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 How
is it that one guy from Canada has the uncanny ability to channel the
future of filmmaking time and again? Where exactly did he find that
crystal ball that has eluded other directors who make much noise over
their failing strides in the same venture? With the amazing Avatar,
director James Cameron brings cinema into the 21st Century.
Revisiting territory similar to that of his 1986 opus, Aliens, Cameron
shows us a future of technological advances but few moral ones. The
interests of man threaten to overtake those of humanity. A primitive
planet is the host of a rare mineral that will solve the energy crisis
on Earth. A military deployment is needed to back up the will of its
government as it intends to subject the citizens of Pandora to its will,
uprooting entire habitations and ecosystems in pursuit of this elusive
stone. A marine, Jake Sully will use a stunning technological
experiment to infiltrate the Na’vi, the natives of Pandora in order to
gain their trust and find their weak spots to play to the military’s
advantage. Sully, as a paraplegic will gain mobility once again in the
body of his avatar, a clone that is a hybrid of both human and Na’vi.
Science has created a machine that allows Jake’s consciousness to
entirely inhabit the clone, creating a perfect disguise for Jake’s
mission. What Jake doesn’t count on is discovering the Na’vi’s way of
life is very real and far preferable to the one he is currently living
in. Will Jake’s sense of duty win over his sense of morality as he is
called upon to destroy the Na’vi and their ancient world?
Avatar
is the culmination of James Cameron’s greatest moments as a director;
bearing the audaciousness and surprise of 1984’s Terminator, the vision
and pacing of Aliens and the sweeping scope and romance of Titanic.
A
sci-fi extravaganza, Cameron has melded the worlds of live action
filmmaking and animation perfectly, using motion capture to create the
Na’vi and their fantastic planet. The Na’vi are bright blue creatures
with a humanoid-shape, elongated limbs and giant doe-like eyes. They
resemble what the outcome of a late night encounter between a Masai, an
Incan and a little (blue) green man from space would be. Cameron’s
Pandora is another Eden, beautiful and dangerous, untouched by modern
life or machinery; a paradise of beautiful flora, majestic trees and
breathtaking mountain landscapes. Truly in balance with their world,
the Na’vi have learned what we on Earth have long forgotten; that we are
subject to nature, not the other way around. Even their hunts for food
are performed with rituals denoting the deepest respect for their prey.
They honour nature and nature shows them the same esteem; the Na’vi hold
secrets of science, healing and communication that humans will never
learn. The refugee from the Jarhead tribe, Jake Sully, is ignorant to
all of this and his relatively simple thought patterns are not prepared
for his immersion into the Na’vi’s peaceful way of life. Nor could he
have expected to be selected by Pandora itself to be their ‘chosen one,’
specially blessed among its people as a symbol and protector, making
Jake’s life as a double-agent much more complicated. As Jake is slowly
accepted by the Na’vi, he learns their ways like the smallest Na’vi
baby; how to climb the trees he can’t see the tops of, and how to fall
from them without splattering, taming vicious birds and horse-like
creatures into accepting and allowing him to ride on their backs.
Cameron’s amazing team of animators makes the impossible very real and a
wonderful script grips the audience and makes us believe every word
coming from the mouths of these beautifully arranged pixels.
The
story of man vs. nature is perfectly timed as our world actually is in
desperate need of the wisdom of the Na’vi and their respect for the
environment. The destruction of Pandora, a world in balance, isn’t
far-fetched despite its blue-skinned inhabitants; it’s happening closer
to home on a daily basis along the Amazon. Cameron’s message is plain,
but never feels preachy. Further humanizing his animated cast, the
romance of Avatar is wonderful; with the tribal princess, Neytiri,
slowly falling for Jake, the strange outsider despite her caution and
sense of duty to marry the next leader of her clan. The love story
begins with Neytiri very reluctantly taking responsibility for Jake,
training him to see the world through her eyes and become one of their
people as the Utraya Mokri, the soul of Pandora has ordained. Jake’s
inevitable role in the human’s war against the Na’vi will threaten to
tear the two apart.
The
action in Avatar is heart-pounding and paced perfectly. Cameron
introduces the war machines early upon Jake’s arrival on the Pandora
base: There is an armoured exoskeleton that resembles a cross between
the cargo lifter that helped Sigourney Weaver fight the Alien Queen back
in 1986 and Robocop’s ED-209. The battle cruisers are frightening and
look almost too heavy to get off the ground. The pyrotechnics are
stunning and the horror of the heedless destruction by the military is
heartbreaking as Cameron shows us rather graphically the cost to the
tragically outgunned Na’vi, whose only recourse is spears and arrows,
which is exactly what the Marines are counting on.
The
cast - yes, Virginia, there is one under those blue pixels - is
brilliant. Sam Worthington, last seen in Terminator: Salvation, another
future connected to James Cameron, is perfect as the Marine with a lot
to prove. As a paraplegic, Jake hankers for this opportunity to once
again be useful and the regaining of his legs, even through another
body, is the rebirth of his life. In mourning for his scientist twin
who was actually meant to inhabit the avatar; Jake is a good Marine, who
doubts and questions his orders for the first time when faced with the
beauty of the Na’vi and the love of Neytiri. On one side of that debate
lies Sigourney Weaver as Grace Augustine, the scientist in charge of the
Avatar programme, whose fascination with the Na’vi and curiosity about
the natural treasures Pandora holds puts her at definite odds with the
military standing over her shoulder, making decisions for her. That
faction would be led by Colonel Quaritch, a gung-ho, red-meat-eating
Marine whose only consideration is for his mission and an extremely cut
and bulked-up Stephen Lang (are those muscles CGI?) makes hay
chewing the scenery playing the one-dimensional military man. The
facial performance-capture technology does a lot to help us acknowledge
Zoë Saldana’s fine work as Neytiri, the strong warrior princess. It
can’t have been easy to shine through the pixels, but even though she is
blue and about 9 feet tall, Saldana’s Neytiri is as real and emotional
as any human girl, though I think she would hiss at me for the
comparison.
In
Avatar, Cameron has created the first great epic of the twenty-first
century. It is a new benchmark for filmmakers to reach. Avatar feels
to me the way the first Star Wars movie did; that same sense of
excitement in knowing we are seeing a new chapter in filmmaking. That
this is James Cameron’s first narrative feature since 1997’s Titanic
doesn’t make me wonder anymore, it was worth every minute to get this
right. This combination of live action and animation that has been
attempted by others, yet never attained is flawless here. Then again,
flawless is a pretty good word for Avatar all around. Avatar is a
perfect film and the best time at the movies I’ve had this century.
Extremely well done.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
December 16th, 2009
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