Avatar

This review is coming in a week late. Cindy and I went out to see James Cameron’s Avatar before Christmas. Already, I knew that this film had some mixed reviews from sources I trust, so, if we were going to see, let us see it on a IMAX Screen in 3D.

It was recommended that we arrive at the auditorium early to secure a good seat at the AMC Lynnhaven theater. The advice was gold: forty minutes prior to the film starting, most of the good seats were taken. I was able to secure a center seat, but, only in the fourth row of the second tier seats.

3D Movies

I am not a fan of 3D movies.

Lately, many of the animated films will be released with a 3D version that you can pay a few extra dollars to see. Very few mainstream films employee the technique. The last two films I saw in 3D were Beowulf and My Bloody Valentine. Neither film was very good, and the 3D was gimmicky.

Avatar’s approach to 3D felt different – it provided visual depth. The movie screen became a window that we were invited to look through.I don’t recall a moment where I thought “Oh, look, they are pointing at someone in the audience.”

I am still not convinced that I like wearing the 3D Goggles.

The Animation

Avatar blends live action and animation. I thought this looked a bit “video gamey” in the trailers. Sometimes, with this type of movie, there are distinct lines between the animation and the live action – they never quite blend together.

Once the film began, I found the animation was absolutely gorgeous and the live/animated scenes simply blended together in a very natural motion.

I think that the reason why it work in this case, and why it so often fails in others, is because of the story.

The Story

What is an Avatar?

In video games, an avatar is the in-game representation of the player. The game avatar is controlled by the player using a hand controller. Generally, the avatar can perform actions that are beyond the natural abilities of the player.

In the movie, technology exists for humans to take control of a specially grown, ten foot tall Na’vi referred to as an Avatar. The humans can control the Avatars remotely, but they are able to sense and experience everything that their Avatar sees, hears or smells.

The Na’vi are the natives of a planet called Pandora. This planet is a source of a valuable mineral, and a Company is strip mining the Pandora to obtain it. The scientist have been using the Avatars to interact with the natives, and teach them English. However, these Avatars are strongly distrusted.

Jake Sully is a paralyzed ex-marine who comes to Pandora to participate in the Avatar program. His mission is to convince the Na’vi to move from their homes so that the company can mine the mineral. Otherwise, a mercenary force hired by the company will use hi-tech force to displace the non-tech Na’vi.

Once Jake becomes integrated with the Na’vi, he falls in love with the Chief’s daughter who has been assigned to teach Jake the Na’vi ways. Jake finds that he is unable to finish his mission and teaches the Na’vi how to fight the Mercenaries.

As David Spade might say, “I liked Avatar the first time. When it was called Dances with Wolves.”

Political Undertones

I have heard a lot being made over the underlying political message.The Company (aka the Capitalist) is painted in broad evil stokes because they are willing to commit genocide in order to obtain the mineral.

Like the main story, this is not a new theme. Corporations are generally used as the antagonist in modern and post modern films such as Robocop, Aliens, and The Hudsucker Proxy.

The para-military force is another source of antagonism against the Na’vi. Even though it might evoke images of  Blackwater to some, I think they served a different plot device. The mercs have an arsenal of flying weapon platforms, mechs and machine guns. The Na’vi have bow and arrows. There is little doubt that if Jake fails in his mission, the Na’vi will be wiped out.

If you go looking for hidden messages, you will find them, whether they were intentional or not.

Did I like the Film?

Overall, I enjoyed the film. I thought that the Na’vi were incredibly cool. Neytiri, the Chief’s daughter, is a fiercely strong female character that Cameron is so fond of (Ripley, Sarah Conner).

The blend of live and animated characters did not work against the film like I thought it would. Even with a familiar plot, Avatar struck an emotional chord and was fun to run with. Unlike Lucas or Spielberg, James Cameron has maintained his distinctive visual style that we first glimpsed in the original Terminator film. I always enjoy Cameron’s vision of technology – it always looks plausible.

And for that, I liked Avatar.