Avatar Review
Summary: A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
- Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
- Director: James Cameron
- Writer: James Cameron
- Rating: PG-13
- Runtime: 2h 42m
- 3D Type: Native
Story:
Avatar is James Cameron’s magnum opus which he has planned since 1995, though waited many years for the technology he needed to develop. And aren’t we glad he delivered, especially since it we have to go back to Titanic since we last had a film from him.
It follows the story of paraplegic wheelchair-bound US marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) who on behalf of the military, explores an Earth-sized moon named Pandora. Pandora is occupied by blue-skinned natives called the Na’vi.
Jake falls in love with this beautiful planet and a Na’vi named Neytiri who befriends him and becomes his guide and teacher. It’s a Pocahontas-type love story as it deals with colonialism and forbidden love. Jake must pick a side, as his people invade in an attempt to take the planet as their own, killing off any natives in their way.
I first saw Avatar in IMAX theatres when I was 13. Like everyone else, I was blown away by what I saw, telling my family “It’s probably the best movie I’ve ever seen”.
3D
Cameron created new 3D technology for shooting Avatar, building on his earlier foundations from Ghosts of the Abyss. He used a modified version of the Fusion camera. This camera creates an augmented-reality view of the motion-capture stage on the viewfinder, which allows Cameron to direct the actors with the CGI already in view. As well as this, the actors wore helmets with video cameras attached to them.
The Fusion camera technology has been used in other films such as Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Tron Legacy.
Pop:
There’s a lot of subtle pop, such as foreground foliage and plants obtruding out of the screen. With the floating bioluminescent plants, you feel like you can reach out and grab them. All of the military UI overlays just pop. There are some shots with guns pointing out, as well as projectiles flying toward and popping out of the screen.
Depth:
There’s depth oozing everywhere. There’s a scene with Jake Sully waking up from his military pod, you can see the rows and rows of pods in the background. In the scenes onboard military aircraft, the camera points down the spine, showing the crew and scale of the vessels. It constantly makes you feel like you are the fly on the wall in every scene, witnessing what is happening live.
Both the Na’vi and Pandora just look so beautiful, thanks to the technology and budget spent. From the floating mountains to the vibrant bioluminescent plants. The forest comes to life and lights up at night. It is dream-like. I constantly felt immersed in the scope of this new world thanks to Cameron’s new 3D technology, and modern camera systems.
There are still quite several flat 2D shots in the film though, but all of the 3D is top-notch.
Verdict:
A must-watch for any 3D fan if you want to escape planet Earth for nearly 3 hours and become emotionally invested in the world of Pandora. I look forward to the next four films.
Category | Scores |
---|---|
Story: | ★★★★★ |
Pop: | ★★★ |
Depth: | ★★★★★ |
TOTAL SCORE: | 13/15 |