Avatar Movie Poster

Wow.

Ok, first, the gripe. 3d glasses make your eyes swim. After about fifteen minutes I felt pretty uncomfortable wearing them. It’s a testament to the movie that I stuck with it for another 168 minutes! I should also admit at this stage that the 3D is very immersive and doesn’t detract from the core functions of the movie. It’s just there, rather like it usually is.

Back to the flick itself. Wow. The plot is really simple. You know roughly what’s going to happen from the very start. I suppose Avatar is broadly allegorical and references on multiple occassions the caucasian exploitation of indigenous peoples through the last few centuries. The most powerful allusions here are with the European and then American exploitation of North American natural resources at the expense of the native american indians. The (evil?) corporation in Avatar is digging for a funky metal whose value is never clearly explained. It’s not important. The simplicity of the plot is the secret to Avatar’s greatness. This is a flight of fancy. You sit back, relax and let someone tell you a great story with a few major characters and a lot of amazing imagery and cultural experiences. Predictable it is, boring it is not.

Let me say a word here about colour. Avatar is beautiful. The near universal use of phosphorescence in the jungle and forest landscapes is awe inspiring. You want to go there yourself. The humans in Avatar make extensive use of choppers and some of the in flight scenes set up some fantastic vistas which support the sense of scale and grandeur throughout. The detailing is tremendous. Even when you are staring at something as utterly ridiculous as say, millions of tonnes of floating rocks held down by tree roots, you can’t help but believe what you are seeing. Something about it just seems right. The closest I can think of is the image of a mountain in the waters of a still loch. You know it’s a reflection but still think you would enjoy climbing those slopes.

Avatar makes extremely extensive use of generated imagery and it works well enough that you forget about it most of the time. There are some slightly cartoony elements which weaken the realism but overall it’s very immersive. This impressed me as very few movies pull this off anywhere near as well.

I knew I was in for a treat when Avatar opens with a man flying for six years away from the Earth to start a new life. His brother is dead and he is shipping out to replace him. The subliminal message is clear. Let go. Let your presumptions and attitudes die, if only for three hours, and leave hold of your sense of what is real and come away with us. Come away to a world populated by ten foot tall betailed humanoids. If you are interested in my advice. Do it. Let go of your life for three hours and just enjoy. After all, as the man says, the pay is good, really good. Any movie smart enough to pitch itself as a form of entertainment which will take you away from the limitations of your real life and let you explore a fantasy is bound to be good in my book!

Finally the trademark moment. When my father and I came away from the cinema we had a life conversation. You know the ones, where you talk about big serious topics in a very general manner. To me, that’s the confirmation that shows that a movie has ticked the two most important boxes in the home (and cinema) entertainment field. 1 – It’s total escapism, 2 – When it’s done it leads you to think seriously about your life in a constructive manner. Now, I am not assuring you that you will come away life affirmed. I am sure some people will pick holes. But if you are looking for an enjoyable jaunt several light years away, take the trip to Pandora. You won’t regret it. It’s nothing like the box.

Now, where’s that book on Custer?