Review: Avatar

I’ll be chiming in with my review of Avatar a little later on, but for now, here’s Adam Mast’s take on James Cameron’s 3-D epic.

James Cameron makes big films for mass audiences, and that certainly hasn’t changed with Avatar, his obscenely expensive (which it looks to be making back) sci-fi/fantasy opus about a military operation that pits narrow minded bureaucrats and tough talking grunts against a race of super tall blue natives (the Na’vi) on a breathtaking planet called Pandora. Technically, Avatar is a game changer. It isn’t necessarily the quality of the special effects (which are every bit as impressive as you’ve been hearing) but rather the quantity. You will see every cent of the budget right up there on the screen and what Cameron’s first film since sinking the Titanic lacks in originality (the Dances With Wolves comparison is difficult to shake) it makes up for in sheer, visual splendor.

Yes, Cameron the screenwriter is majorly upstaged by Cameron the director. As visually sumptuous as Avatar is, the obvious, near generic plot mechanics and bursts of cheesy dialogue keep this film from reaching the dramatic heights of Cameron’s strongest works (Aliens–of which Cameron greatly borrows from here, and the grossly underrated The Abyss). Again though, Avatar does offer up the wow factor. Cameron’s use of the motion capture process (in interviews, the director refers to the process as emotion capture) is the strongest to date. The Na’Vi do look photo real, particularly in the scenes where they’re side by side with the humans. Gone is the sort of lifeless look that plagued films like The Polar Express. But what’s most impressive about Cameron’s use of this process is that its secondary. This is an actor’s movie. As paraplegic Jake Sully (wonderfully played by an energetic Sam Worthington) has his essence transferred into the body of a Na’Vi host called an Avatar, the action and movements are all created through his physical performance. The same goes for Zoe Saldana (Uhura from this summer’s Star Trek reboot) who gives the film’s strongest turn as a Na’Vi native called Neytiri. She’s both dramatic and, dare I say it, sexy as the film’s tough female heroine.

Cameron uses motion capture to allow these terrific actors to do things they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise (like taking dragon flights and interacting with the many creatures of Pandora). As for Avatar’s human component? It’s sorely lacking. Sigourney Weaver shows up in a rather dull role as the master mind behind the Avatar project while the usually dependable Giovanni Ribisi is saddled with the underwritten role of the token evil bureaucrat (think Paul Reiser in Aliens only less interesting). Of the human characters, Stephen Lang fairs best as a tough as nails military man. It’s an over the top turn to be sure, but fittingly so. The real star of the film is Pandora itself. While the creatures that live there are a little too close to home (Pandora has its version of horse, Pandora has its version of a bird, Pandora has its version of a rhino, etc.), there’s no doubt that Cameron put a lot of time and effort into the creation of this magical world, and that’s one of the many attributes that sets him apart from the likes of Michael Bay.

There is an undeniable (and meticulous) eye to detail here that remains unmatched. With Avatar, Cameron set out to take us to another world (given the opportunity, take this journey in Imax 3-D), and while I was certainly more in awe of this movie then I was moved by it (for the record, I believe Star Trek and District 9 to be stronger sci-fi film experiences) , Avatar still emerges as an all immersive spectacle from a passionate (and competitive) artist who always appears to be at the very forefront of technology. Here’s to hoping we don’t have to wait another twelve years for his next film.

GRADE: B