I cannot say I am a hardcore James Cameron fan, but I loved the first two Terminator movies and Aliens with a passion. I did not appreciate Titanic very much or even the much worse ?Piranha Part 2: The Spawning? which as it happens is the first feature film James Cameron directed. I did not care for either of those movies because in my own opinion they were not much fun to watch, in particular Piranha part 2 which made me quite honestly and without any irony want to kill myself.
However my love for Aliens in particular was so strong that when I got a model alien from the series of the same name I actually named it ?James Cameron? in honour of the director that gave me such a great movie. So despite the ire and loathing I had for two of his films I still allowed myself to feel some level of hype for the upcoming Avatar, which is the movie everyone is talking about. Some praise it like a god and others, well others just bash it with the same level of contempt reserved for vile demonic troll spawn. So with all this spilling around I decided to give my two cents on the matter and also give my own review, because lord knows it?s been a while. So hey, this is Vrex and I am to review Avatar.
Avatar?s story is not vastly unique. It is set in the future with humanity settling down on a fierce yet beautiful world called ?Pandora? destroying large sections of beautiful rainforest in search of mineral deposits. However this angers the local indigenous population called the Na?vi. A race of tree dwelling blue cat like people. This is where our hero comes in, Jake Scully played by Aussie footballer turned actor Sam Worthington (Sam the Man). He is a wheelchair bound former marine who is among many others to have his mind and mental control remotely put into an artificial body that resembles the Na?vi called an Avatar. He is among a group tasked with negotiating with the Na?vi (lead by Sigourney Weaver, the woman who is probably my favourite working actress to date) but instead is through a series of embarrassing accidents instead welcomed into their clan and kept under the watchful eye of a beautiful and fierce clan princess Neytiri. Naturally over the course of this bonding he and Neytiri start to fall in love and he is forced to decide which group he must side with, the peaceful loving aliens or the filthy and ugly and greedy destructive humans in an upcoming war for control of this Eden of a planet.
If you can?t tell enough, you aren?t really supposed to root for the humans, makes sense really given what filthy creatures they are. Though some of them are alright? I guess.
One thing I was disappointed by though was that the mention ?educating the natives and taking them into schools? which I interoperated as a reference to the settlement of Australia by British Colonists in which the native Aborigines were taken from their homes and forced to be educated and put into clothes that didn?t feel right. More then that I was even hoping for references to the ?Stolen generation? in which Aboriginal kids were taken from their parents to be integrated with white culture saying it was ?for their benefit?.
There was certainly a lot to indicate stuff like that would be present albeit in science fiction terms in this movie given that it?s more or less a story of greedy western culture actively destroying spiritual beliefs of a native culture (in fact a lot of the face and body makeup of the Na?vi as well as elements of their culture was actually strikingly familiar to Aboriginal culture and markings) however it seems much more focussed on just the destruction angle and not so much on the political angle of a planetary invasion. Which does feel a little like a missed opportunity. But I digress?
Now I know that this story will probably strike some as a simple set up and to their credit I have to agree not much in the way of new content is on display here. But the difference is that this story, while one we?ve all heard before is at least in my own opinion a well-told version of a well-known tale. Largely to its credit for this are the visuals and superlative acting on pretty much all fronts. Plus you can call me an over the top sentimental kinda guy if you want (I really am by the way) but I was actually more impressed by the romance story then the actual action aspect of this movie. Yes the action scenes were great but part of what made them so great and so thrilling was that you actually cared about the characters involved (again maybe some of you didn?t but I sure did) and really the romance tale between a man living in an alien avatar body who comes from a culture where everything is exploited and wasted and tossed aside and an alien woman living in her own world where everything is sacred and cared for with love and dedication is an interesting angle and even if similar set ups have been done I like the angle this movie takes, because there is a real sense of an emotional bond between two characters of such different backgrounds both learning the best parts of the other?s culture and developing a very powerful and real emotional attachment. All the more amazing when you consider that this whole feel of romance is done by fully CGI characters. It?s a moment to remember.
Besides I think I made it clear enough before how utterly sexy I find the whole idea of alien human romance is, I mean like seriously for me at least the only thing hotter then having sex with a blue chick with a tail would be the sun itself.
But enough about the romance, let?s talk the rest of the film now.
The major thing that looking at Avatar will give you is the awe of how beautiful it looks. All kinds of amazing scenery are on display, giant floating mountains, lush tropical jungle and wondrously bizarre yet awesome creatures roaming around free in their environment. Even the grubby and grimy areas populated entirely by humans, iconic for their simple grey colour scheme and undeniable hideous stench of Homo sapiens, look terrific. If you can fork out the extra bucks for 3D as much as I hate the gimmick in usual sense, I?d say go for it. Because you will never experience a better looking movie out in cinemas right now then this one and that?s also why I implore you to see it on the big screen at least once in your life because it?s visuals are something you are going to remember.
