Avatar
For my first blog entry I have chosen the film Avatar, written and directed by James Cameron, the auteur behind Pirana 2, not to mention Terminators 1 and 2, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic. For years I have heard about him planning a big sci-fi film about an interaction between aliens and humans on their planet. But it seemed he was biding his time as Titanic came out 12 years ago. In the meantime I saw his documentary Ghosts of the Abyss (and wondered, after making Titanic why he felt he had to do more on the subject?) and hoped at one time he would return to direct a feature again. Cameron is known for being an egomaniac and a tyrant on the set, mostly due to his perfectionism. Cameron's last four features have all been the most expensive films ever made at the time. But his films deliver usually by having a fair amount of creative spectacle and suspense with well drawn characters, especially female ones. His characters always have to strive greatly to accomplish their tasks and make some kind of significant sacrifice but it changes them and usually their whole dynamic. His films usually have some impact on the industry as a whole. T2 introduced the morphing technology, True Lies and Titanic were pioneers for digital effects, and Avatar will likely have a great effect on 3D pictures.
When this film was announced I knew I would probably want to see it but the subject matter, blue aliens, did not really grab me. I expected to read plenty about his running over budget and up against release deadlines like usual but none of that really emerged here. It appears he was given plenty of time and money to make the film and the result is the film is amazing to look at.
The plot is about an ex Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who lost the use of his legs, and is given the chance to go to a moon called Pandora, inside an Avatar, which is a body fused between human DNA and the inhabitants of the moon call Na'vi. His task is to infiltrate a group of Na'vis to convince them to leave their sacred area so that earthlings can mine the ground for a source called unobtainium (the MacGuffin of the piece). The military, personified by Stephen Lang as a gung ho colonel, is more than eager to barge right in. Giovanni Ribisi plays the slimy head of a corporation (seemingly very similar to Weyland-Yutani from the Alien series) who has brought the military in to lead the expedition. Signorney Weaver plays a sharp scientist who is more interested in studying the Na'vi than exploiting them.
The bulk of the film shows Sully between the two environments as he is torn between enjoying the Na'vi indigenous way of life and the company of an attractive female Na'vi warrior named Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) and his mission. When with the Na'vi he is in the avatar body, 10 feet tall or so and mobile, although his human form is asleep in a chamber at one of the military bases. When with the humans he is in his human form and the avatar is asleep.
The Na'vi are created with great detail to their culture, heritage, and their supernatural link to their environment. Some of the ideas, such as how to use the Na'vi tail to create a link with wild animals are very creative. They have a love for their land and way of life that Sully responds to. There is also a hint that while Sully respects his mission, he is bothered by the fact that his vet benefits do not cover an operation that would restore the use of his legs. Lang's character does promise him the operation if he completes the mission.
A few highlights that stuck with me were Sully's joy of having the ability to walk again after first going into the avatar body. Sully is often tired because although his two bodies sleep at separate time he is usually awake when not in one or the other. While the story of a soldier growing to care for a culture he is supposed to hate is not original (a la Dances With Wolves) the environments are so detailed I found myself just wanting to know more. At a couple of points wild animals are introduced but not just for shock effect. They actually figure into the plot later in the picture. Worthington is tough guy but also humble. Lang and Weaver seemed to represent his two parental figures. Signorney Weaver's character, with her sympathy view of the Na'vi and the fact that she also had an avatar, represented maternal warmth and strength. Lang's gung ho character is particularly nasty. I remember him as the one armed man from the Fugitive TV series in 2000-2001, an underrated series that deserved a bigger audience and more seasons than it. The Na'vi have their own language, with ancient looking text for the subtitles, and Sully learns a little of it. I like that the humans still use bullets instead of futuristic lasers for their guns.
As the tensions rise in Sully so does the barely contained hostility between the military and the Na'vi rises and heads toward a big battle scene. It is expertly filmed and edited so you can see who is doing what to whom and each character's plight is clearly followed. The suspense in the last act of the battle (which admittedly looks a little like a videogame) is well drawn out with Sully's two forms in very close proximity to each other.
