If You Walk Without Rhythm, You Won't Attract The Smurfs

Most people watch movies at home, these days...on television, on their DVD, Bluray, mobile phone, laptop or Mac. I personally prefer to go to a movie theatre to watch a film so I can take in the full detail of the sound and image on a huge screen, without distraction; just me and the movie, so to speak. Most of the time though, when the movie is available for home viewing, the enjoyment factor is equivalent to that of seeing it in a cinema.

But every now and again, along comes a movie that demands to be seen on the big screen. Something that CANNOT be seen in any other environment to get the same effect. And when you, it's like the scene in A Clockwork Orange where Malcolm McDowell's eyelids are pinned back...except you're doing it to yourself so you don't miss a single frame of the movie. Such movies are rare, but the memories of seeing them are burned into the brain. Movies like Return of the Jedi, Aliens and Fellowship of the Ring. It's not necessarily the story that's so ingrained on the grey matter, but the experience...trying to take in the rich visual detail, the story elements, the groundbreaking film-making techniques or the thought process gone into creating each design element on screen (a gun, a corridor, a village).

James Cameron's Avatar is such a film. Twelve years in the making (well, on and off developing the technology), Avatar is a jaw dropping exercise in film-making.

There are several reasons why it has this impact:-
1/ The first being the 3D process. Cameron always said this would change the way movies are made...and he developed his high quality, miniature 3D camera so many years ago that it's the preferred option of all the 3D movies we've got over the last few years (Avatar's been 4 years in proper production). The 3D is digitally ultra-sharp and crisply precise, is not gimmicky (like Robert Zemekis's Beowulf or Jaws 3D!) and feels completely immersing after a very short time. Cameron even builds the 3D into the storytelling at the outset, as hero Jake Sully wakes up. He looks up and sees two water particles float weightless above him, which then merge. As Jake's world comes into focus...so does ours, as we adapt to the 3D experience. As Jake's bunk is removed, Cameron shows a vast spaceship interior to demonstrate how this experience will differ from previous live action fantasies. But Avatar doesn't keep reminding you the process is there, but rather it allows the audience to be absorbed into the new imaginary world.

2/ The CGI is a step up from anything we've seen previously, including the Star Wars prequels and, most impressively Lord of the Rings. You have to keep reminding yourself that ALL of the forest environments are computer animated as they are completely convincing. The way the grass looks, the way the Fawnia moves in the breeze, the way that running water negotiates a branch in the river or how bark fragments splinter when a tree trunk snaps.

On top of that there's the alien Na'vi, the 10 foot tall blue, cat-like natives that inhabit the planet of Pandora. Gollum was the current benchmark for a convincing CGI character. Gollum had the advantage of having a caricatured face, meaning a lot of unnatural movement was masked by the design. If you've seen Beowulf, Hulk or The Polar Express you'll know that more humanly realistic the CGI creation, the more difficult it is to make the CGI look real. There's always "dead eye", that blank, vacant look that suggests there's no soul behind the eyes.

That's pretty much solved now. While obviously not 100% human looking, they're close enough, and apart from a handful of shots in low light, the facial movements, especially the eyes, are shockingly real. Close up, the effect is staggering. The skin texture, flesh elasticity, and minute eye movements look so real, you'll think it's an actor in make up. The painted look of CGI has been removed, as has the "dead eye" syndrome.

3/ To round things off there's the attention to detail. Cameron retains his design aesthetic from Aliens and Terminator, making human technology logical and functional, as if the machines, vehicles, buildings and costumes were an extension of contemporary construction. Producing this science fiction world in CGI means he can design as big and as much as he wants. It's hard to believe but Cameron hasn't really indulged himself to a great degree with dirital set extensions or green screen previously...so he lets rip here. Rather than the 14 cryo tubes in Aliens, we get dozens in Avatar. Rather than 2 power-loaders or drop ships, we get hundreds of AMP suits or Scorpion Gunships. And that's just the human world.
Most of the action takes place in the Pandoran forests so the director has created an entire eco-system of insects, plants, animals and predators along with the (Native American Indian-like) cultural designs for the Na'vi.

