Avatar

Avatar (2009)

Directed by James Cameron

Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver

A visual masterpiece from start to finish. This movie re-writes the standard for visual effects event based movies. It has to be seen in 3D to be truly appreciated. The film is a spectacle vivid bold strokes of color and storytelling.

Don't look for anything new in the story, its basically Dances with Wolves in space but Cameron gives it a fresh spin and its well worth the ticket price. The film to me is about consciousness on the grand scale and beyond that its a powerful tale about ethics and the preservation of an endangered species. The film reaches emotional depths unheard of for a special effects film and this can be attributed to Saldana's performance, she is breathtaking.

They filmed this movie in a volume, not a studio and still all the actors gave 110%. The contraptions build for the actors to ride on, in the mo-cap flying sequences, really allowed them to feel the ride; the integration of the actors movements throughout are remarkable. Go on youtube and search 'Making of Avatar' to see what Im talking about; brand new style of filmmaking.

This climax delivers as expected but is long overdue by the time it arrives. To be honest 3 hrs is long for this kind of movie. I actually dozed off in the last hour for 10 minutes right before the climax.. not good and it was a matinee. Maybe it was my brain shutting down from the visual overload or maybe not enough sleep the night before, regardless I don't fall asleep during movies and I did during the most anticipated film of the year.

Worthington pulls off a performance with gusto even if his Navii clone looks nothing like him. Sigourney's Navii is a perfect match. I loved how the Navi interfaced with all the creatures on the planet by using their ponytail fiber-optic; it metaphored the world wide web and how consciousness through interconnectivity exists on our planet.

I was disappointed by the fact that it was year 2140 or so and Man was still using machine guns, bullets and incendiary weapons in space, seemed out of place to me. Regardless I loved it and was fascinated and swept away by Cameron's visual magic. I just wish the story telling had been tighter. Trim 20 minutes and it would be perfect. Hey, its only my opinion. A must-see.