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Copyright © 2009 Flaming Dog Media, LLC. All rights reserved. |
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Put Yourself In Tom's Shoes... |
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Last night, I was invited to road trip out to an
invitation-only viewing of AVATAR. And, of course, I took my
girlfriend along with me.
Lots of publicity for the film, since its the
first James Cameron has directed since winning the Oscar for
TITANIC. And, to be honest, I was curious about the movie, but
wasn't really impressed by the way the effects looked in the
trailers or commercials. But, you know, trailers on YouTube or
CBS isn't the same as a theater screen.
And, even better, an IMAX screen, which is where
I'll be in a couple of weeks, thank you, Bob Bullock Texas State
History Museum.
Anyway, the girlfriend and I road tripped out of
Austin, met up with the theater manager and my friend who supplied
the invite to see the movie, along with a couple of dozen other
folks who were invited.
Saw new trailers for SHERLOCK HOLMES, which I
want to see, and PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING
THIEF, which suffers from too long of a title and bearded Pierce
Brosnan. There was also a trailer for PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE
SANDS OF TIME, which I've seen before, and it still doesn't make me
want to see the movie.
And then we had the movie...
...which was awesome.
The story is pretty simple, and, to be honest, I
told the girlfriend that it was "like DANCES WITH WOLVES, but
with blue people." Sam Worthington's Sully is a wounded
Marine. His twin brother was part of a project on an alien
world, but before being able to leave, the twin is shot and killed.
Because they were twins, Sully is encouraged to volunteer in his
brother's place.
Upon arriving on Pandora, Sully learns as he goes
along. The air is toxic. The natives are a problem.
And a hybrid clone thing was made using human DNA for scientists,
and now Sully, to interact with the natives of the planet. The
three powers at work among the humans are the company, represented
by Giovanni Ribisi's Parker, the paramilitary, under the command of
Stephen Lang's Colonel Quaritch, and the scientists, led by
Sigourney Weaver's Dr. Grace Augustine.
Its revealed that humanity has been on Pandora
for awhile, mining a mineral that's valuable on Earth. It
takes six years just to get there, and the avatar program has been
going long enough for the natives to have learned English and reject
the hybrids. It doesn't take long for Sully to get his avatar
and get separated from the rest of the group. He is targeted by Zoe Saldana's Neytiri, but a sign from her
deity saves his life.
She saves his life, and he forces his way to the Na'vi village in
Hometree. Because he's a warrior and not a teacher, he is
accepted, to a degree, to learn about the Na'vi culture.
When the avatar goes to sleep in the village,
Sully wakes in the base, and shares the news with the others.
All three group leaders are excited, and each
want to use Sully for their own goals, which forces Sully to make
his own choices.
Sully is trained in the way of the Na'vi, and
rather than trying to change their culture, he accepts what he's
being taught. Parker tells Sully that the Na'vi aren't
interested in schools, roads or technology, and its obvious why -
the Na'vi are connected to their planet on a fundamental level.
They share a biological link with the animals they ride, and Grace
finds an electrical signal that travels from tree to tree, which
connects the planet. Pandora is a truly alien world, and it
looks beautiful onscreen.
I suppose I should mention that Michelle
Rodriguez has a supporting role as one of the chopper pilots for the
paramilitary. She's cool for what she has to do, and has a
pretty good bit during the final battle. I just love Michelle
Rodriguez whenever she shows up, the girlfriend, not so much, but
last night, on the way back to Austin, she admitted that this is the
first time she actually one of Rodriguez's characters.
Sitting in the theater watching AVATAR made me
wish I were seeing it on an IMAX screen. It just looked
incredible, and I can't wait to get the APGs together for the trip
to Bob Bullock. The movie is so beautiful, especially the
bioluminescent night scenes and Sully's flight training with Neytiri.
There are a few plot holes, most notably that
other scientists have avatars. We see them when Sully first
gets his - they're playing basketball and running on an obstacle
course at the base camp. But when everything else starts
happening over the course of the film, they're nowhere to be seen or
even mentioned. If it takes six years just to get there, and
the avatar program has been going on for awhile, how is it that
Grace and Joel Moore's Norm just discover the tree network?
Grace had been there for awhile, long enough to have been rejected
by the Na'vi when she tried to start a school for the Hometree
children. And Norm just disappeared during the final battle,
while Neytiri and Sully go up against the colonel.
The girlfriend and I are thinking that there may
have been a subplot of Norm vs. the Corporal that got cut out, since
the movie clocks in at two hours & forty five minutes already.
And the song, 'I See You' by Leona Lewis, is, as
the girlfriend said, not Celine Dion. I thought it was
alright, but I seemed to be in the minority out of the folks who
stayed in the theater for the credits.
AVATAR is the third "humans as alien
invaders" movie I've seen this year, after BATTLE FOR TERRA and
PLANET 51. I really enjoyed the movie, I think it will look great on
an IMAX screen, and encourage everyone to go check it out at the
best venue possible.
Tom Sharp
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