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feinicks · 17/12/2009 10:43 AM

Really... the movie's story starts out nice and then is so stereotypical and cliched that its really boring.... Erk

However, the special effects and 3D is simply marvelous....

Anyone else seen it?

Review: AVATAR

The movie has been a lot of hype generator for a long time, ever since it was announced that James Cameron would make this into a 3D movie and a game, which was published by Ubisoft. The hype generated is so large that people have been calling this movie and Epic without even seeing it. However, that is to be expected from most hype generating media. Ever since the game got a horrible rating in reviews, it has been said that the movie will be better because modern day games cannot capture the beauty of movies. Well, when it comes to effects and story telling, yes.. the movies do have an advantage, so perhaps it is true. That curiosity of mine flared up even more when I was offered free tickets to the movie. Of course, I was dreaming about the rumors of Spielberg and Cameron working on 3D technology which would not require specs, but alas, dreams remain dreams...

So lets get started:

The story is pretty typical, to the point of being a disappointment. The basic idea of the story is that in the future, a planet system named Pandora is discovered and becomes a huge resource field due to a metal ore called Unobtanium which "sells for 20 millions dollars a kilo." However, the noble human intentions of tearing apart another planet was hindered by the Indigenous residents who are primitive compared to humans, are very closely adhered to the nature due to a certain property of Pandora's tree's roots. Also, in sharp contrast to humans, the Residents have a physical method of forming a bond with animals or trees. This was rather a nice touch as it distinguishes them from a technology obsessed humans. It would appear that there have been many small fights etc before the movie time. This is indicated by the fact that ex-marines etc, are used a Security Force whose second objective is to force the Residents to abandon their forest home with force as it is known to be the largest deposit of the ore and they won't agree to negotiate.
While the humans have been here a long time, the science department has been studying and interacting with the residents. They have also created clones of certain people by mixing their DNA with the DNA of the residents. The clones bear a resemb lance to the Residents and have their physical traits, and can be controlled by the human original, remotely by the machines. This where the story kicks off. The hero, Jack Sully is a marine who is paralysed waist down. His twin was the clone-original, but died and Jack has to take his place. Without divulging the plot, he is to infiltrate the Resident's society and report back. While the Corporation is confused as how to deal with the Residents, the Colonel in charge of the Security Force wants to engage them in combat and kill them. Anyways, In the Resident's society in the forest Jack meets the heroine who is tasked to teach him the way of the residents. (just for info, she is the daughter of the Clan chief and is intended to become a mated partner of the guy who will become the next chief). From here on, it pretty deducible... hence boring.

However, the visual effects of the movie are simply breath-taking. The environment, animal detail, special reactions everything is so beautiful that many times, you tend to ignore what's going on and just stare at something amazing. There is such a large variety of animals and plants and all seem to exist in one frame, that it truly is awe-inspiring. To make the matters better, its all in 3D. Thankfully, there is no indication in the movie that this is a 3D movie (like objects delibrately coming towards you etc.) and the depth and clarity is beautiful. Even the special effects of the battles and general movement is a stark contrast from the below par story execution.
Some human psychology/behaviour traits shown are also unreal, but at times also feel realistic. For example, Jack has lost his legs. But when he controls the Avatar, he can move around.

In general, I feel that while the movie is very good-looking, if you are a story driven movie watcher, you are going to be really disappointed by how predictable the story is. However, if you switch that off and simply watch the movie for entertainment sake, it will be worth a watch.

Rating: 6/10