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AVATAR James Cameron Starring Sam Worthington Zoe Saldana Stephen Lang Michelle Rodriguez Sigourney Weaver In the run up to the release of Avatar literally thousands of outraged fans were frantically typing away how terrible this film looked. Personally, I never understood the online firebombing; this is James Cameron we're talking about! The man behind some of the most innovative cinematic spectacles of the closing two decades of the 20th Century. So, I kept an open mind; having finally seen this release, these are my thoughts. Avatar is borderline phenomenal... visually. Not drawing plot similarities and parallels with Dune, Dances With Wolves and other 'noble savage' releases is near impossible. Set on the distant world of Pandora, Avatar tells the story of a deceased scientist's marine twin, Jake Sully [Worthington], enlisted to finish his brother's work. Having problems with the natives (and just about every other form of indigenous life on the alien world) mining for precious 'unobtanium' is grinding to a slow halt. The suits are being pressed by stock holders, the military are getting itchy trigger fingers and the scientists don't appear to be making a great deal of headway with the locals. In order to blend with the Na'vi, remotely controlled synthetic bodies have been grown. With the arrival of Jake, Col. Quaritch [Lang] sees an opportunity to pull rank and orders the marine to gather intel. on how best to exploit the Na'vi. Rather typically, the more time Jake spends among the aliens, the closer he feels to them - in particular, one tribe's princess, Neytiri [Saldana]. The plot is divided into two distinct parts: the first hour and a half details Jake's exploration of Pandora and the remainder focuses on the all-out war that's been brewing from the start. Ok, enough of the plot. As with the majority of Cameron's work, the story is the weakest element but for some reason every single clichéd character, plot development and gentle moment is forgiven simply for the fact that Avatar is first and foremost a visual undertaking. To list all the positive and innovative elements throughout this film would severely eat into this review and we would be nine paragraphs deep before I even start to make a point. So, I will list a few pros before delving straight into the cons - in other words, if I haven't mentioned something, it's probably because it was amazing. First of all we have the visuals, which are utterly superb and an absolute treat to behold. On top of that, the 3D element has been done in such a way as to layer the onscreen delights without resorting to all that 'oh an arrow in my face!' and 'look over there!' as an extending finger reaches from the screen. Ok, moving away from the visual side of things (because there are only so many ways to say 'this film has to be seen to understand how impressive it really is' without sounding like I'm slobbering kisses all over Cameron's arse) we have the two-or-three weak aspects that ensure this film will not feature on my Top 5 of the year. First there's James Horner's score which was an absolute disgrace. A combination of atypical pan-flute nonsense and ominous warbles I kept thinking to myself, 'I've heard that before'. Lying awake in bed, driven out of my mind, it finally clicked that Horner composed the score for both The New World and Enemy At The Gates and all he's done is amalgamate the two into one aurally abhorrent mess. I'm sorry, it fracked me off! This movie needed an epic score: what it needed was Clint Mansell! Then there were the sound effects which, again, felt wholly recycled. I'm willing to forgive the gunships sounding like every other aerial vehicle because there is meant to be some sort of continuity with Cameron's other worlds but having all the alien creatures open their gobs and let out distinctly Jurassic Park roars is flat out insulting. I'm sorry, most of my argument seems largely audio based but when you focus so heavily on the visuals, you would think this other crucial aspect would have been at least looked into. And if you're waiting for me to berate the script or dialogue, don't hold your breath. Yes, alright, it was far from perfect but I genuinely believe it worked for the film. The thought eating away at me is largely retrospective. Looking back, I cannot recall a single moment that made me think, 'This is it! I'm witnessing the change of cinema as we know it!' That may sound ridiculous but with Avatar you can't help but notice a distinct lack of overwhelming significance in the face of other such cinematic triumphs. In other words, give it six months, no one's going to care. Release Date: 18th December 2009 The Scene To Look Out For: Avatar has a far from original storyline, I'll be the first to admit that - it's a fair critique, so trying to highlight a specific sequence that isn't action based is going to be a tad pointless. I'm going to ramble on about Stephen Lang's performance in the next paragraph but I suppose highlighting one of his shining moments can't go amiss. With the aid of a few scientists and a surly pilot (Chacon played by Michelle Rodriguez), Jake escapes the human facility intent on stealing his avatar unit and waging war. Quaritch spots this and acts instantly. Snarling and grinding his teeth, the stupidly muscled marine stomps over to the airlock door, grabs a rifle and bellows 'Masks on!' before holding his breath, kicking the air-compressed hatch and opening fire on the fleeing traitors. A moment which, on paper at least, sounds absurd but works so beautifully that you cannot help but believe this on-screen menace is the all-out badass he's trying to portray. Very quickly, another scene that highlights the computer effects is not the initial introductions to Pandora but the first time we see a Sigourney Weaver alien - it's just terrifyingly spot-on. Notable Characters: As mentioned, Lang is one of the highlights of this movie. His character is so superbly executed (as one-dimensional as he is) and identifiably real as the war-hungry military type necessary to tell this story. Equally, Saldana's work as the Na'vi princess was equally stellar and an absolute treat to behold. In truth, even actors and actresses that I usually hate turned in great performances under Cameron's guidance. I would agree that Worthington can be a little flat and his accent feigns every now-and-then but the majority is gold. Highlighted Quote: "If there is a Hell, you might want to go there for a little R&R after a tour on Pandora" In A Few Words: "Without a shadow of a doubt a revolution in visual cinema but glaring narrative and post-production flaws really hold back what should have been Cameron's perfect comeback" Total Score: 
8/10Matthew Stogdon |
