Lightstorm Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners, Giant Studios, Dune Entertainment, and Twentieth- Century Fox Film Corporation

Written By:  James Cameron

As I finally sat down to view “Avatar” a few days back, virtually everything that could be said, debated, argued, and trumpeted about the film had been written.  This leaves me with the unenviable task, as a reviewer, of struggling to find something meaningful or interesting to say about the movie of the moment.

So, let me summarize “Avatar”as succinctly as I can…

“Avatar” looks as extraordinary as anything ever put on the big screen, has a weak and at times knee-buckling script, yet still delivers one impressive movie-going experience.

To expand that, let’s break this down into three parts:

1) The plot; 2) The visual presentation; and 3) the screenplay.

THE PLOT

“Avatar” takes place in the year 2154 where a high-level military operation is set to commence in the distant world of Pandora.  The mission is, in essence, nothing more than a militaristic mining expedition put in place to secure the lucrative mineral, Unobtanium, from the Pandoran planet.  The military work as security and enact a plan to relocate the indigenous people of Pandora, the Na’Vi, away from the reserve.  To put the plan in place, scientists have created hybrid Na’Vi, which utilize a collating of DNA from humans and the Na’Vi race.  The hybrids are necessary as the Pandoran atmosphere is toxic to humans and the hybrid technology allows humans the opportunity to immerse within the Na’Vi people and seemingly integrate with them.

Central to the plan’s successful implementation is Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the head of the Avatar program.  Her most trusted colleague, Tom Sully, has recently been murdered, and his twin brother, Jake (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, has been hired as a DNA match to complete the work Tom began with the Avatar program.  Augustine is not only running the program, she has become entrenched in the Na’Vi society, helping educate and, in turn, scientifically study the Na’Vi race.  With a greedy program coordinator (Giovanni Ribisi) focused on success, defined only by how much Unobtanium is recovered, and the intimidating presence of Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), Dr. Augustine accepts Jake begrudgingly into the program and soon finds his instincts and abilities invaluable in giving her an insight into the Na’Vi she has never obtained.

Jake meets and, after a few months, falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na’Vi.  Soon, Jake is accepted by the Na’Vi and his immersion into Na’Vi culture begins to work at odds with his earlier promise to provide secret information to Col. Quaritch, in exchange for “new legs”.  The Colonel has identified that Home Tree, the Na’Vi’s most sacred place of worship, is also its richest resource for mining Unobtanium and demands that the Na’Vi be moved from the area.  Jake is ultimately faced with the decision of living his human life, with the hopes that the Colonel will come through on his promise of restoring Jake to something close to whole, or embracing a new and exhilarating life with the Na’Vi people.  Jake’s decision, no matter what he chooses, has dangerous ramifications for all involved and when Jake’s loyalties are clearly revealed, “Avatar”‘s action sequences kick into overdrive for the last half of the film.

THE VISUAL COMPONENT

I would love to have the chance to “Be James Cameron” when it comes time for him to sit down and craft and develop a project.  For years, Cameron told anyone who would listen, that his next film (ahem, this one…) would be truly groundbreaking, innovative, and provide an experience never before seen.  To say James Cameron has succeeded is a gross understatement.  Pandora feels and looks real, as if one could go there tomorrow.  I am far from an expert on the nuances of CGI, but trust me, no CGI work has ever been more seamless or better executed.  Trust this fact – books will be written and discussions will occur decades from now on the accomplishments achieved with “Avatar.”

Days after seeing the film, the most astounding aspect for me is the motion-capture work on display with the inhabitants of Pandora.  The creatures are impressive enough, but it’s the Na’Vi themselves which are nothing short of incredible.  I cannot say enough how dramatic and important it is for filmmaking as an art form that at no time watching “Avatar” did I feel that the Na’Vi people were actors running around on a stage, only to later be superimposed by a computer and placed into the film.  Their every movement, from running to blinking to speaking is breathtakingly flawless.  Creating the Na’Vi as a real, living, breathing people might just be the most groundbreaking thing I have seen since I started watching film.

