Avatar Movie Review

WELL. Where do I even begin? Avatar was such a stunning achievement in the world of cinematic adventures I do not even know what to talk about first. I have been following this movie for quite some time, and was sure that I would only be disappointed. But I can say confidently this movie so far exceeded any expectation that I could have had it's almost comical.

I guess the most obvious place to start is how absolutely jaw-dropping the world that James Cameron has created looks. Using his new 3D camera fusion system which was designed entirely by him to mimic the human eye really does do magic. As ALL of the movie takes place in an entirely CGI environment and over half of the characters are created entirely through CGI it is very easy to forget that the movie takes place in an entirely fictional world. I do have to say, if anyone plans on seeing this movie NOT in 3D, you may wanna re consider. More on this later.

James Cameron has always been known for pushing the boundaries of what is possible as far as technological advancements in movie making go. From Terminator, to The Abyss, to Titanic, all of these were technological breakthroughs in the art of movie making. Avatar pushes this to an entirely new level. James Cameron has not released a movie in over a DECADE. Titanic was his last release, admittedly a good point for almost anyone to call it a career. But James Cameron was far from done. He has been writing the story to Avatar since he was only 8 years old. I sure as fuck was not writing a movie when I was 8. Cameron was basically ready with a script to make the movie back in 1994 but the technology necessary to make his vision a reality DIDN'T EVEN EXIST. So James CAmeron being the hero that he is decided "Hey ya know what, I'll just invent the technology!"

This brings us to the 3D Camera Fusion technology. Something Cameron designed specifically to make this movie. It's two cameras set up to capture motion in a way that replicates human sight and depth perception. This he also coupled with a virtual camera. Most movie camera shots are selected in the editing room far after a movie is done being shot. Cameron thought this made a movie lose its sense of urgency. So he set up a computer and camera system that would allow him to view a low resolution view of his world, Pandora, as he was shooting the actors on his brand new motion capture stage called "The Volume." Cameron also mounted small cameras on all his actors faces to capture every single minutia of their facial expressions so these could be accurately rendered onto the faces of the alien race or Na'vi they were portraying. All of this technology works together seamlessly to create a world that looks so totally stunning within minutes of the films beginning, one forgets that it is all a fictional creation in the Mind of James Cameron.

I gave this review a day to stew in my head and puzzle over any major plot holes. One may notice in 99% of all effects driven movies, the first time one watches they can find numerous holes in the plot of the film. In puzzling over this one for a day or so I can say I could not recognize one. The whole movie never loses its sense of urgency. It is quite a tale by any measure. If you don't wish to know some key plot points I suggest you skip the next section or two.

The movie starts out with an ex-Marine named Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, being selected to go to Pandora in his now deceased brothers place to operate an Avatar. A genetically engineered human-Na'vi hybrid that he will control with his mind in order to assimilate into the culture of the natives. After doing this he will try and get them to leave their home so a corporation can come in and mine for a substance called Unobtanium which is very valuable the their home is sitting right on top of the largest known deposit of it. His first night there he is found by a local tribe member named Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana who is a fox even as a nine foot tall blue chick. She takes him back to her tribe and they decide not to kill him but allow him to learn their culture. Neytiri who happens to be the queen's daughter is reluctantly selected to do this. As she does this, a bond between her and Sully begins to form. Sully feels almost more comfortable in their world than in his own. He and Neytiri begin to fall in love with one another and decide to mate for life as the rest of the Na'vi do.

This all goes to shit when the armed forces there are tired of waiting for him to get them to move that they just begin to move in without care of who dies on the natives side. When Jake finally reveals what is happening and that he has known about it all along, he is banished from the tribe and Neytiri leaves him. The forces begin their attack and destroy the home of the Na'vi tribe resulting in huge losses to them. Sully decides that he must do something to regain their trust. He takes control of a huge winged animal only 5 other Na'vi have ever done. He leads them in a fight against the humans and after a hard fought battle in which both sides take huge losses, the Na'vi are victorious and Sully and Neytiri are re-united. The humans leave the planet, and Sully is invited to leave his human body for his Avatar forever and become a part of the tribe.

Now if you skipped over those so as to not reveal the plot to yourself begin again here. The movie is as stunning in its tale as it is visually. It is a great story that many people can and will enjoy. It is one of the most hyped movies of recent years, and has definitely come the closest to being deserving of all that hype. James Cameron has invented an entirely new world, not to mention an entirely new language. By using all of the the new technology he has invented for this film, James Cameron has managed to completely obliterate the lines between both reality and CGI and immerse us in something more. A truly great tale made even better by the technology used to make his vision a reality.