Last night I saw Avatar, the most anticipated — and hyped — movie in years. The lights went down, the 3-D glasses went on, and we filmgoers suddenly turned thirteen again.
Like many, I was not impressed by the teaser trailers. The big blue characters put me off, sort of. The action sequences resembled video games. So what? But the 3D, big screen experience is another story. I quickly forgot I was watching digital characters. Avatar does deliver on all the hopes and promises of a 3D IMAX technological breakthrough. Better yet, it never calls attention to the trickery. It is rooted in a compelling story, sweeping us up in an epic journey. Movie magic abounds. More about the actual story later.
To Cameron’s considerable credit, Avatar doesn’t depend upon 3-D tricks to wow the audience. Things rarely pop off the screen into the viewers’ space. A space shuttle approaches a distant moon, Pandora. But not with the original “wow” factor of Star Wars’ famous opening shot. Why duplicate or imitate that which has gone before? Cameron knows that Avatar has plenty of thrills to come. So sit back, relax, and get to know the characters.
We are introduced to a wheel chair bound Marine, Jake Sully. Aussie actor Sam Worthington brings considerable presence to the role. He seems weary, wise, and eager to experience a virtual escape. His commanding officer, Colonel Miles Quaritch, briefs his soldiers on all of the volatile threats on Pandora. While we’ve seen the crusty army veteran berate the troops before, we haven’t seen the land they’re about to sneak into. In the lab, Sam comes face to face with his avatar, a blend of his DNA with the native Na’vi. It is an enchanting first encounter with timely connections to the recent announcement of thirteen new stem cell lines. Scientists like Dr. Grace Augustine introduce Jake to the procedure. (So great to see Sigourey Weaver on screen in another James Cameron movie!). The researchers’ computer monitors float across the screen in glorious 3-D. It makes the future seem quite attractive.
The movie really takes off when Jake wakes up in his new Na’vi body. Finally freed from his paralysis, Jake relishes the bright blue, ten-foot version of himself. He is swept up in this new creation. He cannot wait for instructions or tests. Jake breaks out of the lab. I was equally eager to join him on his adventure.
The jungle of Pandora is remarkably vivid. The attention to detail poured into each frame is thrilling. The insects, the leaves, and the creatures all shimmer and glow. The monsters he encounters resemble nothing we’ve seen before. While Jason and the Argonauts offered a single stop-motion creature to battle, Avatar teems with entire families and abundant species that must be outfoxed.
In one of the most enchanting scenes, Jake creates trouble for himself by lighting a torch. It is an announcement to all the animals, “Come, eat me.” Only the fierce intervention of Neytiri saves Jake’s avatar. Fanboys will find themselves strangely attracted to the giant blue sex symbol performed by Zoe Saldana. The digital costumes are skimpy, echoing the native nudity usually found only in National Geographic. When Neytiri extinguishes Jack’s flame, the forest begins to glow in the dark. What a gorgeous and magical scene for their first meeting. Translucent seeds of a sacred tree float down upon Jake like dancing dandelions. Pure digital delight! They scramble across tree branches in a world that seems upside down. I did not want this transfixing night to end!
By comparison, the dark vision of The Matrix was fascinating. The abundant splendor of The Lord of the Rings was enchanting. Avatar combines the best of both those worlds. It is scary and beautiful, wild and wonderful all at the same time. Jake is on a discovery, learning and practicing how to move, how to fight, how to survive in a foreign land. I was equally disoriented, not knowing whether to laugh or scream at any given moment. Pandora feels deliriously alive, a throwback to the rain forests as we’d like to remember them—unspoiled, untamed, limitless in their secrets and species.
Isn’t it an irony that Avatar employs the most rigorous technology in a story about saving native cultures and habitats? I think it is. Cameron’s virtual world makes us value God’s glorious creation anew. Some critics may carp at James Horner’s score that echoes world music we’ve heard before. Some will complain about Cameron’s clunky dialogue, designed to be easily translatable for filmgoers around the world. Native peoples may not appreciate the comparisons that might be drawn between themselves and the alien Na’vi.
As you can well imagine, I am fascinated by the cultural implications of avatars and virtual worlds, especially as the word is derived from the Hindu notion of “divine descent.” Avatar clearly wants to offer a warning and wake up call. Will your allegiance side with the Na’vi (as Jake’s does) rather than the humans?
Despite of the magnificent movie-making, story itself has left me wanting for both spirituality, a major aspect of Star Wars, and just plain common sense. What’s the likelihood of a highly advanced world, such as conjured up by Cameron, not being able to develop, pretty much on demand, a replacement for the multi-zillion dollar mineral that’s the cause of the whole conflict? Japan and Germany were totally devastated after WWW II. They had to replace brawn with brain, territory and raw materials with knowledge and technology. Did they succeed? Did South Korea? Taiwan?
To give the devil its due, I realize that the reptilian brain’s propensity for violence, action, and sensuality (served up with high-tech wizardry) is the ticket for blockbusters, like Avatar. This leaves me wondering, though: should we, avatars, take over from humans ASAP, as you just don’t seem to be able to rise beyond greed, sex, and violence?
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