movie: Avatar
2010-Jan-04, Monday 12:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerThree weeks. This is the third weekend since Avatar opened, and the theater is still selling out at each showing. That's probably good news for producer James Cameron, whose budget went from $195 million in 2007 to $500 million in 2009. He definitely needs to recover some of that money to stay credible. The theater sellouts are really annoying, though, when you want to see the film in a timeframe (early evening) and environment (non-crowded) of your own choosing. Anyway, I went today with my landlords ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
foeclan and joshuwain. We missed the 3:45pm showing (sold out) but attended the 7pm showing (also sold out).
The Minnesota Zoo IMAX theater is billed as the largest screen in Minnesota. Ticket price was $15. I think it was worth both the high cost and the long wait... although the 10-minute interruption during the climactic ending was annoying. It's not James Cameron's fault, though, when a projector bulb blows out.
The 3D aspect was very well done. I saw little in the way of gratuitous shoving of elements into the viewers face. There was actually a moment late in the film when I made myself resist the urge to wave my hand to brush the fluff out of the air so I could see the action more clearly. That's some serious immersion into a fictitious world. I'm impressed when any outsider can lead me across that boundary where reality ends and imagination begins.
The scenery is very impressive. It's a gorgeous world, and we see much of what the planet offers. Here, though, I think the movie wouldn't have suffered much if it was a little less "complicated" in what was presented to us. There's so much material to explore; it's a shame to have it all crammed into a single movie. James Cameron was probably right, though, to wonder if he'd ever be given a second chance to show this planet. So the world zooms quickly by us in this once-in-a-lifetime chance that Cameron had to show us his childhood dream.
The animation is better than any other movie I've seen. The movements of both hominids and other animals was flawless to my eye. I detected no unnatural movement. I sensed no hurried frames where precision was sacrificed to the constraints of time and budget. Every motion was beautiful to watch. I expect some sort of Academy recognition for this film on this aspect. It was wonderful.
The acting was also very well done. Sam Worthington has surely made a name for himself in the lead role of this movie. The progression of his character is believable, and that was a great feat of acting rather than just screenwriting. It was not the script alone that made his character "Jake Sully" heroic. I'm definitely not a fan of Sigourney Weaver (will I ever forgive her for "Death and the Maiden"?), but I think that even she played a great role in making this story happen.
Technical details, however, do not make a story.
The plot is an old and well-worn theme. Bad, military-industrial complex has come to mine a valuable resource that is inconveniently placed under someone else's land. Picture the arrival of Europeans in the Americas or (more recently) the invasion of Iraq. Here is where screenwriting saved the story. They actually bothered to include dialog that explains the motivation, although in some cases it is rather subtle. For instance, the resource on this planet is "unobtainium". That name in this context conjures up images in my mind of the tail-chasing aspect of exponential growth. To keep following the growth curve, there is always more that must be acquired... however unreasonable and unsustainable that pursuit might be. Unobtainium is a worthy name for the plot device that drives the human story of acquisition.
Gaia theory presents to us the motivation for the alien half of this story. The Na'vi (like other plants and animals of planet Pandora) are endowed with a neural "brush" that can mesh their senses with the senses of another creature. Gaia (called Eywa in the film) is tangible. She is explicitly mentioned as a champion of ecological balance. She does not favor one creation over another. Every body is meant to be recycled so that life may continue. This pagan, treehugger philosophy will probably rub some people the wrong way.
Good.
Characters teach us what we need to know. The explanations offered by dialog (good screenwriting) are effective in teaching me why I should care about continuing the Na'vi way of life. Jake Sully functions as human ambassador to the Na'vi. We learn through his experiences just how connected they are to their living environment and even their dead ancestors. Well-meaning human scientists realize that something important is found on Pandora, and they try to protect it. They remain too clinically observant to experience the awakening in their minds, though. As the Na'vi spiritual leader says of them, "It's hard to fill a cup that is already full." Instead, we follow the non-scientist Jake Sully. We learn (as he does) that humans have nothing to offer the Na'vi that they would ever want. We have no trinket, no service, and no money that could match the wealth they already hold.
I found only one distraction during the movie. I wish James Cameron could have offered even a vague hint as to why the world of Pandora adapted to have this neural "brush" for every living thing. The benefits of interconnection are obvious, but the only "use" of it that is shown to us is the Na'vi exploitation of it to their own benefit. It would've been nice to see the network operate outside of Na'vi (humanoid) manipulation. While I'm complaining, though, it would've been nice to hear a little more of the Na'vi language. It was hyped so much beforehand, I wish I could've experienced more of it. Cameron took the easy "out" though, of having already taught the natives how to speak English in a school setting prior to the movie's timeframe.
So... final recommendation... go see this movie on the biggest screen you can find!
It's a thrilling combination of Ender's Game (soldiers entering combat remotely), Dragonriders of Pern (humanoids partnered with flying lizard-beasts), Star Trek (Ferengi rules of acquisition), and Enemy Mine (human soldier transformed into friend of aliens). It's a visual feast, and the treehugger philosophy of interconnectedness is explored in a tale worthy of your attention.
foeclan and joshuwain. We missed the 3:45pm showing (sold out) but attended the 7pm showing (also sold out).The Minnesota Zoo IMAX theater is billed as the largest screen in Minnesota. Ticket price was $15. I think it was worth both the high cost and the long wait... although the 10-minute interruption during the climactic ending was annoying. It's not James Cameron's fault, though, when a projector bulb blows out.
