20th Century Fox | USA | 163 min
(warning: minor spoilers)
Do you remember in Aliens when Ripley found herself facing off against the mother alien? Or the scene in Terminator 2: Judgment Day where the T-1000’s arms became giant razor blades of death? Those moments of pure awe are hard to come by nowadays. Thankfully, there’s plenty of moments here to stand amongst them. This newest adventure isn’t on level with Aliens or T2, but contains the same visual dynamism. This isn’t a masterpiece that represents the pinnacle of storytelling, but it’s a visual and movie event experience that don’t come around too often.
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a marine looking for redemption. Once a standard Marine, he’s lost the use of his legs and is now an ex-standard Marine. After his twin brother dies he’s offered to take his place in a government program, a fresh start by some government reps who tell him, “you’d be making a difference.” That, of course, garnishes his interest. He joins a group of scientists on a planet named Pandora, determined to learn as much about the Na’vi (the indigenous species) as possible, through the use of avatars, which mix human DNA with Na’vi DNA to create a creature that looks like a Na’vi (9 feet tall, blue, big ears) but is embodied by a human mind. However, there’s another side of this operation – the military side.
Though his brother may have been a scientist, Jake was trained as a soldier. He’s approached by Colonel Miles Quatrich (Stephen Lang) about a military attempt of get closer to the Na’vi. They’re mission is to try to make the Na’vi relocate. Why? Because there’s a specific rock underneath their woodland home that’s worth millions upon millions. Jake must now gain the trust of the Na’vi to learn all the ins and outs of their species.
While on his first expedition with the motherly-esque scientist Grace (Sigourney Weaver) and his new geeky buddy Norm (Joel David Moore), Jake gets lost after escaping near death from an unfriendly alien beast. Soon he finds himself in danger, until a Na’vi named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) comes to the rescue. She’s also conveniently the tribe king’s daughter. Neytiri brings Jake into her world, where he is trained to become one of them. Love brews between the two while Jake’s military buds prepare to strike. After understanding the natives, living amongst them and falling for Neytiri he decides to fight for them.
This is a simplistic story that’s been seen before, but Cameron makes it work. Nearly every plot point and character fate is exactly what one would expect, but in the end that doesn’t matter. The overall journey pulls one right in and doesn’t suffer from generic pre-conceptions about the story and the characters. Every beat feels organic and doesn’t come off as contrived. It also helps that the rapid pace of action leaves room for no dull moments in which one would find the time to criticize the overused plot elements and minor shortcomings. At it’s core, this is a love story. Unlike Titanic, the romance formed between Jake and Neytiri contains genuine investment. While this isn’t a romance for the ages, it also isn’t a cringe inducing overly cheesy romantic trope.
Worthington displayed potential in this year’s Terminator Salvation and here he lives up to that self-set standard. He has turned in a far more impressive performance, making Jake a sympathetic and easy hero character to care for. At first, he’s played in many ways as an oblivious fool who’s just following orders and doesn’t care about the natives. He does achieve redemption in the end as one would predict, and Worthington earns the dynamic shift. It would’ve been more interesting if he was portrayed in a less flattering light early on, but it still works. Saldana also makes for the perfect counterpart, fitting wonderfully in the world of “bad ass female characters” in Cameron movies.
Neytiri is feisty and adventurous (similar to Jake), making her a believable love interest. Their relationship easily could have come off as creepy and off-putting, but it actually never comes close to that. The two other main highlights are Weaver and the scenery-chewing Lang. Lang defines menace, cracking jokes about the deaths of natives and showing a true hilarious lack of humanity. He’s also the only one in the cast who admirably handles some of the questionable dialog. He’s an excellent villain that always ups the ante and the stakes. He’s a bit on the cartoonish side, but so is the script and Lang seems to be aware of that.
Cameron may not be the most unique or original storyteller, but as far as visuals go, he’s one of the best there is. It’s difficult not to be swept away by the pure visual power of the world that’s been, quite literally, created from scratch. Cameron’s attention to detail is uncanny. The slightest elements from the creatures to the plants are vibrantly textured. All the colors beautifully pop in an almost blinding manor. This bright aesthetic also keeps the 3D’s dimness problem from ruining Cameron’s lightly lit world.
As for his use of motion capture, Cameron has taken it to a whole new level. Unlike this year’s A Christmas Carol, every character is fully expressive and detailed. The Na’vi are completely photo-realistic and so is the world of Pandora. The combination of live action and mo-cap has also never been better than this. That level of astonishment also applies to the brilliantly composed action sequences. There is a clear sense of geography with every action set piece. They’re all distinct, add story, are easy to follow, and the final battle defines the idea of a perfect climax.
While it’s purely asinine to call a film a “game changer,” since no one can ever perceive how one film will actually change filmmaking until it actually does, it wouldn’t be unjust to call Avatar a leap forward for the world of special effects. Visually, it’s stunning. From a storytelling standpoint, it’s a story that has been seen before but is ultimately well told. It’ll be interesting to see how well this holds up on repeat viewings considering its obvious flaws may become more bothersome, but until then, this is the type of theatrical experience that we don’t get too often.