Avatar Movie Review

Movie: Avatar 3D  
My Rating: 5/5 Wonderful Movie
First Time Ever 5Rating out of 5
Banner: 20th Century Fox
Music: James Horner
Cinematography: Mauro Fiore
Editing: John Refoua, Stephen Rivkin
Visual effects: Adel Abada, David Abbott
Producers: James Cameron, Jon Landau
Direction: James Cameron
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver etc
Release Date: 18th Dec 2009

Synopsis:
The story happens in 22nd century. Human scientists discover that there is another planet called Pandora which contains rich minerals which are quite valuable. The army takes up the mission on going to Pandora and rob the minerals. But there is a problem. There is a sect of na’vis, a humanoid race are inhabitants of Pandora. They are quite tall with blue skin, golden eyes and a supple tile. There is not enough oxygen over there and human beings can’t survive. The scientists invent a new process (kind of Matrix process) of Avatar which makes select human beings look-alike of na’vis and sends them across to Pandora to get more information so that their military attack would be immaculate. Jake (Sam Worthington) is a marine who lost his legs in a warfare. His identical twin brother was groomed to be an Avatar, but dies. The Colonel promises his legs back (an expensive operation) if he cooperates to be an Avatar. After going to Pandora as an Avatar, Jake realises that the sect of na’vis are kind-hearted people who co-exist with the nature. He falls in love with the local princess Neyitiri (Zoe Saldana). Jake has orders to follow, But, he learns that Colonel is destroying good people for the sake of minerals. He decides to save Pandora from humans. The rest of the story is all about how he achieves it!

It transports you into a dream world:
James Cameron adds his tremendous creativity into imaginative 3D and VFX technology and shows us how passion for movies can create path-breaking movies like Avatar. The 3D effect, visual effects and the colors transport you into a new dream world you had never imagined. Avatar is supposed to be an alien movie and aliens are supposed to be unfamiliar (that’s why they are called aliens). The na’vis in this movie are excellent and they are familiar despite of blue skin, golden eyes and long tail. The na’vis bond with various animals and co-exist with them. The Pandora world is pleasant with its colors and is easy on eyes. The night vision of Pandora is a visual feast with pleasing florescence colors. There are floating mountains, flying dragons with butterfly colors, flies that look like jelly-fishes etc. The big tree is amazing.

Story with humanity and lots of moral values:
We see the story taking backseat in most of the technical extravaganzas. But Cameron made sure that he gives equal preference to storytelling in Avatar.

This film shows the greed of certain human beings who stop at nothing to achieve money/power. This film also shows the humanity of certain human beings who are willing to sacrifice everything to stop the destruction. Avatar is an eco-friendly movie.

A beautiful love story:
Princess of Pandora falling in love with a stranger from another place is an age-old and commercially successful formula. James Cameron has taken the magnificent canvas of the universe to narrate this love story.

It’s a wonderland:
I felt like the ‘Alice in wonderland’ while watching this movie. We enter the breathtaking land of aliens and root for them throughout the movie. The background music has Indianness in it. On the whole, Avatar is an entertaining, absorbing, ground-breaking and pleasant (not alien) film. Book your tickets right away and watch Avatar in 3D format. And feel yourself extremely lucky if you got an IMAX theatre in the city you live!!

Artists Performance:

Sam Worthington: He has come out with a neat performance and carries the movie throughout with ease. His screen presence is passive but then it is his character that gives a lot of strength to the role.

Zoe Saldana: Despite the fact that her human form is not seen, Zoe looks rather sensuous and credit must be given to the graphics specialists for creating a true to reality image of hers. She looks sensuous and beautiful with the right kind of expressions and emotional presence.

Sigourney Weaver: It is good to see the senior actress doing a responsible role and she has gone by the book and given complete justice to it.

Stephen Lang: He plays a hardcore army man and looks perfect to the core. His screen presence is strong and he has depicted the unwittingly evil side of the mankind in a correct manner.

Other Actress: Michelle Rodriguez was brief but made her presence felt, Giovanni Ribisi was standard, Joel Moore contributed in his own way, Wes Studi was apt. Not much from others since most of them are in animated or graphics format.

Final Analysis:

It is not often that one gets to see such movies. A once in a lifetime marvel, the storyline runs on a very simple yet important concept and more than the content, it is the presentation and narrative that dominated. The dialogues were witty at few places but they had depth though phrased in simple words, the script was in perfect shape and there were no loose ends, the screenplay was captivating. Background score contributed to the moods but James Horner could have given a theme of sorts just like he did for ‘Titanic’. Editing was crisp and sharp to the edge, costumes were nominal. Here is the best part – it is the graphics, visual effects, make up department, art department that have given an overwhelming impact. Here are few important observations-

* There is no inferior depiction of the Hindu gods or Hinduism so the BJP people and the religious fanatics can take it easy.
* There is a slight tinge of personification of Lord Rama in the protagonist and it was carried out with integrity and elegance.
* Though the film is rich in technical effects, there is a strong message which speaks of the importance of conserving the environment and how bio diversity is important for the existence of mankind.
* For those who understand what goes behind graphics and the visual effects, this is no less than a bible and it only takes exclamations to understand the efforts and the brains behind this.
* James Cameron visualizes a world that not many can see and his attention to detail can be seen in the little creatures to the lighting effects and the aura it creates.

Overall, the technical aspects and the visual effects are truly divine and though one can miss the comedy aspect, it is the overall impact and the strong message it delivers that engages the viewers. The film is lengthy (2 hours 40 minutes) but to be honest, there is not a single minute of boredom and it is a completely different journey that will remain in the memories for a long time.

Don’t miss it…Rush to theatres immediately