The reviews are coming in for James Cameron’s “Avatar”, and the word seems to be that it’s a winner. The special effects are proving to be as industry-changing as we had heard throughout the film’s production, even if the movie’s “Dances with Wolves”-inspired storyline is a tad on the less-than-subtle side. The film officially opens today in the UK, so UK readers will have already seen the movie by the time this post goes up. If you have seen the movie, let us know what you think.
First up, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Kirk Honeycutt loves the movie. I mean, really, really loves it.
The movie is 161 minutes and flies by in a rush. Repeat business? You bet. “Titanic”-level business? That level may never be reached again, but Fox will see more than enough grosses worldwide to cover its bet on Cameron…
A fully believable, flesh-and-blood (albeit not human flesh and blood) romance is the beating heart of “Avatar.” Cameron has never made a movie just to show off visual pyrotechnics: Every bit of technology in “Avatar” serves the greater purpose of a deeply felt love story…
What a glory Cameron has created for Jake to romp in, all in a crisp 3D realism. It’s every fairy tale about flying dragons, magic plants, weirdly hypnotic creepy-crawlies and feral dogs rolled up into a rain forest with a highly advanced spiritual design…
Take my word for it. He really likes it.
Variety‘s Todd McCarthy was less schoolboy-ish about the movie, and had some issues with it, particularly the story, but he, too, is a believer when it comes to the movie’s effects.
Thematically, the film also plays too simplistically into stereotypical evil-white-empire/virtuous-native cliches, especially since the invaders are presumably on an environmental rescue mission on behalf of the entire world, not just the U.S. Script is rooted very much in a contemporary eco-green mindset, which makes its positions and the sympathies it encourages entirely predictable and unchallenging.
On an experiential level, however, “Avatar” is all-enveloping and transporting, with Cameron & Co.’s years of R&D paying off with a film that, as his work has done before, raises the technical bar and throws down a challenge for the many other filmmakers toiling in the sci-fi/fantasy realm. The lead team from Weta in New Zealand as well as the numerous other visual-effects and animation firms involved have done marvelous and exacting work, a compliment that extends to every other craft and technical contribution on view.
This is definitely one movie you should make an appointment to watch in 3D. The film opens in 2100 3D-capable screens next Friday, and another 1200 screen for those who don’t necessarily like their films in 3D.