If I have any quibbles, one could say that Lang and Ribisi's characters are a little one dimensional, though that is not the fault of the actors. Cameron is not great at writing dialogue (but he is much better than George Lucas). The film could be about twenty minutes shorter.
In summation Avatar is a fantastic experience, well worth the time and money to see it on the big screen. Cameron brings the audience on an amazing visual journey and I think most people will enjoy it greatly unless they truly despise sci fi. ****
When this film was announced I knew I would probably want to see it but the subject matter, blue aliens, did not really grab me. I expected to read plenty about his running over budget and up against release deadlines like usual but none of that really emerged here. It appears he was given plenty of time and money to make the film and the result is the film is amazing to look at.
The plot is about an ex Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who lost the use of his legs, and is given the chance to go to a moon called Pandora, inside an Avatar, which is a body fused between human DNA and the inhabitants of the moon call Na'vi. His task is to infiltrate a group of Na'vis to convince them to leave their sacred area so that earthlings can mine the ground for a source called unobtainium (the MacGuffin of the piece). The military, personified by Stephen Lang as a gung ho colonel, is more than eager to barge right in. Giovanni Ribisi plays the slimy head of a corporation (seemingly very similar to Weyland-Yutani from the Alien series) who has brought the military in to lead the expedition. Signorney Weaver plays a sharp scientist who is more interested in studying the Na'vi than exploiting them.
The bulk of the film shows Sully between the two environments as he is torn between enjoying the Na'vi indigenous way of life and the company of an attractive female Na'vi warrior named Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana) and his mission. When with the Na'vi he is in the avatar body, 10 feet tall or so and mobile, although his human form is asleep in a chamber at one of the military bases. When with the humans he is in his human form and the avatar is asleep.
The Na'vi are created with great detail to their culture, heritage, and their supernatural link to their environment. Some of the ideas, such as how to use the Na'vi tail to create a link with wild animals are very creative. They have a love for their land and way of life that Sully responds to. There is also a hint that while Sully respects his mission, he is bothered by the fact that his vet benefits do not cover an operation that would restore the use of his legs. Lang's character does promise him the operation if he completes the mission.
A few highlights that stuck with me were Sully's joy of having the ability to walk again after first going into the avatar body. Sully is often tired because although his two bodies sleep at separate time he is usually awake when not in one or the other. While the story of a soldier growing to care for a culture he is supposed to hate is not original (a la Dances With Wolves) the environments are so detailed I found myself just wanting to know more. At a couple of points wild animals are introduced but not just for shock effect. They actually figure into the plot later in the picture. Worthington is tough guy but also humble. Lang and Weaver seemed to represent his two parental figures. Signorney Weaver's character, with her sympathy view of the Na'vi and the fact that she also had an avatar, represented maternal warmth and strength. Lang's gung ho character is particularly nasty. I remember him as the one armed man from the Fugitive TV series in 2000-2001, an underrated series that deserved a bigger audience and more seasons than it. The Na'vi have their own language, with ancient looking text for the subtitles, and Sully learns a little of it. I like that the humans still use bullets instead of futuristic lasers for their guns.
As the tensions rise in Sully so does the barely contained hostility between the military and the Na'vi rises and heads toward a big battle scene. It is expertly filmed and edited so you can see who is doing what to whom and each character's plight is clearly followed. The suspense in the last act of the battle (which admittedly looks a little like a videogame) is well drawn out with Sully's two forms in very close proximity to each other.
If I have any quibbles, one could say that Lang and Ribisi's characters are a little one dimensional, though that is not the fault of the actors. Cameron is not great at writing dialogue (but he is much better than George Lucas). The film could be about twenty minutes shorter.
In summation Avatar is a fantastic experience, well worth the time and money to see it on the big screen. Cameron brings the audience on an amazing visual journey and I think most people will enjoy it greatly unless they truly despise sci fi. ****
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