James Cameron’s Avatar – Not As Sucky As You Might Think (Review)
James Cameron’s Avatar had its world premiere in Leicester Square in London, England this evening and the first reviews are pouring in. Surprisingly, it’s not as “smurfy” or crappy as a lot of people have claimed it would be.
This movie has taken a lot of flack over the past few months. There was a lot of reverance, initially, for Cameron’s first movie in 12 years (the last being the ultimate box office champion: Titanic). And then promo photos were released. And the first teaser trailer. And all of a sudden people were judging it harshly. They didn’t really care that Cameron had directed such favorites as Terminator 2 and Aliens. All they were screaming was “Dances With Wolves in Space!”
The haters didn’t stop after Avatar Day, which took place in late August. Admittedly, Fox screwed up that 15 minute preview big time, but I sat riveted in my seat at an IMAX 3-D theater. I hadn’t seen 3-D in YEARS, so I was doubly-impressed. The 3-D itself was subtle and amazing. I want to see every movie in 3-D now. And while you can’t really believe that 10 feet tall blue aliens are completely, 100% real, the sight of them was incredible enough. Why do people complain about the blue aliens? Are they somehow faker than the Prawns in Disctrict 9 (although those were great effects)? Or less convincing than Gollum in Lord of the Rings? It’s a sci-fi movie. It’s not going to be totally realistic.
My own personal ranting aside, Empire Magazine has released the very first review of Avatar after the premiere tonight and they’ve given it 5 stars. They admit that the film has flaws, but praise it nonetheless. Here are some snippets of their review:
James Cameron’s Avatar is a hugely rewarding experience: rich, soulful and exciting in the way that only comes from seeing a master artist at work.
…it may not be a game-changer, but no director to date has built a world of this scale, ambition and complexity before, and Avatar – much as the arrival of Raymond van Barneveld forced Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor to up his game – will have rival directors scrambling to keep up with Cameron. Avatar is an astonishing feast for the eyes and ears, with shots and sequences that boggle the mind, from the epic – a floating mountain range in the sky, waterfalls cascading into nothingness – to the tiny details, such as a paraplegic sinking his new, blue and fully operational toes into the sand. The level of immersive detail here is simply amazing.
…Avatar isn’t just about spectacle and stupendous action (though we’ll get both in spades), but a love story. We need hardly be surprised by this – every Cameron film, even True Lies, has a love story at its core – but the surprise here is how effective Avatar’s central coupling is, the emotion between Jake and Neytiri earthed by Weta’s astonishing digital effects. You can safely stow away all that spurious crap about videogame-style effects, or blue Jar Jars: this is truly next-level stuff, which doesn’t smother Worthington and Saldana under a pile of pixels, but rather teases out and enhances the emotion in their excellent performances.
The Na’vi, each of whom has clearly distinct features (no small feat for a clan of some several hundred creatures) may not always seem photo-real, but they do seem – and this is crucial – alive and extremely expressive, helped by the fact that the dead-eye problem, which has plagued mo-cap movies since their inception, has been well and truly solved.
Worthington, fully justifying all the hullabaloo about him with a controlled, charming and physical performance (both in and out of his Avatar), may have a magnificent Lee Marvin leading man monotone, but an even bigger asset is his soulful eyes, a quality that is retained and magnified in the larger peepers of the Na’vi.
Here’s the criticism, but you’ll note that the reviewer admits that it can easily be overcome by the rest of the movie:
But, as much as technology aids and defines Avatar, it’s also a love letter to humanity and the glory of mother nature….At times – and this is perhaps Avatar’s biggest flaw, even beyond that bloody awful Leona Lewis song which mars the end credits – this manifests itself in New Age-y, hippy-dippy language and images that suggest that Cameron is one mung bean away from dropping out, man, and going all Swampy on our asses.
If there’s one element of Avatar that the made-their-mind-up brigade will use to mercilessly beat the film with, even more so than the somewhat prosaic plot, it’s this.
He goes on to discuss the spectacular action in the last third of the movie:
But it’s hard to imagine even the most jaded and cynical having any issues with the last forty minutes, in which Cameron uncorks the action and shows all the young pretenders – the Bays and the Emmerichs and the Von Triers – how it’s done.
It’s a relentless sequence which, while not quite matching the emotional punch of Titanic’s three-hanky conclusion, will still leave you dazed, confused but exhilarated, a feeling that will be enhanced further if you can – and we really, really recommend that you should – catch it in 3D, where Cameron’s unparalleled and meticulously constructed use of the technique expertly envelopes you in the beguiling, exotic sights and sounds of Pandora, a planet (or, to be precise, a moon) that throbs and hums and teems with life and energy in three dimensions.
His conclusion:
It’s been twelve years since Titanic, but the King of the World has returned with a flawed but fantastic tour de force that, taken on its merits as a film, especially in two dimensions, warrants four stars. However, if you can wrap a pair of 3D glasses round your peepers, this becomes a transcendent, full-on five-star experience that’s the closest we’ll ever come to setting foot on a strange new world. Just don’t leave it so long next time, eh, Jim?
The Hollywood Reporter also the first North American review of Cameron’s Avatar, but the page refuses to load, which I think is a result of the page crashing from everyone and their brother trying to access it. You should try, but here’s a taste of what he has to say:
“A fully believable, flesh-and-blood (albeit not human flesh and blood) romance is the beating heart of James Cameron’s “Avatar.”
“With every visual tool he can muster, he takes viewers through the battle like a master tactician, demonstrating how every turn in the fight, every valiant death or cowardly act, changes its course. The screen is alive with more action and the soundtrack pops with more robust music than any dozen sci-fi shoot-’em-ups you care to mention.”
So maybe now we can all give it a chance and see what the fuss is about. Maybe you’ll still hate it, but let’s at least give it a chance. Otherwise Fox might go out of business with all the talk of how large the budget was for this movie…
clarissa @ tvovermind.com
Clarissa is a former lawyer who lives in Toronto. She joined TVOvermind in 2009 and also writes for TVOvermind, as well as Heroes, Lost and FlashForward fansites. Clarisa is a huge fan of movies and always braves the crowds for opening night.