Okay enough about the romance and the art, let?s get down to the big stuff? the action.
If you saw the trailer, no doubt you were treated to the sightings of various explosive battles between human made spacecrafts and giant flying dragon/pterosaur creatures. Well that?s exactly right, you get all that and more. With added concern for the main character?s survival as I said before there is really a strong sense of urgency in the fight scenes and the simple joy of watching the bad guys get owned in the face by the heroes. Almost all of it is CGI animation yet it runs so smoothly you barely notice, it does a good job of practically immersing you into the vibe and making you forget that what you are seeing is all animated. It looks so real and is done with the right eye for capturing the best scenes in a way that you won?t miss any second of the great display that is the fighting savage beauty of Pandora.
Finally my last point is, that despite having an enormous budget and a rather simple plot, Avatar retains a sort of soul that is uniquely it?s own. Partly it?s the romance, partly it?s the scenery, and partly it?s the themes of culture but maybe when it comes right down to it, it?s a mixture of all these different elements blurred together that just gives Avatar an element that cannot really be described as anything other then the soul of a good movie. Whatever it was it was the same strange X factor that made me love the Halo series where in I could list all the great individual things about the game or in this case movie but still would barely be able to scratch the surface because in the end the thing I liked most about it was just this strange soul that cannot be described but charms me to it nonetheless.
I recommend you give this movie a try, you may not see the spark as I do and I cannot blame you for that, people have varying tastes after all. But for those with the eye of the beautiful and wondrous or even just a love of science fiction? Pandora awaits you.
For Other self indulgent Vrex related reviews please click on the following links:
Vrex at the movies: Coraline [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.130069]
Vrex at the movies: Dead Space Downfall [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.105604]
Vrex at the movies: Pitch Black [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.120198]
Vrex at the movies: Mary and Max [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.114658]
Vrex at the movies: Friday the Thirteenth [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.107487]
Vrex at the movies: District 9 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.136231#3067612]
Vrex at the movies: Up [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.141623#3174604]
Vrex at the movies: 500 days of Summer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.145257#3283119]
Vrex at the movies: Mao's last dancer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.149544#3490835]
Vrex at the movies: Whip It [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.152214#3625164]
And as for games:
Vrex behind the controller: Otogi: Myth of Demons [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.113073]
Vrex behind the controller: Dead Space [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116791]
Vrex behind the controller: Mass Effect [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116372]
Vrex behind the controller: Halo 3: ODST [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.146265#3332107]
However my love for Aliens in particular was so strong that when I got a model alien from the series of the same name I actually named it ?James Cameron? in honour of the director that gave me such a great movie. So despite the ire and loathing I had for two of his films I still allowed myself to feel some level of hype for the upcoming Avatar, which is the movie everyone is talking about. Some praise it like a god and others, well others just bash it with the same level of contempt reserved for vile demonic troll spawn. So with all this spilling around I decided to give my two cents on the matter and also give my own review, because lord knows it?s been a while. So hey, this is Vrex and I am to review Avatar.
Avatar?s story is not vastly unique. It is set in the future with humanity settling down on a fierce yet beautiful world called ?Pandora? destroying large sections of beautiful rainforest in search of mineral deposits. However this angers the local indigenous population called the Na?vi. A race of tree dwelling blue cat like people. This is where our hero comes in, Jake Scully played by Aussie footballer turned actor Sam Worthington (Sam the Man). He is a wheelchair bound former marine who is among many others to have his mind and mental control remotely put into an artificial body that resembles the Na?vi called an Avatar. He is among a group tasked with negotiating with the Na?vi (lead by Sigourney Weaver, the woman who is probably my favourite working actress to date) but instead is through a series of embarrassing accidents instead welcomed into their clan and kept under the watchful eye of a beautiful and fierce clan princess Neytiri. Naturally over the course of this bonding he and Neytiri start to fall in love and he is forced to decide which group he must side with, the peaceful loving aliens or the filthy and ugly and greedy destructive humans in an upcoming war for control of this Eden of a planet.
If you can?t tell enough, you aren?t really supposed to root for the humans, makes sense really given what filthy creatures they are. Though some of them are alright? I guess.
One thing I was disappointed by though was that the mention ?educating the natives and taking them into schools? which I interoperated as a reference to the settlement of Australia by British Colonists in which the native Aborigines were taken from their homes and forced to be educated and put into clothes that didn?t feel right. More then that I was even hoping for references to the ?Stolen generation? in which Aboriginal kids were taken from their parents to be integrated with white culture saying it was ?for their benefit?.
