes their savior against the 'sky people'(a.k.a the humans).
Yes its that simple a story! But the awesomeness of the movie rests on how it is executed. The screenplay is racy during the first half of the movie and appears to slow down during the second. But note I said 'appears to'. I find the change of pace necessary to warrant the plot. People who expect to witness a transformers style movie will feel let down by the 2nd half.
The background score accentuates the epic feel of the movie while also adding to the surrealism during the Na'vi portions. In short, out of this world! ( pun intended)
Performances are OK. Avatar is not an actors' movie.Sam Worthington is to be watched out for. He might just end up becoming another Christian Bale / Brad Pitt.
Animation/Special Effects : Avatar is the greatest movie ever made in the history of cinema, going by special effects alone. I am not going to say anything else.You have to watch it for yourself.
Editing : The editors have had a lot of time to do their job. It is par-excellent.
Ideology : If you would watch Avatar while not thinking about what the director is trying to tell you/ make you imagine , you would not be able to appreciate this masterpiece to the fullest extent. It is this latent factor that separates James Cameron from the rest of the storytellers.
To sum up, this is why I call the movie ground breaking.
Here it goes - Avatar can be interpreted in many ways : Written to highlight Imperialism,signifying the inherent lust for power/dominance in humans and so on. But I would like my readers to think of it as a CREDIBLE Science - Fiction plot. Star Wars worked because the world which it had created was almost flawless and most importantly all those aspects were included in some frame or the other i.e the detailing. Portraying a civilization takes this detailing to a whole new level as the writers have to pen down everything (right down to Na'vi accessories for example). And James Cameron has done this successfully and in some ways better than any movie ever did primarily because he took only one race into consideration. So you could imagine the amount of detailing that is present in the movie. Cameron has created a civilization from scratch and it shows in the movie. This is why it is groundbreaking.
Following his movies 'The Abyss' and 'Aliens' , 'Avatar' is THE definitive Science Fiction movie of all time.
