Avatar - Review

After a five month of not going to the movies, i finally broke down and went to see Avatar. Last saturday me and Stevi decided to go to Edwards at the Irvine Spectrum to check it out in 3D. I was hoping that there was an IMAX showing, but unfortunately there wasn't. Even though it was not IMAX the showing for both of us was $31. I now see why this movie is number one at the box office. Luckily we had Edward's giftcards, so we didn't feel the sting of paying that much for a movie.

There is not really much to say about the movie. The story was pretty basic. A man goes undercover to learn about a civilization only to befriend them and fight on their side against the corporation that sent him. It's kind of like Logan's Run, Minority Report and Equilibrium in that respect.

The 3d was pretty cool, but didn't seem to work that well when i was expecting it. I was really hoping to see these grand vistas in beautiful 3d, but those shots seemed the most flat. I wanted to feel like i could fall into the valleys and fly through trees, but all establishing shots were just plain flat. One of the problems with 3d, is that it makes the image look small, if that makes sense. With 3d glasses on, it made everything look weirdly small. I think that IMAX would have been way better. Watching it in a normal theater made it look like a small diorama in front of me.

The special fx were pretty good, but my main problem was the character animation. There were too many times where the NA'VI looked rubbery. I know they are aliens, but they did not move very realistically. The textures on the close ups of the creatures looked great! The faces looked really well, with the exception of the Sigourney Weaver avatar. Hers looked the most fake. I wouldn't be surprised if they added her character's avatar in at the last minute. It just didn't look real at all. Of course it didn't help that Sigourney Weaver's acting was absolutely atrocious.

Speaking of acting, i thought that it was pretty standard. There were no real standout performances, with the exception of Zoe Saldana. I thought she did a bang up job. She was the only real character that had any kind of interesting character arc. I don't think i have seen Sam Worthington in anything before, but i thought he did a good job, considering that his character was uninspiring. All of the characters were one dimensional. The bad guys were assholes, the good guys were nice. The corporate guy is greedy and doesn't learn his lesson. The movie is so cookie cutter and safe that it won't upset anyone, which is why i guess the whole thing works. If this challenged the audience whatsoever, it would not make the money it did. It is pure fluff.

Even though the movie does not challenge the mind in anyway, it is beautiful to look at. Because it is so safe, there isn't that much, story wise, to argue with. When you go to see Avatar, you will be treated to exactly what you though you would. It is definitely better than Titanic, but is not as good as any other James Cameron films.

I am glad i got to see it in the theater. Both me and Stevi had a good time and as far as escapism goes, Avatar definitely takes you to the world of Pandora and allows you to leave the real world for three hours.

★ ★ ★ ½