KT Reviews: "Ferngully's Revenge," or "Avatar"

Holy cats!

I admit, starting this review with a terrible, yet descriptive, pun might not have been the best choice. That being said, I could have started with: "Avatar bulldozed my expectations!" or "Boy, some humans are absolute raving monsters, aren't they?"

I went into the theater not expecting to particularly like Avatar. The Spoony One produced a video review of it that completely colored my expectations of it. Among other things, Spoony talked about the similarities between Avatar's plot and the plot of about three other movies (Disney's Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves and Ferngully), and I didn't think I would get anything out of such a preachy-sounding movie.

I looked up the movie on Wikipedia and TV Tropes after I watched Spoony's review and read a little about the plot and the film's development. I simply could not believe that after over ten years of conceptualizing the universe and making the film, Cameron couldn't come up with a better name for the McGuffin than 'unobtanium.' Really? There were a couple of other things I had trouble accepting, but they were the same things everyone else did (completely CGI characters, obvious themes, etc).

I did end up really enjoying this movie. My girlfriend convinced me to go see it in 3D, which I'm grateful for. The 3D created an immersive experience - the little bits of leaf and ember floating through the foreground made it seem more authentic. It also gave a sense of scale to the big bad action scenes, which otherwise would have been just flashy CGI battles, like in the Lord of the Rings or The Matrix.

I realized midway through that I didn't particularly care that the story wasn't entirely original. On the walk home, I realized that James Cameron does his best work when the audience knows how the story's probably going to end. Look at his film list: Titanic - the boat sinks and hundreds die; Aliens - going by the first film, everyone buy Sigourney Weaver will end up dead (some day I'll watch Aliens and see if this prediction is correct); T2: Judgment Day - Most of the characters know how their lives are supposed to turn out, and the trick is finding the right way to survive long enough to achieve the things they're supposed to. This approach to film making works because the audience doesn't have to worry about understanding the framework the story has to follow. If they know everyone's going to die, they'll be entertained at exactly how they all die, in which circumstances and with what mindset.

I would definitely recommend seeing Avatar on the big screen, before it comes out on DVD/BlueRay (unless you're desperate to see the supposed Na'vi sex scene (shudder)). Seeing this movie is an experience more than it is a simple passive viewing. You won't feel the same awe and/or wonder when you see the scenery of Pandora on your 17" laptop screen, or your 15" TV. You need to be able to see every inch of screen you can in order to appreciate the spectacle. On the small screen, Avatar will be nothing more than the sum of its tropes. On the big screen (and in 3D, if you want to go that route. Which I recommend), it's magnificent.