The 3D aspect was very well done. I saw little in the way of gratuitous shoving of elements into the viewers face. There was actually a moment late in the film when I made myself resist the urge to wave my hand to brush the fluff out of the air so I could see the action more clearly. That's some serious immersion into a fictitious world. I'm impressed when any outsider can lead me across that boundary where reality ends and imagination begins.
The scenery is very impressive. It's a gorgeous world, and we see much of what the planet offers. Here, though, I think the movie wouldn't have suffered much if it was a little less "complicated" in what was presented to us. There's so much material to explore; it's a shame to have it all crammed into a single movie. James Cameron was probably right, though, to wonder if he'd ever be given a second chance to show this planet. So the world zooms quickly by us in this once-in-a-lifetime chance that Cameron had to show us his childhood dream.
The animation is better than any other movie I've seen. The movements of both hominids and other animals was flawless to my eye. I detected no unnatural movement. I sensed no hurried frames where precision was sacrificed to the constraints of time and budget. Every motion was beautiful to watch. I expect some sort of Academy recognition for this film on this aspect. It was wonderful.
The acting was also very well done. Sam Worthington has surely made a name for himself in the lead role of this movie. The progression of his character is believable, and that was a great feat of acting rather than just screenwriting. It was not the script alone that made his character "Jake Sully" heroic. I'm definitely not a fan of Sigourney Weaver (will I ever forgive her for "Death and the Maiden"?), but I think that even she played a great role in making this story happen.
Technical details, however, do not make a story.
The plot is an old and well-worn theme. Bad, military-industrial complex has come to mine a valuable resource that is inconveniently placed under someone else's land. Picture the arrival of Europeans in the Americas or (more recently) the invasion of Iraq. Here is where screenwriting saved the story. They actually bothered to include dialog that explains the motivation, although in some cases it is rather subtle. For instance, the resource on this planet is "unobtainium". That name in this context conjures up images in my mind of the tail-chasing aspect of exponential growth. To keep following the growth curve, there is always more that must be acquired... however unreasonable and unsustainable that pursuit might be. Unobtainium is a worthy name for the plot device that drives the human story of acquisition.
Gaia theory presents to us the motivation for the alien half of this story. The Na'vi (like other plants and animals of planet Pandora) are endowed with a neural "brush" that can mesh their senses with the senses of another creature. Gaia (called Eywa in the film) is tangible. She is explicitly mentioned as a champion of ecological balance. She does not favor one creation over another. Every body is meant to be recycled so that life may continue. This pagan, treehugger philosophy will probably rub some people the wrong way.
Good.
Characters teach us what we need to know. The explanations offered by dialog (good screenwriting) are effective in teaching me why I should care about continuing the Na'vi way of life. Jake Sully functions as human ambassador to the Na'vi. We learn through his experiences just how connected they are to their living environment and even their dead ancestors. Well-meaning human scientists realize that something important is found on Pandora, and they try to protect it. They remain too clinically observant to experience the awakening in their minds, though. As the Na'vi spiritual leader says of them, "It's hard to fill a cup that is already full." Instead, we follow the non-scientist Jake Sully. We learn (as he does) that humans have nothing to offer the Na'vi that they would ever want. We have no trinket, no service, and no money that could match the wealth they already hold.
I found only one distraction during the movie. I wish James Cameron could have offered even a vague hint as to why the world of Pandora adapted to have this neural "brush" for every living thing. The benefits of interconnection are obvious, but the only "use" of it that is shown to us is the Na'vi exploitation of it to their own benefit. It would've been nice to see the network operate outside of Na'vi (humanoid) manipulation. While I'm complaining, though, it would've been nice to hear a little more of the Na'vi language. It was hyped so much beforehand, I wish I could've experienced more of it. Cameron took the easy "out" though, of having already taught the natives how to speak English in a school setting prior to the movie's timeframe.
So... final recommendation... go see this movie on the biggest screen you can find!
It's a thrilling combination of Ender's Game (soldiers entering combat remotely), Dragonriders of Pern (humanoids partnered with flying lizard-beasts), Star Trek (Ferengi rules of acquisition), and Enemy Mine (human soldier transformed into friend of aliens). It's a visual feast, and the treehugger philosophy of interconnectedness is explored in a tale worthy of your attention.
no subject
Date: 2010-Jan-04, Monday 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-Jan-04, Monday 05:45 pm (UTC)but i still saw it twice
no subject
Date: 2010-Jan-04, Monday 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-Jan-04, Monday 11:55 pm (UTC)I should also point out that my liking of the characters in the film is a little lopsided. Every character has a specific role to play in the story, so in that sense they are all a bit one-dimensional. I think the point of the story, however, is to teach us the understanding of the gestalt experience. The individuals are less important than the collective biosphere; the nodes are less important than the network.
In that sense, the story (characters and situations) did a very good job of teaching Gaia theory to anyone who was previously unfamiliar with it.
The movie was about a complex idea, not about any heroic figure.