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I went to see "Avatar" a few days ago and all I gotta say is Wow-wee!
To be honest with you, I went in with medium expectations. I thought some of what I'd seen from trailer seemed a little cheesy and that title reminded me of that Saturday morning cartoon show (yeah you know the one) and left something to be desired.
Plus it was in 3D, which to me is usually a deal-breaker rather than a help (I always seem to get killer headaches from them). Also the running time for the movie is close to three hours and that is just too long for me. So in other words by the time I actually got to the movies my expectations had already been lowered.
Then I actually sat down to watch the movie. Put on my thick, stylin' plastic 3-D glasses and whammy! I was blown away!
Natives Vs. Technology
The story goes something like this: the year is 2154 and it's a tale of a disabled former Marine named Jake Sully "going native." Sully takes his late twin brother's place in an avatar program (as only his almost identical DNA will do), a scientific avatar study if you will, run by a corporation that hopes that a new world called Pandora which has a rich source of a mineral Earth desperately needs to help us humans create a more peaceful planet.
The population of Pandora are called the Na'vi. The atmosphere is not breathable by us mere mortals, so to venture out of our landing craft, we use avatars- Na'vi lookalikes .Without any training, Jake suddenly must learn how to link his consciousness to an avatar, that mixes human DNA with that of the native Pandora inhabitants. Got all that?
As if in the midst of all this action , there is a love story. Ahh.
With orders to fit in with the Na'vi, Jake finds himself falling in love with native girl, Neytiri.
Essentially, "Avatar" is about the challenges and moral conundrums facing a soldier between his human self and his avatar self.
They both must overcome their cultural differences and learn to listen to their hearts. The Na'vi have a saying " I see you" which means more than literally "seeing you". It means "I see you and into your heart." Swoon.
And no there are no icebergs here, but James Cameron, director of the blockbuster "Titanic" knows full well that people want, need, demand a romance. After all, love will go on...
Special Effects:
It's reportedly the most expensive film ever made,and if that's true then bravo Mr. Cameron bravo- it was well worth it!
It just proves that there is still at least one man in Hollywood who knows how to spend $250 million, (or was it $300 million), wisely. Most of the critics are complaining about the story line, which is said to sound like "Dances with Wolves" and "Pocahontas." But more on my thoughts on that in a bit.
Still yet, there's one thing everyone agrees on: the special effects are awesome.
SideNote:"Avatar" is more than 10 years in the making, after writing this story many years ago, James Cameron (director of "Aliens", and "Terminator") discovered that the technology he needed to make it happen did not exist so he actually invented his own cameras to create this digital world.
We're reminded that the writer/director is an avid deep-sea diver: Pandora's rainforest resembles a spectacular underwater expedition.
The Na'vi - the 10 foot tall blue creatures that Sully encounters - are unlike anything ever seen before. The colors, the special effects, everything in this film are what makes the movie so awesome.
People can bitch and moan about the storyline and call it "Dances with Aliens" all they want.
Has this story been told before? Yeah, sort of, but not told like this, and definitely not like this visually. I didn't see it in IMAX, but like I said earlier it was in 3D. I can tell you even with my iffy-ness about 3D in general the 3D in "Avatar' only added to the breathtaking visuals on the screen.
Let's just say, I left the theater wishing I could book a ticket to Pandora.
SideNote: For the few of you who were concerned if the 3D had given me problems well I'm happy to report that no. No headache- a bit of an eye strain maybe but that's too be expected after 161 minutes, 34 seconds of any movie I suppose! And hey thanks for your concern.
In the end, I say run, don't walk to see "Avatar"; it is an amazingly, beautiful experience!
There are mountains that float, dragons that fly, six-legged horses, magic plants,and strange objects that look like jellyfish flittering all around. A dozen years later, James Cameron has proven his point: He is king of the world.
Rated PG |
Posted by oxyjen on Dec 27, 2009
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