Review: Avatar (2009)

[Homer Yen]

"Avatar" - James Cameron is Still King of the World
by Homer Yen
(c) 2009

Some people don't know how to invest $300 wisely.  What would they do
with $300 million?  James Cameron knows.  And "Avatar" will be, dare I
say, the "Star Wars" for our generation.  It has groundbreaking
special effects, an epic-if-familiar storyline, and ideas to
scintillate the casual moviegoer, which will be the de facto water
cooler conversation for days to come.

This, overall, is an incredible film.  The story itself isn't
groundbreaking, but it puts in all of the necessary ingredients that
make it a blockbuster without chopping everything into frenzied edits
the way that summertime films do.  The film runs 2 hours and 41
minutes, but there's a lot of great stuff nicely packed in.  I heard
an anecdote told at a recent Time Management seminar.  Everybody's
day, which consists of 24 hours, is just like a suitcase.  It's just
that the smart people know how to pack more into their suitcase than
others.

There are stories about the humans, most notably Jake Sully (Sam
Worthington) who is a paraplegic Marine who can have his paralysis
healed through some very expensive surgery if he completes his mission
on a forest moon called Pandora.  He is to gain the trust of the
Na'vi, a peaceful race of slender giants who are surprisingly adept at
defending themselves.  There are also background stories involving
many of the Na'vi, who are generally more interesting than their human
counterparts.

It's a tough-but-successful sell here.  When it's humans versus
others, we naturally root for the humans.  But, when we root for the
others, it's usually for something way-over-the-top like Optimus Prime
and his brave bunch of peacekeepers.  As 12-feet-tall, otherworldly
creatures go, they are incredibly graceful and even sexy.  Thank
goodness someone at the Dept of 12-Feet Tall Otherwordly Creatures was
able to successfully filter out the yucky aftertaste of the
Battlefield Earth, 9-ft tall, bearded warriors.  Patooey!  Certainly,
Cameron displays his unconditional resolve to get everything just
right in the same way that George Lucas did for his "Star Wars" and
Peter Jackson did for "LOTR".

The weakness in this film stems from the menacing foe that the good
guys must defeat - a warmongering Marine.  All of James Cameron's
"menacing foes" seem one-dimensional.  I think about the "Terminator"
or the "Alien" or that snooty snob from "Titanic".  They've all lacked
a certain wit about them, which diminishes their love-to-hate factor.
Darth Vader was a great character that you loved-to-hate.  Cameron's
creations are, however, villains that you'd hate to love.

See this film as it was meant to be seen (in 3D).  And Cameron
overcomes another annoying tick inherent with 3D films - the perpetual
dimness.  This film is very well-lit and he has really taken this
technology to a significantly new level.  The $300 million was not
spent so that you can watch it in 2D.  I mean, if Morton's Steak House
sends you a coupon for "Get Any One Entrée Free", why would someone
pick the hamburger?  So, don those 3D glasses and get ready for a
great experience.

Cameron originally conceived the story back in 1995.  But his
visualization of what should be on the big screen was far more
ahead-of-its-time versus what technology could handle back then.
Since then, however, appetite for animation films has steadily
increased.  Also, commercially successful films such as "The Lord of
the Rings" saga and "A Christmas Carol" proved that, along with a good
story, people were embracing the cutting edge animation techniques.
Even watching a film like "2012", you have to wonder what's next for
special effects advancements.  Indeed, it's a whole new world out
there.  And today's movie-watching world and today's technology are
now ready to come together for "Avatar".

Grade:	A-

S:	1 out of 3
L:	1 out of 3
V:	2 out of 3