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7/29/2019 Even if It Had a Crappy Story
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Even if it had a crappy story, shallow characters and lame
dialogue, James Camerons 3-
D spectacleAvatarwould earn a big wow! solely on the strength of
its awe-inducing
visuals.
See also:
James Camerons New 3-D Epic Could Change Film Forever
Avatars Stunning Flora, Fauna Give Comic-Con an Eyeful
As it turns out,Avatar, which opens Friday, is a damn good
movie, period. Building on asolid foundation of strong
performances, Cameron and his team have cut from whole
digital cloth an exquisitely detailed world at once familiar and
gorgeously exotic.
The adventure takes place entirely on the distant orb known as
Pandora, an exotic alien
world sitting squarely in the cross-hairs of earthlings
military-industrial complex. This iswhere humans clash with the
Navi: 10-foot-tall blue creatures that enjoy a special bond
with their world.
Every few minutes, Cameron unveils another vista, another beast,
some new flower or
dinosaur-bird or airborne jellyfish designed to stun the senses
and celebrate natures sheerfecundity. Like the Discovery Channel on
acid,Avatars wildlife produces sensations of
wonder, awe and delight.
(Spoiler alert: Minor plot points follow.)
Throw in a few knife-wielding robots, fierce fight scenes and
vertigo-inducing aerialchases amid Pandoras floating forest islands
thats right, islands of forests and
youve got a PG-13 movie that satisfies even the most jaundiced
moviegoers appetite for
sci-fi eye candy.
Smartly, Cameron does not overplay his 3-D hand with obvious,
stick-in-the-eye stunts.Within minutes, the extra dimension feels
like an organic part of the viewing experience.
Ofcourse its three-dimensional just like real life. Viewers will
notice a few startling
what the hells buzzing around my forehead? moments, along with
vibrating arrowshafts and you-are-there jungle excursions. But for
the most part,Avatars proprietary 3-
D cameras simply enrich the depth of field, the better to follow
the action and imbibe
Pandoras luminous explosions of colorful foliage.
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7/29/2019 Even if It Had a Crappy Story
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For all its immersive majesty,Avatarmight ring hollow as a
soulless exercise in
computer-generated whizbangery were it not for Camerons
attention to filmmakingfundamentals.
The narrative sinks deeps roots into an archetypal Pocahontas
myth, while the movies
eco-friendly theme remains profoundly pertinent. The dialogue is
solid and the
performances especially by Zoe Saldana, who plays a Navi
huntress named Neytiri prove that actors isolated on sterile
soundstages with cameras attached to their bodies
have figured out how to deliver performances that pack genuine
emotional wallop.
TheAvatarpremise essentially retoolsDances With Wolves
exploitive white man goes
native scenario. Encased inside a tomblike pod, nail-tough
ex-Marine Jake Sully(portrayed with no-nonsense directness by
Terminator Salvation starSam Worthington),
operates a remote-controlled avatar genetically engineered from
human and Navi DNA.
Stationed at the human colonists Hells Gate compound, Sully is
dispatched by his
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superiors to infiltrate a native tribe that refuses to relocate
from the 1,000-foot Hometree
that just happens to be perched atop a lode of precious
minerals.
Instead, Sully comes under the sway of beautiful Neytiri.
No wonder. Lithe and limber, Saldana tears into her elongated,
computer-enhancedcharacter with abandon. Neytiri hisses, snarls,
swings from vines and shoots some wicked
arrows, all the while demonstrating a bond with the beasts of
her world that inspire
pathos and envy in equal measure.
Supporting cast members acquit themselves honorably, with
Sigourney Weaver re-teaming with herAliens director to play the
Avatar programs chain-smoking
tough/tender research chief. Stephen Lang delivers a convincing
portrayal of badass
military man Col. Miles Quaritch, while Michelle Rodriguez is on
point in herStarbuck-like fighter pilot performance.
By coupling credible actors and unprecedented depth of
photorealistic detail in theservice of a familiar but
still-resonant message,Avatarsets 3-D cinema on a profound
path that might just change the movie-going experience for
decades to come.
WIRED Powerful vistas of mind-blowing flora and fauna;
technology serves profoundly
pertinent nature theme.
TIRED Future humanity evidently has no blacks or Asians;
spectacle fatigue sets in
around the two-hour mark in this 161-minute film.
Read More
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