Alas, it’s been an exceedingly long time since I’ve written something, that I am not happy about. But last week, the first week in which Avatar was not sold out, unlike the four previous to it, I was able to see it.. In 3D!
The cinematic spectacle Avatar, directed by James Cameron, topped the box office charts the best-selling film of all time this week, knocking Titanic (also of Cameron’s work) off the pedestal, and it shows no signs of stopping now! But what made the film so worthy of praise?
When Cameron and co got the green light for production, they were given a $200 million budget, and surprisingly, that’s not the largest budget for a film to date. The $200 million was well invested in ground breaking cinematic technology which has set a cornerstone for the film industry. Cameron was inspired by on-screen characters such as Gollum, King Kong and Davy Jones, which gave him an unsettling but surprising confidence in the creation of the Na’vi.
Cameron's 'Hammerhead Titanothere'
The film took just over two years to make, but it seems the time and money, was well invested. Cameron didn’t create just another film, he created an entire diverse and stunning universe. Using not only relatively new technology for facial recognition, but lighting technology for Pandora, which is prominently seen in its radiating flora and forestry.
Despite the distracting scenery however, performances from Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, The Great Raid, Dirty Deeds), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Guess Who, Pirates of The Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl), Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil, Fast And Furious, Lost), Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Holes, Ghostbusters) and Joel David Moore (Dodgeball, Grandma’s Boy, The Shaggy Dog), made the film. With good, but not exceedingly so performances from Stephen Lang (Gods And Generals, Public Enemies, The Men Who Stare At Goats) and Giovanni Ribisi (Public Enemies, Saving Private Ryan, Lost In Translation). Throughout, Worthington and Weaver seem to perfectly bounce off of each other’s roles with wit and sarcasm, whilst on the other hand, Worthington and Saldana have been dubbed the ‘Jack and Rose of Space.’
Despite scepticism in regards the lack of a plot line, or even the idea in which the inter-racial battle between the Humans and Na’vi is a reflection on Modern Americans VS Native Americans, the plot was surprisingly pleasing. It was a refreshing and unexpected take on the typical ‘boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy uses advanced futuristic technology to switch race‘ genre, but with all seriousness, Avatar comprises of a rich, luxurious visual utopia, an arguably original plot spanning over three hours (unlike The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and a fantastic cinematic experience, enhanced by the new 3D technology which has come to light, or possibly seeing it in IMAX. Fans of Avatar may be glad to know that Avatar 2 will be coming in 2011-2012 as a sequel, and possibly Avatar 3 as either a sequel or prequel. Avatar is a must see.
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