Charlie Dorf
When one thinks of an “epic” film, such classics as the original Star Wars trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, and the first two Terminator films directed by James Cameron spring to mind. These films utilized the newest technology, created an original and engrossing universe, and brought to screen some of the best action and war scenes of all time. Cameron’s Avatar may not surpass the classics and falls short in some aspects, but it definitely earns its place, overall, as a well-done sci-fi film.
“Avatar” follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic marine who is offered a second chance on Pandora, a lush and dangerously beautiful planet inhabited by the Na’vi, a race of nine-foot tall, blue skinned behemoth’s who live in harmony with the planet’s environment. Because the planet’s atmosphere is toxic to humans, they use avatars — Na’vi-human hybrids that are essentially mind-controlled by human operators. When Jake’s twin brother is killed before being sent to Pandora, the corporation gives the chance to take his place. Jake is initially assigned by the company’s security chief, Col. Quaritch (Steven Lang), to gain the natives’ trust in order to get information on the Na’vi’s “Hometree” (which just so happens to be sitting on the largest pocket of “unobtanium,” the resource that keep’s the corporation’s operations and profits going in the area). However, after meeting Neytiri (Zoe Saland), a female Na’vi hunter who reluctantly brought Jake back to Hometree to teach him the ways of the Na’vi, he finds himself being pulled further and further away from his own destructive race and embraces the peaceful and spiritual ways of the natives.
With such films as Aliens and Terminator under his belt, Cameron knows how to create a good sci-fi environment. Following this legacy, the most well done and striking thing created in this film is Pandora itself. It is by far one of the most original and interesting sci-fi environments to date. Though the film’s plot follows a relatively simple and recognizable plot, Pandora’s uniqueness and complexity keeps the story from becoming stale. Cameron’s depiction of an idyllic, peaceful Pandora speaks of how the natural world is the true real world and not the aggressive, self-serving, and “modern” one that we have come to know as normal.
However, this is only one of the film’s several allegories that exist within Pandora. The Na’vi are a clear parallel to the Native Americans, while the corporation’s destructive mining represents the destruction of our own planet’s environment for resources. For me, it was pleasing to see a major blockbuster film convey such pressing and powerful messages, a trend that I hope is repeated by other films.
Though the world is predominantly CGI, it is very convincing and never feels too overdone. The newest motion capture technology used in Avatar helped the Na’vi to possess strikingly realistic facial features and movements, and by the end of the film, you truly believe in and care about the film’s characters.
However, I felt that the supporting characters were one of the film’s weakest points that prevented it from joining the ranks of epics like Star Wars, which gave us more than just Leia and Luke. Avatar delivers a great deal of focus to Jake and Neytiri, but it feels as though all the other supporting characters fall by the wayside, appearing undeveloped. They never surprise you, and frankly, never particularly interest you. Their actions and motives are only supported by what their roles stereotypically, should be.
Some critics have commented that the film is too long, clocking in at 163 minutes, but I disagree. The film is very well paced, never leaving you feeling bored or overwhelmed with action. In fact, it keeps a steady balance of action and storytelling, with the latter often being as breathtaking as the former. It is in the scenes where Neytiri is showing Jake the ways of the Na’vi that we truly see the detail Cameron put into creating Pandora, from the couple simply running through the forest to wrangling flying banshees on the top of floating mountains.
The film climaxes with an epic battle, similar to that of the battle of Endor or Helm’s Deep. Even though this formula has been used before, Cameron pulls off one of the most intense and visually spectacular battles I have ever seen. Unfortunately, the lack of a strong supporting cast slightly hampered the entire sequence for me. It in no way ruined it, but I would have liked to have felt more emotionally invested in the characters. I felt almost distant from the warriors I was watching fighting and dying.
Having seen the movie in both 2D and 3D, I would definitely recommend seeing it in 3D. Though I never thought I would say this, due to my previous aversion towards 3D films, I felt the 3D was quite tasteful. It didn’t jump out at you and detract from the films quality for cheap thrills, but instead provided greater depth to the film overall, making you feel as if you are truly in the jungles of Pandora. Leaving, I was surprised to return to a movie theater lobby suspiciously devoid of flying Toruks.
Though Avatar did not change the way I view movies, it created a new and interesting universe that has the potential to be a great trilogy. Now, if only I could get one of those banshees…
