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Avatar
With Avatar: The Way of Water being a Best Picture nominee this year, I figured there was no point in watching that until I watched the first film. A 2009 Best Picture nominee, Avatar is a groundbreaking, intoxicating, breathtaking action fantasy that, for this reviewer, redefines the science fiction genre, rich with cinematic pyrotechnics unlike anything I have ever seen, utilized to tell a story which initially seems to present one underlying theme, but a different one quietly bubbles to the surface when we're not looking.
After his brother is killed, a paraplegic marine named Jake Sully volunteers to take his place in a mission on a moon called Pandora. Jake's mission is to gather information for a corporate organization who, in exchange for his help, have offered to restore the use of his legs. With virtually no training, Jake is placed in a pod, which transports him to the alternate universe of Pandora where the humans, known as Avatars, have blue faces, yellow eyes, Spock ears, and tails. With the help of a bad ass female Avatar named Neytiri, Jake finds himself in the middle of what appears to be some kind of civil war on Pandora, but when he finds out what's really going on, realizes he can't complete his mission because he may have found a new life and home on Pandora.
With films like The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, and Titanic under his belt, I didn't think there were any more cinematic mountains that mad genius and "king of the world" James Cameron could climb but he proved me wrong. They say the secret of making a great movie all starts with a great story and Cameron has crafted a story that starts so quietly centering on a tragic but likable hero drawn into something that not only grows to gargantuan proportions, but surrounds our hero with several black hats and white hats that are initially hard to discern from each other, but once he does, he does what he has to do with unabashed enthusiasm, courage, and a deadly sense of humor...he reminded me of an intergalactic John McLane.
Loved the way Jake's transition into an Avatar smoothly brings him into the Avatar world and just when he's in the thick of things, we are taken right back to the pod where he is pulled out and given instructions about what he did wrong while back in Avatar world, he is being taught their language and about the battle they are fighting. It's initially maddening for Jake and the viewer because he never gets straight answers from anyone on either side of the mission about what he's doing. Did love when he first morphs into an Avatar, his joy at having the use of his legs again and starts running and keeps running until he has to pulled back to the pod and we're again reminded that Jake can't walk. Loved Jake and Neytiri's first kiss too.
Cameron's meticulous craftsmanship in mounting the Pandora canvas, is a seamless blend of CGI effects and logic defying production design. The film is rich with incredible set pieces, a lot of which seemed to be inspired by set pieces from previous Cameron films. The forests of Pandora have a haunting quality that makes them seem to come alive and be part of the story. The non-human creatures of Pandora are an uncanny mix of real animals whose appearance seems to be altered versions of real animals and creatures specific to the Avatars that defy description. Love at one point when Neytiri tells Jake he must get control of a particular creature and Neytiri says he'll know the time is right when the creature tries to kill him. Also loved the floating mountains of Pandora...only James Cameron would find a way to make mountains float in mid air.
This film was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, and won well-deserved statues for cinematography, art direction, and visual effects. Cameron's cast serves his story, anchored by Sam Worthington's exuberant and sincere Jake Sully. There is also standout work from Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, Giovanni Ribisi as Selfridge, Sigourney Weaver as Grace, Michelle Rodrigues as Trudy, and especially Stephen Lang as Colonel Quaritch. A spellbinding cinematic experience. Can't wait to watch the sequel and am SO glad I watched this first. Fastest three hours of my life.
With Avatar: The Way of Water being a Best Picture nominee this year, I figured there was no point in watching that until I watched the first film. A 2009 Best Picture nominee, Avatar is a groundbreaking, intoxicating, breathtaking action fantasy that, for this reviewer, redefines the science fiction genre, rich with cinematic pyrotechnics unlike anything I have ever seen, utilized to tell a story which initially seems to present one underlying theme, but a different one quietly bubbles to the surface when we're not looking.
After his brother is killed, a paraplegic marine named Jake Sully volunteers to take his place in a mission on a moon called Pandora. Jake's mission is to gather information for a corporate organization who, in exchange for his help, have offered to restore the use of his legs. With virtually no training, Jake is placed in a pod, which transports him to the alternate universe of Pandora where the humans, known as Avatars, have blue faces, yellow eyes, Spock ears, and tails. With the help of a bad ass female Avatar named Neytiri, Jake finds himself in the middle of what appears to be some kind of civil war on Pandora, but when he finds out what's really going on, realizes he can't complete his mission because he may have found a new life and home on Pandora.
With films like The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, and Titanic under his belt, I didn't think there were any more cinematic mountains that mad genius and "king of the world" James Cameron could climb but he proved me wrong. They say the secret of making a great movie all starts with a great story and Cameron has crafted a story that starts so quietly centering on a tragic but likable hero drawn into something that not only grows to gargantuan proportions, but surrounds our hero with several black hats and white hats that are initially hard to discern from each other, but once he does, he does what he has to do with unabashed enthusiasm, courage, and a deadly sense of humor...he reminded me of an intergalactic John McLane.
Loved the way Jake's transition into an Avatar smoothly brings him into the Avatar world and just when he's in the thick of things, we are taken right back to the pod where he is pulled out and given instructions about what he did wrong while back in Avatar world, he is being taught their language and about the battle they are fighting. It's initially maddening for Jake and the viewer because he never gets straight answers from anyone on either side of the mission about what he's doing. Did love when he first morphs into an Avatar, his joy at having the use of his legs again and starts running and keeps running until he has to pulled back to the pod and we're again reminded that Jake can't walk. Loved Jake and Neytiri's first kiss too.
Cameron's meticulous craftsmanship in mounting the Pandora canvas, is a seamless blend of CGI effects and logic defying production design. The film is rich with incredible set pieces, a lot of which seemed to be inspired by set pieces from previous Cameron films. The forests of Pandora have a haunting quality that makes them seem to come alive and be part of the story. The non-human creatures of Pandora are an uncanny mix of real animals whose appearance seems to be altered versions of real animals and creatures specific to the Avatars that defy description. Love at one point when Neytiri tells Jake he must get control of a particular creature and Neytiri says he'll know the time is right when the creature tries to kill him. Also loved the floating mountains of Pandora...only James Cameron would find a way to make mountains float in mid air.
This film was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, and won well-deserved statues for cinematography, art direction, and visual effects. Cameron's cast serves his story, anchored by Sam Worthington's exuberant and sincere Jake Sully. There is also standout work from Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, Giovanni Ribisi as Selfridge, Sigourney Weaver as Grace, Michelle Rodrigues as Trudy, and especially Stephen Lang as Colonel Quaritch. A spellbinding cinematic experience. Can't wait to watch the sequel and am SO glad I watched this first. Fastest three hours of my life.