Avatar: A Movie Review
All that was missing were the odours and the mosquito bites.
Avatar is a masterpiece. I can’t remember the last time I felt like this after watching a movie. That time was probably after watching Star Wars for the first time, and that was a long, long time ago.
Avatar made such an impression on me that I had to catch my breath at the end of the movie.
Set in the year 2154, the story takes place on the planet Pandora, where a human colony is attempting to harvest precious metal ressources worth billions of dollars. The mining company encounters a few glitches. The planet is already inhabited by blue humanoids called the Na’vis, who are living in close harmony with their environment, and want to keep it that way. Furthermore, the planet’s atmosphere is toxic to human beings, such that a breath of fresh air on Pandora will have you dead in less than four minutes. In order to improve their knowledge of the Na’vis and their biology, a team of scientists has developed a program in which Na’vi bodies are grown using human DNA. These bodies, referred to as avatars, are controlled from a distance by human beings who are genetically and telepathically linked to the avatars. The main protagonist of the story, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is an ex-Marine who is now paraplegic. Jake is hired to fill in the shoes (more specifically, the avatar body) of his twin brother who has been murdered while operating the avatar on Pandora.
The message behind the story is what moved me the most. As an avatar, Jake is eventually accepted by the Na’vis and gets introduced to their way of living and philosophy. The Na’vis connect themselves with their surrounding environment, and not only literally. Their beliefs are reminiscent of human philosophies where the respect of nature is of primary importance. For instance, there is a scene in the movie where a Na’vi has to kill an animal for protection, and then asks for forgiveness. Likewise, during a hunt, Native Americans used to make a prayer right after the killing of an animal, praying for its soul and thanking the animal for its sacrifice. Concepts of nature’s energy flowing through us, of humans being an integral part of Nature, rather than a distinct entity, are themes that can also be found in Hinduism, for instance. These messages are gradually carried throughout the movie, and not in a preachy way.
James Cameron (Aliens, Titanic) and his special-effects team managed to create a fantastic world full of life and colours; that’s something I especially appreciated on a grey winter day. The 3-D effect makes you feel like you were there, wandering through the plants and animals which inhabit the jungle of Pandora. All that was missing were the odours and the mosquito bites.
The action scenes in Avatar are quite spectacular, and they are plenty. You will experience virtual rides in many different ways.
It might sound strange to say, but those ecology lessons have a greater impact when they’re being taught by another species, even a fictitious one. Imagine if polar bears were suddenly able to talk: it would put a whole different perspective on the global warming debate! Let’s hope that the Na’vis philosophy will eventually percolate through our collective mind.
It was refreshing to see a movie where special effects serve the story, and not the other way around. To truly appreciate the movie, you need to go to the movie theater; if you don’t like crowds, I suggest you go to the 11:00 pm screening on a monday night.
I’ve never had a better 3-D experience in a movie theater. Future 3-D performance-capture movies will be compared to Avatar, and this one sets the bar very high (sorry, Alice). Avatar is a great movie to start the new year and take some time off from that cold winter and dragging recession.
