Avatar Review

James Cameron, don’t leave us for this long again. What’s encompassed in the 161 minutes that the King of the World has crafted shows us a seasoned veteran who knew what he had all along.

The feeling called back to something I felt at the 1996 Olympics when I witnessed Michael Jordan and the Dream Team make their way to another gold medal. Jordan effortlessly handled the ball unlike anyone who had played.

The game before him and ever will, no matter how many Kobe’s or LeBron’s come our way. I couldn’t help but be breathless as I witnessed a legend show why he was a true master of the art.

Simply put; Cameron has done things in Avatar I have never seen before in a film. Never before have I used that phrase to describe any movie these eyes have ever seen, and maybe it’s fitting that the director I grew up idolizing would be the one to break the mold.

Is it the game-changer he lauded it to be? Time will tell, but it’s awfully obvious he’s raised the bar just like he did with a little film in 1991 called Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Even Avatar’s worst effect shots still look just as good as anything in Star Trek or even the terribly overrated District 9.

The big question though is are the effects photo-realistic, and the answer for at least ninety-five percent of the movie, yes. Cameron doesn’t rely on cheap tricks to mask something poorly done (think Transformers with cutting away from robot action) and makes sure that gajillion dollar budget is completely present on screen. The Na’vi aren’t really, really well done CG, they’re an actual alien race hiding on a studio lot somewhere. Maybe that’s another wrong term, as the reason this film took so long to make involved Cameron and company actually flying to Pandora and filming on-location. With that still being said, it’s an understatement to how engrossing, detailed, and absolutely gorgeous the backgrounds and environments are.

Effects aren’t everything as many hacks have often proven time and again. Unlike them, Cameron has also shown us time and again he doesn’t slouch when it comes to the story and his characters. Avatar is no different, and certainly the film borrows (but doesn’t steal) from other sources. Yet once again showing what a veteran Cameron is, he tells Jake Sully’s tale in such a beautiful, expert way that its shortcomings are easily forgivable. Most won’t, and likely they’re the same people who championed some small alien film that ripped off twenty different sources. Dialogue is also a weakness, and while Cameron’s created some quotable lines over his illustrious career, this has always been one of his few faults. But again, it’s completely forgivable in the overall scheme of things.
Happily, Cameron’s assembled a cast that for the most part are tailor made for their roles. Sam Worthington is quickly turning into the perfect leading man. He’s charming, good-looking, and most importantly, can act. He’s perfect at chewing up the screen with the right amount of confidence and swagger he displayed in Terminator Salvation. Complimenting him is a more than capable Zoe Saldana who has come a very, very long way since her days a lackey in Crossroads. In that time, she’s become a decent actress and is beginning her domination in science fiction. Saldana is given a lot of work to do with Neyteri, and reminds one of what Peter Weller’s task was with RoboCop. The fiery femme is sexy, tough (as expected with Cameron) and above all, blue. The only thing anyone should be mad about with her performance is that Cameron never allows us to actually look at her real, beautiful face.

She’s not the show stealer, nor does Worthington complete that task he pulled off with the latest Terminator film. There’s an elder gentlemen by the name of Stephen Lang who seems to be the offspring of The T-1000 and Sgt. Apone. Lang takes a simple caricature and completely turns him into the most memorable character in the film. He’s pure evil, and the perfect villain for this and maybe not the most clever, but the most brash. He and Cameron had to wait twenty-three years to team up (originally, Lang was to be Hicks in Aliens) and it was well worth it. All in all, he deserves to be in contention for a Supporting Actor nod for what he pulls off.

Unfortunately not all links in the chain of actors are as tight as they should be, but thankfully it’s only held to Giovanni Ribisi. Normally a very capable actor, Ribisi’s Parker Selfridge is nothing more than a cheap Ari Gold impression. My disdain for Piven not helping me like this character, Ribisi also fails to create a sleezeball that Paul Reiser so gleefully did with Carter J. Burke. He’s Avatar’s albatross, but thankfully we’re supposed to hate this guy. Slim pickens for me.

Getting back on a positive note, perhaps it’s fate that Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver appear in the same film, much less one by the king of the genre himself.. Both have torn up the sci-fi circuit for some time, and while Rodriguez’s resume isn’t as prestigious as Weaver’s, she’s still contributed to the tough female persona Ms. Ripley so perfectly defined. Michelle’s at her most relaxed here, and seemingly having the time of her life as she’s along for this journey. She’s more enjoyable here than anything she’s done in the past few years, and hopefully this gets her back on the path to quality.

Then of course, Weaver. Like her director, she too knows she has nothing left to prove and does what she’s been doing for the past thirty years. While age is slowly, slowly catching her, she continues to remain just as beautiful as she has in every role not named ‘Ripley.’ In fact, this almost feels as if she’s passing on the torch to Zoe. Cameron also gives us this moment two hours in that this may be Weaver’s last call, and she’s giving the torch to Ms. Saldana.

It’s moments like that that make Avatar what it is. Is it a perfect film? No, even with it’s forgivable faults. The film is the culmination of James Cameron, a director who has mastered what it means to be an event film. Where he succeeded best is making sure these groundbreaking effects had a well-told and acted story to back them up. After twelve years away from the game, Cameron comes back and effortlessly proves why he’s still the best blockbuster director on the block. No steps have been lost, nor was there any rust. Avatar is just a master at work, creating his finest masterpiece. Oh, and see it in 3D. It demands it.