Even if you take away all the technological advancement, it's all this stuff that would make Avatar a pleasure to watch. We get many fantasy movies each year, but very few can evoke a true sense of wonder and transport you to somewhere else. It's this escapism that I find most impressive.

So that's the visual stuff. How about the movie itself? Avatar, although quite rightly acclaimed, hasn't been without criticism. While some of that critisism is valid (dramatically, it's not as sophisticated or as emotionally charged as Titanic) it still stomps soundly on most movies released this year (or decade!).

1/ The story has been judged by many as to be unoriginal and derivative. Even South Park picked up on this, pre-release, dubbing the story 'Dances with Smurfs'. And they'd be right, because the story isn't at all original. It is similar to Dances with Wolves. It is very similar to Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars. And it's extremely similar to Frank Herbert's Dune (guy goes to alien planet to mine its resources, goes native and learns the alien's ways, conquers their most savage beast, falls in love with the tribal elder's daughter, becomes their leader, unites disparate tribes and then takes them to war against his former people).

Frankly, I don't care. Star Wars is derivative. I knew the boat sank in Titanic, before I saw it. Even T2 and Aliens follow the exact structure of their originals...and they're all classics. All the magnificent science fiction movies released this year (Moon, District 9, Star Trek) had stories derived from other sources, but that didn't stop them from being compelling, entertaining works. It's all about telling a familiar story in a new way...and this is new enough for me.

2/ As a director, Cameron does a great job...as he's always done a great job. There's nothing MTV in nature about his direction. He does what he's always done. Places and movies the camera which best tells the story at hand. By far, he's still the best action director in the business, as the final 30 minutes delivers action on an epic scale Cameron's never tackled before. He keeps the characters to the fore in the frenzy, keeps the sequence of events clear and the geography of the destruction is well communicated.

3/ As a writer, Cameron stumbles slightly on this one, as it's been so long in development I'd have thought he'd have nailed Avatar's script early on. The dialogue is a little corny, as with all of his films...but really, that's just fine. As a director he's always manages to make you believe in his characters and feel something for them, whether to hope for their survival or pray for their come-uppance.

What's missing is some depth to the Jake / Na'vi interactions. It feels like there's something missing between Jake and Neytiri, the native girl he falls for. Perhaps there's some character building scenes on the cutting room floor. Perhaps his dialogue isn't as sophisticated here than it was in Titanic or previous scripts. Perhaps, this being a broad, family affair he's aimed slightly lower to get the kids on board. Either way, Neytiri's motivation for falling in love with Jake isn't quite sufficiently convincing once the revelation is made.

Pacing wise, this is on a par with Titanic, where there was another long set-up before the rollercoaster pay-off. However, just like The Matrix which had a similarly long build-up, each scene is absolutely necesary to communicate story points that will pay off later, as well as the construction of the relationships between Jake and his friends and foe. As ever he keeps the exposition flowing, the character development to the fore and inter-cuts action periodically to maintain narrative tension.

4/ It's been argued that the subtext is insultingly obvious. Well, when it comes to issues of bigger nations bullying the weak for their resources, I'm all for blatant fictional criticism of the policies of America. If Cameron wants to comment that humans place corporate greed above the need for ecological sustainability...then I say, go for it. If making up some mystical scientific mumbo-jumbo about the advantages of being in tune with nature for both humanity and the planets sake, I think more movies should be doing it. Because, judging by the weak result of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, world politicians aren't listening to anybody else. The Na'vi spiritualism stuff works just fine within the context of the movie and is at least balanced out by a scientific perspective on the eco-spirit mythology.

It's quite fun seeing the modern metaphors the story uses. Company man Selfridge is a George W Bush character (even playing golf when he should be working) while security chief Quaddrich is the Chaney/Rumsfeld archetype, wanting to wage war, just because he can. On the surface level, it's a reworking of history where colonial Americans displaced the native Indian community. In a modern context, it stands in nicely for Iraq, goint to war for resources while underestimating the 'primitive' enemies ability to defend it's soil. It's the role of art, whether consciously or sub-consciously to comment on the world around it. Avatar my not be subtle, but it's all a worthy target from my perspective.

