December 20th, 2009 12:48 pm

Avatar

Has the wait been worth it? Is the future here? Has James Cameron revolutionised cinema as we know it? The verdict is now in…

The widely held consensus from the more senior of filmgoers these days can be summed up with the old adage “they don’t make movies like they used to”. It is of course most commonly attached to films with an overload of special effects that take precedent over story and characters.

Having been on a self-imposed hiatus for the better part of the last decade, James Cameron certainly wouldn’t have been the first choice in a director to make a comeback with the intention of completely blowing said expression out of the water. But, within minutes of Avatar starting; nay, before the opening title card even appears, everyone who has ever seen a movie will be saying they don’t make movies like they used to anymore. Thank you, Mr Cameron.

Its without question that Cameron has invested everything he has into this. You can only imagine the technical dexterity required to create what in all reality is one of the most strikingly original, and utterly groundbreaking, examples of visuals on offer here. The detail and scope in the imagery that Cameron has created is incredible. He’s created a world unlike anything cinemagoers will have ever seen, and his achievement in this is nothing less than a revelation in the advancement in animation, cinematography and motion capture technology.

Knowing full well the time and effort taken to create this world and the characters that inhabit it, the millions of dollars spent – its been rumored to be the most expensive movie of all time – and the development of said technology from the ground up, the evidence is all there on the screen. In glorious 3D nonetheless, no expense has been spared and its perhaps even more incredible than you could even imagine.

As groundbreaking visually as the film undoubtedly is, personally there is still the undeniable feeling of animation niggling in the back of your mind. For something as hyper-realistic as it strives to be, I found it at times hard to be fooled. Its hardly a flaw though, as the wow factor is distracting enough throughout for it to remain nothing more than an after thought.

There are other criticisms here though amongst the inherent brilliance of the film. Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, there are some reservations regarding characterizations. You wont be in for many surprises as the relationships between characters evolve, particularly Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri being (Zoe Saldaña) central to the movie. But even moreso the archtypical characters themselves; the war-mongering smack-talking military colonel hell-bent on destruction, the money-hungry businessman with no morals, the scientists who are hopelessly devoted to the indigenous Na’vi and their plight against the destruction of their home. Knowing all that, they rarely venture off the well-worn path and everything pretty much follows on where you’d expect as the film progresses.
Which of course leads into the plotting; much like the obviousness of the characters, the film as a whole is generally unsurprising in regards to the unfolding of the story in its most basic form. Boy meets girl, boy stuffs something up, girl gets angry, girl forgives boy, queue big fight scenes, live happily ever after once big bad guys are dead/gone.

In its defense though, none of the negatives here sully the experience at all. Despite its well worn chestnuts, it never feels quite so tedious considering Cameron’s background primarily in the action film genre. The balance is handled quite well, mixing the subtle romantic elements of the story amongst the evils of humanity through destruction of natural resources for financial gain. It will feel heavy handed to the cynics out there, but its really never that bad.
Cameron’s creation of a rich history for the Na’vi people also help enhance the plots more one-dimensional aspects. Not to mention the rousing action, battle scenes complimenting the beautiful, intricate details of the world that are equally as inherent in the film.

Ideally, Avatar is an experience that is best felt with minimal knowledge of the surprises that lay in store. Even knowing the weaknesses of the story, its entirely possible to enjoy this on its purely superficial points as they are so immersive and just so incredible. James Cameron has proven that even going without making a film for over 10 years he can still impress. Simply amazing.