Cameron's Latest Epic a Visual Feast

Rating: 8/10 (17 May 2011)

Here is a movie on which it seems everyone has a strong opinion. It is the highest grossing movie in history, taking in almost $3 billion around the world, and it revolutionized the industry (for better or worse) by showing that 3D could be a profitable new element in cinema. James Cameron is one of my favorite all-time directors and is no stranger to creating ground-breaking special effects (e.g. TERMINATOR 2). He may not be the strongest writer, but he knows how to bring a story to life better than most. AVATAR is set in a distant future where a corporation has discovered a large deposit of the valuable element "unobtainium" on a moon called Pandora. The environment is hostile, the wildlife vicious, and the atmosphere poisonous. As if that wasn't enough, the mining is inhibited by Pandora's indigenous, a species called the Na'vi. In an attempt to interact with the Na'vi, the Avatar program was created in which a person is jacked into a specially-grown human/Na'vi hybrid. Paraplegic Marine Jake Sully is recruited into the program to fill the Avatar left by his dead brother and, upon finding himself lost in the Pandora wilderness, is cautiously accepted into a Na'vi tribe where he learns their life and customs. As the humans grow closer to moving the Na'vi out of the way by force, Jake is torn between his obligation to the mission and his love for the beautiful Neytiri and her people.
Cameron is a fantastic visionary. He literally brings the alien world of Pandora to life, meticulously creating an entirely new ecosystem and culture for this film. I'll admit, I am a huge fan of Cameron's but the trailers for this film did nothing to interest me. If my friend hadn't been interested in seeing the film, I probably would've missed out. Instead, I saw the film in 3D IMAX and my mind was blown at the epic effects Cameron brought to the screen. Once I was exposed to Pandora, my mind never once dropped out of the film and remembered I was watching an entire CG world. It was beautifully seamless. Still, I was not one of those viewers who saw the film and became clinically depressed when it was over. It was good, but it wasn't that good. As you've probably read in countless other reviews and comments on the film, it's far from original. It's the same story you've seen before in DANCES WITH WOLVES or THE LAST SAMURAI, but it's Cameron's spin on the tale and he was sure to include his "green" message about the importance of the environment and the evils of technology. Absolutely entertaining, but nothing that'll leave you breathless.
Sam Worthington is Jake Sully, and I suppose he did a decent enough job. He's not an amazing actor (in my opinion, but I've only seen him in two films and neither required a whole lot from him) but it's not hard to mess up the role of a disillusioned Marine grunt. He's only required to act somber with the occasional impassioned moment when he's rallying the Na'vi to join him in battle or falling for Neytiri. Zoe Saldana, on the other hand, is freakin' great. She does an amazing job here and it's even more impressive when you consider that her character was entirely CGI and created with motion capture. The same kudos can be extended to CCH Pounder, Laz Alonso, etc for creating powerful emotion through what essentially boils down to million dollar cartoons. Stephen Lang is my favorite performance in the movie as the hard-boiled Colonel Quatrich, head of security for the humans on Pandora. He's a stone-cold soldier and isn't afraid to storm into the heat of battle. Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, and Joel Moore round out a strong supporting cast.
The writing is weak (unobtainium?) but the visuals are beautiful and the cast turn in some good performances. It's not the best of 2009 but I believe it still shows Cameron hasn't lost his touch. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the sequels turn out.