Avatar (2009)

There are probably a lot of things one could say about James Cameron, but there is no denying the man has a clear vision and he will do whatever it takes to get his vision on the screen. Always one to go for the most state-of-the-art effects, Cameron has brought us films like 'The Terminator' and its glorious sequel, 'Aliens', 'The Abyss', 'Titanic'... Not a shabby resume, is it? And for this one, Cameron went all out 3D, shooting this with specially developed cameras. 

Sure, you could blame him for starting the whole 3D-craze, but oftentimes it was just conversion after the facts for a great many pictures, whereas this one was meant to be seen in 3D from the start. 

Does it matter if you've seen it in 3D or not? Well, I have never seen it in 3D, because that makes me nauseous, but it still works as a 'mere' 2D film as well, so not to worry. 

Paraplegic soldier Jake Sully is shipped off to the distant world of Pandora to take the place of his twin brother who died. He is sent there to take part in the Avatar program, which is technology by which humans get linked to an indigenous life form in order to talk with them and to survive in the fairly hostile jungle world. Jake is used to make a tribe move from their home because they live right above a large deposit of precious metals. But as so often happens, Jake gets enamoured with the Na'vi, falls in love with a local girl and goes more native than the natives. This naturally pisses off the military and from then on it becomes a fight for survival, noble indigenies versus evil technocrats of Earth. 

Sounds a little clichéd and bland if I say it like that? 

That's because the story is. 

I'm sorry, there's no two ways about it: the story of this film is so filled to the brim with tropes and clichés you could just as well see it as a treatment written by a two-year-old. We've seen this story a million times before. Yes, it's like 'Pocahontas' or 'The Last Samurai', but with giant feline Smurfs. The characters are all pretty standard and it's sometimes hilarious to just see the evil ooze from the face of Stephen Lang as the ironmongering soldier. Of course the natives are completely in touch with nature (even more than you think) and the humans don't get it because they are nearly all greedy. 

I'm sure there is a parallel here somewhere, but what is it... 

In short, you don't watch this for the character development (there is none) or the story (that is perfunctory). You do stay for the truly breathtaking visuals. Pandora looks gorgeous, and the myriad of colours (both during the day and night) are a delight for the eyes. The designs are all inventive and though they are mostly based on marine life (corals, fish etc), they look distinct and plausible. Okay, I must admit that I have no idea why most of the creatures here have an extra set of limbs, but let's chalk it up to a conscious choice to make it all that bit more otherworldly. 

Does it matter if you see this in 3D or not? I don't think so, but feel free to disagree. It still looks and feels great in 2D, so there's that.

And even though the story is by far the weakest piece of the puzzle, Cameron is such a craftsman that you will get sucked in by it. 'Avatar' is a highly entertaining film and perhaps equally as important: you don't feel that the entire thing is three hours long. It all just flies by in a jiffy, proving that Cameron is one of those craftsmen that are hard to come by. 

True, if you have no affinity with science fiction or 'going native'-narratives, this will not suit you. The one thing you will remember about this one is the visual representation, not the story or characters. But it still is a good time and a fun watch.