2009 Oscar Nominees - Avatar  
| It’s why we go to the movies, isn’t it? To be taken to a place, a world that we never could’ve thought of or imagined, but by the end don’t want to leave. Luckily for us, James Cameron is one of the best visual storytellers around. From Aliens to the Terminator series to True Lies and even Titanic (minus the first 2 hours), Cameron has a way to entertain the audience like few can. Avatar is no exception, and although the dialogue is cheesy, the story is cliché, and some characters are just personalities rather than people, is it ever a blast to be in his world.
In Avatar, we are taken to a place known as Pandora that is run by a species known as the Na’vi. The human race wants resources that only this land can provide, and that is the dilemma that they are faced with. Try to be civil and communicate with the Na’vi convincing them to use their land, or to take their land by military force. I think we all know which way the humans will go. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic ex-marine infiltrates the Na’vi through his avatar (a body that looks just like the Na’vi, that he can use and communicate through, although his real body remains in a sleep like state in a pod somewhere else on the planet) to try to understand them. Obviously we know that the more time he spends with them his motivations will change, and he will like being a part of this species more, and maybe even fall in love.
Unfortunately, the story and dialogue really hurts this film. After watching the trailer I’m sure most of you could tell what was going to happen, and you would be exactly right. Cameron doesn’t stay away from any cliché in any other epic story, I mean if you’ve heard of or seen Dances with Wolves or Pocahontas/ The New World then you know the gist. Yes, our hero is going to be an outsider with humans yet he is going to be the only one that the Na’vi accept since there’s something special about him, he is going to fall in love with someone from the other species, the species will hate him at first but slowly come to accept him, the girl will learn why he was doing the mission in the first place and turn her back on him, but he will find a way to win her and her people back, and when all hope is lost, good will find a way, etc. Cameron also doesn’t help the cause by giving the characters two dimensional personalities either good or bad, or start off ignorant and turn understanding by the end of the film and all with terrible or ho-hum dialogue. The movie is probably about 20 minutes too long, and might not have enough action for action junkies. So what makes this film such an event, such a must see? Well it is a visual feast, a movie that demands and must be seen in 3d on the big screen. Cameron has changed the way we will watch movies by making the 3d not an added trick to make a few extra bucks, but used it to change the way stories are told and to include the audience in the environment and enhance every aspect of the film.
The world he creates is absolutely magical. The different species and animals that his imagination thought up are amazing to see. Your jaw will drop at a few of the set pieces as you fly over floating mountains, or duck under ferocious beasts. His idea that the Na’vi can connect to anything in the world through their hair is inspired and some of the views are breathtaking. The audience becomes a part of the film and world so much so that a couple times I caught myself moving my head, or stopping my hand from reaching out and touching the plants. It’s an amazing experience and one that must be experienced by anyone who truly loves movies.
I worry that the film may not hold up as well at home without the 3d, that the story will then become front and center and the magic of the world won’t be enough to make me forget that I’ll see any plot point coming a mile away. But for now, it really was one of the best theatre experiences I’ve had. A 3 hour film that for the most part never lost my attention and that continually inspired me with its visual storytelling and beauty. Avatar might not be that be all end all that Cameron hyped it up to be, but it definitely is a new exciting, experience for the audience, and when it comes to even t movies, what else can you ask for than to be thoroughly entertained and transported to a place that you could never be to otherwise.
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