Cameron wisely has Jake complete a regular video diary...which allows us a peak inside the introspective marine's head. He also gives Jake a mythic story to follow; he prophesises (in his dreams of flying and of freedom), he's average (not college educated), poor (his brother is cremated in a cardboard coffin) everyman who comes of age. As is common in Cameron scripts, he sets up story points early in the plot...so they can be resolved or paid-off later. Despite Jake being at odds with his boss, Sigourney Weaver, they're both clearly rebels right from the start. Weaver's first appearance sees her demanding a cigarette (even 200 years in the future) while Jake willfully narrates over the security chief's instruction briefing. Also, both Jake and Quadrich are imperfect; one paralysed, the other scarred. But where Jake transforms his disability into something positive, Quadrich used his disfigurment to drive his destructive nature.

It's also got some philosophical stuff going on too, with the Avatar program itself. It deals with the notion of identity and the need to escape reality. Indeed, it questions the nature of reality, as Cypher does in The Matrix. It's interesting to see how many characters in the film actually have an avatar. Jake has his Na'vi body, Quadrich has his AMP Suit, while the Na'vi have the horses and wildebeasts of Pandora...which they can plug themselves into, as an extension of themselves.

It's facinating, multi-layered stuff.

5/ James Horner's score. Once my favorite composer in the 80's, the sheen wore off once I'd realized Mr Horner cannibalises his own music. But...every now and again he's capable of turning in stunning work (Sneakers / Braveheart/ The Rocketeer). But he hasn't produced one of those in twelve year...his last collaboration with James Cameron, to be exact; Titanic. So I was kind of hoping that another Cameron team-up would get James back to his "A" game. Alas not, the score isn't that memorable and reworks musical cues from Titanic and Willow. But it's not a bad score either, and supports the image adequetley, if not raising it to a whole other level (like his Aliens score).

6/ The casting is mostly exceptional...with one exception. Top of the pile is Zoe Saldana as Na'vi Nyteri. This is a truly gifted actress whose spectacular instinctive ability as a thesp shines through the layer of blue Na'vi pixels and charms us to death. She's funny, spirited, sexy and defiant. The classy lass couldn't have done a better job if she appeared onscreen as herself.
Stephen Lang also dominates as corporate merc Colonel Quaritch. The security cheif is simply one of the best screen villains of the decade. And you know he's great because when he gets into one on one combat at the climax, you don't want him to lose. It's been said he's a bit of a caricature, but his portrayal serves the story well.
It's nice to see Sigourney Weaver back under Cameron's watchful eye and as Dr Grace Augustine, she gets her teeth into the grouchy but entertaining hippy scientist role.
Michelle Rodriguez and Giovanni Ribisi provide solid turns, as you'd expect from quality such actors.

However, the question was always over Sam Worthington's ability as an actor and leading man. He was solid, but unspectacular, in Terminator Salvation. He's a good actor, and is never less than convincing, but he's not charismatic enough to make us want to like him more than we do. And since avatar's story is actually Jake's story, it's not always as emotionally powerful as it could be.
It's like they cast a Ford Focus when they really needed a Aston Martin. Titanic had DiCaprio, The Abyss had Ed Harris, True Lies had Arnie. Worthington is non of these.
10 years ago they should have cast Thomas Jane, Hugh Jackman, Eric Bana or Viggi Mortenson. Actors with that strong, silent type masculinity...but with a magnetic personality coupled with eyes that give a view directly into the soul. Worthington has some of that...but not all of that. With his accent wavering between American and Australian, he reminds me a little of Mel Gibson's Mad Max...but without Mel's sparkle. Fortunately his quiet-but-tough performance is what is required of the character.

Overall though, my negative observations are only quibbles. They are nowhere near enough to detract from a jaw-dropping piece of storytelling. It's one of those experiences that will stay with me for many years to come. Remembering the clarity of the 3D image for the first time...having to admit to myself that the female Na'vi are genuinely attractive (even if she is blue with a kitty tail)...and the feeling of being hit with a cricket bat (with a brick nailed to it) when witnessing a soldier in a robot suit escape from an exploding aerial troop carrier from 150 feet.

It's because of moments like these that Avatar is to be treasured. They don't come along very often so, savor it on the big screen. In 3D. Again. Again. Oh, and maybe again.