There was certainly a lot to indicate stuff like that would be present albeit in science fiction terms in this movie given that it?s more or less a story of greedy western culture actively destroying spiritual beliefs of a native culture (in fact a lot of the face and body makeup of the Na?vi as well as elements of their culture was actually strikingly familiar to Aboriginal culture and markings) however it seems much more focussed on just the destruction angle and not so much on the political angle of a planetary invasion. Which does feel a little like a missed opportunity. But I digress?
Now I know that this story will probably strike some as a simple set up and to their credit I have to agree not much in the way of new content is on display here. But the difference is that this story, while one we?ve all heard before is at least in my own opinion a well-told version of a well-known tale. Largely to its credit for this are the visuals and superlative acting on pretty much all fronts. Plus you can call me an over the top sentimental kinda guy if you want (I really am by the way) but I was actually more impressed by the romance story then the actual action aspect of this movie. Yes the action scenes were great but part of what made them so great and so thrilling was that you actually cared about the characters involved (again maybe some of you didn?t but I sure did) and really the romance tale between a man living in an alien avatar body who comes from a culture where everything is exploited and wasted and tossed aside and an alien woman living in her own world where everything is sacred and cared for with love and dedication is an interesting angle and even if similar set ups have been done I like the angle this movie takes, because there is a real sense of an emotional bond between two characters of such different backgrounds both learning the best parts of the other?s culture and developing a very powerful and real emotional attachment. All the more amazing when you consider that this whole feel of romance is done by fully CGI characters. It?s a moment to remember.
Besides I think I made it clear enough before how utterly sexy I find the whole idea of alien human romance is, I mean like seriously for me at least the only thing hotter then having sex with a blue chick with a tail would be the sun itself.
But enough about the romance, let?s talk the rest of the film now.
The major thing that looking at Avatar will give you is the awe of how beautiful it looks. All kinds of amazing scenery are on display, giant floating mountains, lush tropical jungle and wondrously bizarre yet awesome creatures roaming around free in their environment. Even the grubby and grimy areas populated entirely by humans, iconic for their simple grey colour scheme and undeniable hideous stench of Homo sapiens, look terrific. If you can fork out the extra bucks for 3D as much as I hate the gimmick in usual sense, I?d say go for it. Because you will never experience a better looking movie out in cinemas right now then this one and that?s also why I implore you to see it on the big screen at least once in your life because it?s visuals are something you are going to remember.
Okay enough about the romance and the art, let?s get down to the big stuff? the action.
If you saw the trailer, no doubt you were treated to the sightings of various explosive battles between human made spacecrafts and giant flying dragon/pterosaur creatures. Well that?s exactly right, you get all that and more. With added concern for the main character?s survival as I said before there is really a strong sense of urgency in the fight scenes and the simple joy of watching the bad guys get owned in the face by the heroes. Almost all of it is CGI animation yet it runs so smoothly you barely notice, it does a good job of practically immersing you into the vibe and making you forget that what you are seeing is all animated. It looks so real and is done with the right eye for capturing the best scenes in a way that you won?t miss any second of the great display that is the fighting savage beauty of Pandora.
Finally my last point is, that despite having an enormous budget and a rather simple plot, Avatar retains a sort of soul that is uniquely it?s own. Partly it?s the romance, partly it?s the scenery, and partly it?s the themes of culture but maybe when it comes right down to it, it?s a mixture of all these different elements blurred together that just gives Avatar an element that cannot really be described as anything other then the soul of a good movie. Whatever it was it was the same strange X factor that made me love the Halo series where in I could list all the great individual things about the game or in this case movie but still would barely be able to scratch the surface because in the end the thing I liked most about it was just this strange soul that cannot be described but charms me to it nonetheless.
I recommend you give this movie a try, you may not see the spark as I do and I cannot blame you for that, people have varying tastes after all. But for those with the eye of the beautiful and wondrous or even just a love of science fiction? Pandora awaits you.
For Other self indulgent Vrex related reviews please click on the following links:
Vrex at the movies: Coraline [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.130069]
Vrex at the movies: Dead Space Downfall [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.105604]
Vrex at the movies: Pitch Black [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.120198]
Vrex at the movies: Mary and Max [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.114658]
Vrex at the movies: Friday the Thirteenth [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.107487]
Vrex at the movies: District 9 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.136231#3067612]
Vrex at the movies: Up [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.141623#3174604]
Vrex at the movies: 500 days of Summer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.145257#3283119]
Vrex at the movies: Mao's last dancer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.149544#3490835]
Vrex at the movies: Whip It [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.152214#3625164]
And as for games:
Vrex behind the controller: Otogi: Myth of Demons [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.113073]
Vrex behind the controller: Dead Space [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116791]
Vrex behind the controller: Mass Effect [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.116372]
Vrex behind the controller: Halo 3: ODST [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.146265#3332107]
