ALARIS' REVIEWS

3rd January 2010
Avatar (2009)

I was actually looking forward to seeing Avatar, despite the fact that it had 'Hollywood blockbuster' written all over it.

I've enjoyed a lot of writer/director James Cameron's work, including Dark Angel (2002), Strange Days (1995), and the sci-fi classic The Abyss (1989). While his productions aren't known for their understatement or subtlety, they certainly pack a punch in terms of imagination and melodrama.

Avatar takes this to a whole new level.

In Avatar, former marine Jack Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic mercenary, trying to find direction in the wake of his brother's death. He finds himself on the planet Pandora, which is being mined by an Earth-based consortium, much to the distress of the planet's indigenous population. Sent in a biological avatar to gather intel on the locals, Sully quickly becomes immersed in an alien culture he knows will shortly be destroyed.

If you sense strong eco-fantasy themes, there are. If you think I mind, I don't. While the story is riddled with clichés, including the outside saviour, the special hero, and even the clan leader's beautiful daughter, it avoids being overly offensive. The story plays very much like a wish-fulfilment, hero fantasy, but I can't criticise it too much for this because I suspect I had similar fantasies when I was a child (seriously, who doesn't want to ride a pterodactyl?)

Which brings us to the theme of fantasy. Avatar is fantasy writ large. It's fantasy with all barrels loaded and plenty of red cordial. It's WETA gone wild. And it's fantastic. Literally.

One of the things I like about Titanic (1997), written and directed by James Cameron, is the fact that the special effects are seamlessly used to serve the story. The CG is unobtrusive, and ideally, the audience doesn't realise when it's being used.

In Avatar, the integration between CG and real footage is impressive. In years to come, we might cringe at the animation, but for me, it was completely immersive. The film is visually stunning, beautifully imaginative, and painstakingly detailed - from the menacing predators to the ethereal plants. I also found one of the science-fantasy ideas underpinning the story to be quite intriguing.

Thankfully, the cast of Avatar do justice to the amazing animation. Sully could have been another all-American hero swooping in to save the natives, but the relatively restrained Worthington gives us enough to like. Zoe Saldana is fierce as the clan leader's daughter, Neytiri, and it's great to see Sigourney Weaver as Dr Augustine, the sensible scientist and irritable anti-corporate. I always enjoy watching Michelle Rodriguez play, well, Michelle Rodriguez, and a special mention goes to Stephen Lang, who is entertainingly villainous as the unstoppable Colonel Quaritch.

Avatar isn't an emotionally sophisticated film, but the characters are likeable, the action engaging, the visuals fantastic, and at 166 minutes long, the pacing is pretty steady. The environmental themes are a little heavy handed at times (it's no Miyazaki), but the world is imaginatively conceived and impressively realised.

Despite its shortcomings, I found Avatar highly enjoyable. If James Cameron tried to remake Princess Mononoke (1997), it would probably look like this.

Verdict: A visually impressive and entertaining eco-fantasy.

If you like Princess Mononoke , you might like this.