Summary (CAUTION SUMMARY CONTAINS SPOILERS):[spoiler]When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora. Written by The Massie Twin[/spoiler]
Over 16 years ago, James Cameron wrote a 114-page 'scriptment' on an early idea of Avatar. 16 years. Cameron planned on following 'Titanic' with Avatar, but because of both technological and financial restraints, he was unable to do so.
Fast forward to around 2004, ten years after his project was shelved, it was apparent that he technology that he required was accessible. Fast forward five years to present. December 17, 2009. I witnessed one of the most incredible spectacles in this I have been privy to.
From the outset, it was apparent from that moment on, the film was going to be like nothing myself or anyone in the audience had seen.
Virtually every aspect about Avatar was breathtaking, from the visuals, down to the revolutionary MoCap technology that was developed for the film. Motion Capture itself is a ground breaking piece of technology, but the way in which it was utilised within this film was outstanding. The expressions, the likeness of their real-life counterparts were extraordinary.
The emotion that was transferred over into the Na'vi likenesses was just inconceivable, it[the technology] really captured every muscle on the character's face, from the tiny twinges of Neytiri's eyes, to the way Jake Sully gives a small hint of a smile toward her. Amazing.
Something that excelled this film even further for me was the language that was created. By creating a language that was unique to the Na'vi, it brought out a whole other perspective. I really felt that the true emotion from the Na'vi(who spoke, anyway) came from their native tongues, rather than when they spoke English. It felt far more organic, believable.
3D to me is something that I'm still a little undecided about. It's something that has been around for generations, and has only just been recently 'revamped', if you will, into something that is meant to completely change cinema. Watching Avatar in 3D was something that absolutely must be done the first time. Although iffy in places, the moments within the Pandora world are so extravagant, that it(It's been said so many times before, but I mean this) really feels like your there, watching the Na'vi jump from branch to branch, interact with each other. While I was watching, I honestly became incredibly immersed within the film that I almost felt a little disoriented if I looked away from the screen. Then in saying so, it was possibly the glasses I had on for too long. Possibly.
Negative? Maybe one thing. the character development was seemingly absent in this film. A lot of the characters didn't seem to be progressing much, weren't going anywhere- being developed. It was great seeing each of them, but, it was lacking in this department. They were far from one dimensional, each character had their own identifiable characteristic, but ultimately, they were just that- Characters with a specific trait to tell them apart from the others. That and the really bad dialogue.
This negative does not at all bring the might of this film down, because there was one major thing that makes Avatar one of the best films in 2009, to me, at least: The soundtrack.
The soundtrack... Will be left for another time. Right now, this was the Avatar review.
Overall, great characters, great plot, just the right amount of action, amazing visuals, most definitely better in 3D, emotion, romance, it has it all. Ladies and gentlemen, this film...was Titanic. As in, the size..because..ahh. You get it.
With already 13 award nominations within days of its release, it's no wonder this is being hailed as the most revolutionary film of all time.
9/10
Kazed