Tuesday 22 December 2009

Avatar


Went to see James Cameron's Avatar the other day, and I must say, it was one of the better movies released this year.

***SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING***

The film, like many box-office releases of late, is heavy on CGI and special effects. Unlike some Michael Bay films though, the whole storyline and plot was not overwhelmed by the insane effects.

The film itself was rife with undertones, most noticeably its political and environmental ones. I love the idea of two differing people ultimately having the same end-goal, and finding that love is indeed color-blind. The rather anti-war and anti-violence themes in the film was barely concealed as well, with many of the human leaders reminding me of early Bush Administration tactics. As for the environmental undertones, it was a little exaggerated at some parts (think Pocahontas) but it was sensitively done in my opinion. I like the overall 'green' mentality of the aliens ("blue monkeys", in the words of the human military leader). It's a fresh perspective at a time when most films concentrate on the 'flash-bang-gore' experience for the viewers.

This has to be Sam Worthington's best film yet, much better than his performance in Terminator. A lot of the cast were unknown to me, but I think they did an awesome job, especially the one who played the alien princess.

All in all, great story, greater undertones, impressive performance, and very nice battle scenes. My only regret was that I did not go to the loo before watching it; it turned out to be over two and a half hours long. :P

8/10


Jay~

12 comments:

  1. have you watched it in 3d? it's a total eye candy :P

    i love the cgi! it's realistic! if they made a movie with real life characters then used that tech, i wouldn't have noticed it until someone tells me about it or maybe i'm just too gullible :))

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  2. Hey bro!
    I haven't watched it in 3D. It's a little too pricey for my liking haha. Even without 3D though I have to admit it was pretty spectacular.

    Just to update you in DT, the Romanians are back to warring almost everyone again. LOL.

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  3. wow! you still play DT? good for you :) I haven't been there for the longest time :P

    yep, that's a signature Romanian move, DT World War. :))

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  4. It's going to be 4 years in DT for me next April, in fact. Hahaha.

    Pre, DT politics are crazy now. Romanians are warring the Polish (as usual), and HOC allied with the Portuguese. Amazing.

    Hey you should check out the preview of Iron Man 2. SICK.

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  5. so you're classified as DT veteran then :P

    HOC is still alive? cool! say hi to them for me, although I don't think they would still remember me :P HOC + Portuguese? Haven't heard of that happening before or maybe I just forget. :))

    Yep, saw it the first day it came out. Can't wait for that movie!!!

    ow... and join twitter :P

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  6. Funnily, I actually took this movie wrongly as that coming-soon film by M. Night Shyamalan-something & his remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was almost at the verge of buying tickets to tell you the truth, even though I was clearly aware that that movie isn't set for this year.

    Ironically, no matter how much I seem to anticipate The Last Airbender, I can hardly set a very high expectation for that film as it is apparently another Shyamalan film I expect to be driving audiences in droves apropos the Happening & that lady in the water thing.

    And before I lost myself in thought, I did saw the trailer of this film - this particular Avatar film, & watched the science behind it on youtube. Seems a very good movie, I had to say. I actually regretted it when my friend asked me to watch it with her & I declined. Note to self: I really got to stop being choosy.

    So, before anything else, have you seen Shyamalan's character who would be playing Aang? He doesn't even look asian. And, with this highly unnecessary ranting, I do assume you know what The Last Airbender I am constantly prating about. XD

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  7. Jusap: I'll make sure to remind the boys. :D Yeah, it hasn't happened before. I personally used to have bad blood with the Portuguese, especially Dead_Wizard, the "legendary" leader. LOL. He's my farm before the alliance happened. Politics, politics.. *tsk* :P

    Lemony: I think you got the wrong Avatar. :P The Last Airbender is about the 'heroes' that can control the elements, am I right? I'm a little shoddy on M.Night films, but I do suspect it'll be CGI-laden as well.

    And yes, stop being so choosy. :P
    Unless it involves characters named Bella, Jacob, and Edward. You may skip those. :P

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  8. I went to see this on Christmas day. I agree with your rating =) I also saw it in 3D which was awesome because alien plants and lifeforms and glow-in-the-dark make excellent 3D! Plot was rather predictable (I find most movies nowadays are, blek) but it was still enjoyable. I saw the similarities between when more 'civilised' people come to places like Africa and try and 'educate' the natives, and of course if the natives are sitting on something the civilised poeple want, there are going to be factions who don't care about people or the environment and just want to get the money.

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  9. Hey jie. :)
    Agreed, the plot was a bit predictable, but it was a nicely made movie. :) I'm actually surprised that such a "green-minded" movie did so well, knowing that many environment-themed films don't receive such kind of applause.

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  10. What other environment-themed films are you thinking of?

    I also forgot to mention that I went to the loo before and needed it before the film finished! I have to say that I'm hating how any 'epic' film feels the need to be more than 2 and a half hours long. Avatar could definitely have been shorter.

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  11. Yes it could have been shorter, but it could also have been longer. Note that many of the characters weren't developed much (it was understood that one is an expert at this and so on). So yeah that was probably the best editing job done possible. :P

    I was thinking of The Day After Tomorrow. :)

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