A Breakthrough in Cinema

Rating: Null/10 (4 February 2010)

Avatar (2009)
**** (out of 4)
A paraplegic marine (Sam Worthington) gets a shot to continue his career by taking part in an experiment that will place him among the people of Pandora. Once there he has orders to learn their way of life so that the military can eventually throw them off their land but soon the marine begins to feel that the Pandora way of life is the way to be. Okay, I'll admit that I was very skeptical going into this movie after hearings months worth of buzz saying this film was going to change the way we view movies. I became even more skeptical after it became a hit and just recently became the most successful film in history. This type of movie normally isn't my cup of tea but I was left amazed countless times and in the end I have to admit that Cameron has done it again. There are only a handful of films that actually change the ways movies are made. We can look at 1915's THE BIRTH OF A NATION as one. GONE WITH THE WIND would be another. I have no doubt in my mind that AVATAR is another film in line with those two classics and I'm sure one day people will study this movie just as we have studied those other two for decades now.
I'm not a fan of CGI but what we have here is something truly amazing because it doesn't look like something fake nor does it seem like a phony marketing device. As the movie goes along Cameron does such a masterful job at building this alternate life that one really begins to forget that they're watching a movie. I've heard stories of people becoming depressed after watching this movie when they realize that Pandora isn't real and I understand how some could feel this way. While watching the movie there wasn't a single second where the idea of me watching something fake entered my mind. The characters, their wildlife, the forest and all the creates in that forest were extremely real to me and the way Cameron brings all of this to life constantly had my jaw on the floor and my eyes bugged out. I honestly don't think I blinked once during this film because I was worried about missing something that I hadn't seen before. The amazing neon colors of the flowers or the look of the glowing eyes, no matter what you're looking at on the screen you can't help but feel as if you're seeing something for the first time and it's unlike anything you've seen before. This alternate lifestyle or universe that Cameron has created is something truly breathtaking and something you want to take it as much as you can.
The 3-D effects are also masterfully done because Cameron doesn't just sit there and throw things out you. With only a couple exceptions, the 3-D is only used to put you into this universe and I must admit that I've never seen 3-D like this and I can only hope more movies will use it to this effect. The 160-minute running time flashes by without any slow spots and the performances are all top-notch with Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang really delivering the goods. The music score by James Horner is epic and Mauro Fiore's cinematography really puts you in the center of all the action. Many have complained that the story is pretty unoriginal and light, which might be true but it really doesn't take away from the film as it's still good enough to keep you interested in the characters, their actions and everything they're feeling. Walking out of this movie I really did feel like what those in 1915 would have felt coming out of THE BIRTH OF A NATION. I felt as if I had seen something not only epic but groundbreaking and the start of something new in cinema history. Perhaps Kubrick's 2001 also made people feel this way. Either way, a lot of credit has to go to Cameron who has once again delivered something truly special.