Avatar
There’s a lot to love in James Cameron’s “Avatar.” And I mean, a LOT. Still, his storytelling still hits you over the head with its’ “message” and its’ relevance to modern times, at 160 minutes, well, you do start to feel it at times, and his dialogue- though more in keeping with the film here than in “Titanic”- hasn’t gotten more polished in the twelve years since that Oscar-winning phenomenon.
But I’d rather focus on what’s good about Cameron’s latest epic. Let’s start with the obvious- this is just a beautiful film to look at. Cameron spent the better part of his decade off developing specialized 3-D digital cameras to realize his vision, as well as an advanced form of performance-capture animation that’s more fluid, less stiff, than we’ve seen in most films recently (especially Robert Zemeckis’ mo-cap animated films). Of course, having WETA workshop’s Oscar-winning crew as point-men on the film from a visual standpoint doesn’t hurt- with Gollum and King Kong, they took it to the next level first.
It doesn’t hurt that this film really takes you into a world we haven’t seen before- yeah, there are similarities to the likes of “Ferngully,” “Star Wars,” and others, but you forget those early on, as Jake Sully (Sam Worthington)- a paraplegic marine- is sent to the far away moon of Pandora to control an avatar made for his brother. The point of the avatars is to better-integrate the scientists and soldiers looking to study the native Na’vi people into their culture, and soften them to a possible negotiation so that us humans can use their sacred land to drill for a substance called Unobtanium (love that word for the film’s MacGuffin). Jake is important because his scientist brother- who was originally going to be in the avatar- died. Dr. Grace Augustine (kudos to Cameron for bringing his “Aliens” star Sigourney Weaver to the role- we don’t see her enough nowadays) doesn’t like the idea of a “trigger-happy soldier” going out on missions with her science team, but things change a bit when Sully gets separated from the team, and begins to ingratiate himself with the locals better than anyone else has when he meets Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the daughter of her tribe’s leader, and he begins to study their ways. Of course, military leader Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and businessman Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) have their own agenda.
There’s a moment early on that I just loved for its’ story purposes. It’s the first time Sully is in the avatar. We see him awaken in the body. He has the coordination of someone who hasn’t used their body and legs for a while (I should know; I went through the same process when I was in the hospital two years ago). He can’t help himself, though. He just has to run. The medical staff tries to stop him, cautioning him that it’ll take time to acclimate to the avatar, but once he gets started, there’s no stopping him. In a way, it’s probably the film’s most exhilarating moment, because more than any other one in the film, it’s one that comes genuinely out of character than any plot point.
If you’ve seen the previews, or seen any number of films where an outsider ingratiates himself in a native culture (yes, you’ll think “Dances With Wolves,” “The Last Samurai,” and “The Last of the Mohicans,” even- as Harry Knowles mentioned (correctly)- “The New World,” Terrence Malick’s 2005 epic reworking of the Pocahontas story), you’ll know where the story heads. But that’s not the point- the point is to take you deep into a new onscreen world. On this front, the film conjures up the usual suspects (“Star Wars,” “The Lord of the Rings,” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”), but more importantly, I found myself thinking of Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto” as well. Now, as much as I wish that film had told a deeper story about the Mayan culture it portrayed, the film nonetheless was exciting as a cinematic adventure that took us into a world unseen before onscreen.
On that note, it’s probably the most important film I thought of while watching “Avatar” (and it certainly makes me want to go back and rewatch Gibson’s film). Cameron doesn’t tell a complicated story here, but he does tell a fully-realized one. He appears to have worked out the ins and outs of the Na’Vi culture- much like Tolkien did Middle Earth- and how humans fit in with their interests. It doesn’t feel like a story borrowed from other sources, but instead one that can be the stepping stone to an even greater story and mythology (and indeed, Cameron has talked trilogy), much like “Rings” and “Star Wars” were. Of course, that’s always been a Cameron trademark- think of where he took the “Alien” and “Terminator” series’ in his classic sequels.
I could probably just spend a day and a half talking about the shots and moments I loved in this film. Sully’s gradual (and believable, thanks to Worthington’s terrific performance) transformation from good soldier to man of the people, seen and heard through his video log entries. The beautiful landscapes of Pandora, and their dangerous inhabitants. The death-defying ways Sully is tested by the Na’Vi to become one of them. His organic romance with Neytiri (whom Saldana plays beautifully as a capable warrior- another Cameron trademark). The mountains that float in the clouds. The film’s impressive use of 3-D as a way to take us deeper into the story and world rather than just a method to throw things at us (yes, it is a fully immersive experience, and honestly, I stopped thinking about wearing the glasses after a while). The film’s digital cinematography, which feels freer than any I’ve seen in terms of framing and shooting action. And James Horner’s score, which doesn’t hit the artistic highs of “Braveheart,” “Titanic,” and “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (even when it seems to borrow from all of them), but serves the film beautifully for what it adds to the experience.
But this is a film that needs to be seen rather than read about (and I can’t wait to see it on IMAX)- my words just won’t do it justice. It’s a superb cinematic adventure to get lost in, and another notch in Cameron’s belt. Between his two “Terminator” films, “Aliens,” “The Abyss,” and now this, I don’t know if he’s “king of the world” in general, but he certainly holds the crown in the world of sci-fi. I can’t wait to see where he takes us next.
