Mass Effect…
Avatar…
Avatar is the latest thrill ride from director James Cameron, who has pretty much just cemented himself as king of the box office. Thrill ride is certainly the best phrase to use when describing Avatar. It certainly has no equal in terms of computer effects. However as great as all that is, with the exception of 3D, Avatar isn’t breaking new ground. CG heavy movies have been around for a while, it is certainly taken to a different level here but the wow factor is definitely diminished. Films like Final Fantasy, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars (the latter three…or is that earlier three…), and many more have broken the seal on enveloping the viewing in a cg world. Yes it is done better, but 300 million dollars and several years of technological advances another film could have done something as impressive. But the cg is not the reason to see this film.
3D is the driving force behind seeing this film; it’s the meat and potatoes to the cg’s sauce. Shot specifically for 3D, it is the best application of 3D to date. Most of the previous films that sported 3D treated it as a gimmick, with shit flying at the screen. Avatar takes a much more subtle approach. Cameron utilizes 3D to add depth to each screen, with multiple layers showing different characters and objects in the fore & background separately. The end result is a strange hybrid between a stage performance and film. Something very cool the first time you see it.
With all that said, the effect started to wear off for me about halfway through the film. If I thought about it I could see the 3D, but when I would lose myself in the film I would start to barely notice the added dimension. I’m not exactly sure why. I’ve talked to several other people who saw the film, and none of them experienced the same thing. Maybe it was just me. You would normally think not noticing something and being completely engrossed by it would be a good thing, but then why was I at the 3D showing? Couldn’t I have saved myself seven dollars and saw the 2D showing?
Was it really just me? To me the most impressive 3D was in the beginning of the film when the majority of the scenery revolved around the Human army base with familarish sights and sounds. And when the effect sort of wore off the majority of the scenery revolved around the Smurf jungle. Was it the length of time? Was it the fact that the Smurf jungle was filled with more complex objects than simple military armaments? I don’t know; part of me would like to see the film in 2D to see if I feel less engaged. But that probably won’t happen until the Blu-ray.
This film is 3D, but it is still a film, and as a film it must succeed by the standards that we hold all films to: Story, Characters, Dialogue, etc… Cameron keeps the plot light and simple, maybe too light; humans greedy and evil, the natives good and pure. It really felt like he thought up the visuals first and then tailored a story to fit around it. The main character, Jake Sully, is certainly the most sympathetic of the entire cast, the guy is fricking paralyze, how can he not be sympathetic? It’s not like there are any other characters that one can side. Almost all of them are stereotypes, filling their role with cookie cutter magic. You like the characters you are supposed to like, and hate the ones that you are supposed to hate. Everything is laid out at the start and eventually everyone has their moments to fill their roles.
Avatar’s strengths are its visuals; weakness is its story. Like a gorgeous model, they look great from the outside, but start talking to them and you find that there is very little running on the inside. Much as been said about the fact that it’s a mega reimaging of Pocahontas and you can certainly draw some major similarities between the two. But whatever, original ideas are so rare in today’s world. The plot provides enough subtext to support the visuals, which is a shame because it puts Avatar into the “Popcorn” class of film, something that feels a little dirty considering the jump forward it takes in filmmaking. How big of a jump? We will see with time because I’m not completely sold on 3D.
