Paul's Review: Avatar

At the tale end of last year, I finally got out of the house/ THN office to the local cinema to belatedly watch James Cameron’s AVATAR. It was nearly two weeks after the film’s initial release. No forgiving me. I hear your boos. Two weeks went by with the most important film of the noughties playing in cinemas and me not having seeing it. Again. Unforgivable. Then on the day before the last day of 2009, I ventured out to watch the film, which was to be my first 3-D moviegoing experience, and my mind was WIDE open.

So, AVATAR. The film is based around Sam Worthington’s character, Jake Sully, wheelchair bound self proclaimed Jarhead. After the death of his brother, Sully is offered the opportunity of heading to faraway planet Pandora to assume the body of a native (Na’vi), where he will not only get his legs back (not his real ones), but go on a unique, adventure of a lifetime.

James Cameron directs his film feature film for nearly twelve years. The film itself has been four years in the making, but been in the mind of the legendary helmer for more than fourteen years. Not until now has Cameron been able to realise his vision, through the technology of tomorrow. This is it, the most important film of the decade and the biggest earner since Cameron’s last effort TITANIC (probably).

In fairness, I had very little expectation of the film as I entered the auditorium last Wednesday evening. All I had was an open mind, a pair of special glasses on my face (believe me, they were on before I entered the room), and a girl on my arm that didn’t really want to be there in the first place. Something about spending the whole evening watching a silly little sci-fi film. Yes. Little? But she came — we assumed our seats and waited for the curtains to part (so to speak). And there we were. Fox logo. Darkness. First glimpse of the ground breaking 3-D and easily the most excited that I have been sitting in front of a Fox logo since the late-nineties as I sat down to watch THE PHANTOM MENACE. Here we go. The ride begins. And that’s what this thing is… more like a ride than a standard movie-going experience. It really is like nothing, and I mean NOTHING that you have ever seen before in your lives. Beautiful special effects from Weta Workship, Cameron’s excellent, near flawless direction and nice little performances from its largely unknown cast (bar Sigourney Weaver, who seemed to ham it up a bit as Dr. Grace Augustine). Okay, so the script is cheesy, but then so was TITANIC, and let’s face it… we’re not here to pick holes in the screenplay. This is all about the ride… All of the way through, one corner of my mouth was tucked under my left ear, the other corner under my right ear, and depending on the scene, the rest of my mouth would either be grinning from said left ear to said right ear, or my jaw would be on the floor. I will say it again, this is not like anything you have ever seen before.

A few tips when going. Sit halfway back in the seats in the auditorium, not too near the front, and get as central a position as possible. Keep your glasses on throughout and don’t take your eyes off of the screen. When the credits roll and you hear Leona Lewis’s dulcet tones (perhaps the only bad thing about the film), leave the cinema in awe, but don’t forget to book tickets for a repeat showing as you leave.

See it in the cinema. DO NOT wait for the DVD or Blu-Ray. See it now. Simply awesome. A film that will inspire a generation to come.

— Paul Heath, January 2010.

GRADE: A