THE SCREENPLAY

And then there’s the story.  Oh, that cliched and underwhelming story.  Far from terrible, but equally as far from terrific, the script strains and struggles mightily once the background and exposition clear out of the way in the first 35-45 minutes.  Cameron is almost trying too hard it seems to make “Avatar” matter as something other than a visual effects masterpiece.  There is so much message packed into the last half of the film, that his attempts work in reverse.

For starters, the love story between Jake and Neytiri is shopworn and predictable.  While Sam Worthington’s Jake and Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri do have natural chemistry, there is nothing overtly special or engaging about their story.  They are the two main characters who are going to fall in love because the film needs them to, pure and simple.

I can track with the anti-war sentiment Cameron lays on fairly thick, drawing some distinct parallels in the plight of the Na’Vi with our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the War on Terror, post-9/11.

I can track with Cameron’s view on the inherent dangers in oppression and specifically, the neglecting or outright refusal in accepting or recognizing those who may ultimately become the systemically oppressed.  Cameron hints at the culture war many feel is so prevalent in today’s society, wherein we are branded by a side of an aisle or painted by two of the three primary colors.  Cameron gives a nod to the importance of the freedom of religion and the notion that we all have a fundamental right in exercising our free will.  Coupled with that is a nod and a wink to the religion vs. science argument and Cameron also takes the time to ruminate on environmentalism, planet conservation, the necessity of tolerance and acceptance, as well as the bloodlust encumbered with corporate greed and power.

That’s a lot to ingest, even in a 2 hour and 40+ minute film.  An interesting tug-of-war develops in the last hour between the ramped up action sequences which really make “Avatar” something special and the worry, that like many of the creatures who search high and low for prey in Pandora, the plot beast will sneak up on you and suffocate the enjoyment right out of you.  To his credit, Cameron holds it all together with a touching and thoughtful end to all of the proceedings.  And to be fair, it is not as if Cameron is a hack writer who has no idea what he is doing because after all, he created all of this which certainly accounts for something.  Rather, he is unwilling or perhaps now, unable to reign in his creativity.  Less message and more of the focus exhibited in that opening 35-45 minutes may have made “Avatar” a more complete and satisfying film from start to finish.

Truth be told, James Cameron has been called every disparaging name under the sun after his 1997 masterpiece, “Titanic”, picked up 11 Oscars and he (in)famously declared himself the King of the World from the Oscar stage, after winning the Best Picture prize.  12 years removed from his last feature, I must shake my head and admit that in some ways, “Avatar” might just validate the ego and hubris he is famous for exhibiting.

You need to go and you need to see this without any doubt in my mind.   The story is acceptable enough to not get in the way of the experience of seeing and feeling the film.  It is what James Cameron lives to deliver, and “Avatar” delivers that rush and excitement time and time again.

• Best Art Direction
• Best Cinematography
• Best Directing (James Cameron)
• Best Film Editing
• Best Original Score
• Best Picture Of The Year
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Visual Effects
  

Should I See It?

YES

If you are a film fan of any type, you have to see this – in the theater…in 3-D…or in IMAX…or in IMAX 3-D.  It is an astounding cinematic experience.

Getting to know the Na’Vi is well worth the time – there are a fascinating people and the connections they have with their planet and each other is inspiring.

“Avatar” truly is a film that gives everyone something to enjoy.  Whether its loud explosions or mild violence or the visual effects or the romance or the creative elements of the plot or the escapism of traveling to Pandora, you will find something paying off your time spent with the film.

It’s Science-fiction, with message.  If message movies are exhausting to you and/or science-fiction movies leave you cold and indifferent, then no matter what the mainstream determines, this may not be your cup of tea.

If you’re not seeing it in the theater and do not have the super-surround sound, HD/Blu-Ray experience at home, this may seem long and perhaps, much ado about nothing.

For some I saw the film with, the screenplay was too much to overcome for the overall enjoyment of the film.  The amount of subpar dialogue and heavy-handed plot points that you can accept will define how much or how little you end up liking the film.