Avatar (2009)
directed by James Cameron
★★★★☆
More than just ushering in a second renaissance of 3D films, Avatar revolutionized them by elevating the media from novelty to art form. Rather than wow the audience with pop-out gimmicks, Cameron uses depth to immerse the audience in his alien world, and pull them in along with Sam Worthington’s lead character, former Marine Jake Sulley.
Avatar’s visual effects are stunningly realistic, and hold up incredibly well over time. It’s funny that this is considered a live-action film, considering practically everything is either enhanced with CGI, or completely computer animated. The world of Pandora is incredibly immersive, although for being an alien planet, almost everything is based on real-life Earth plants and animals — even the six-legged horses and hyenas run like their quadruped counterparts. The plot is formulaic and often predictable, but it is a scathing and all-too-honest commentary on military and corporate imperialism, buried under a gorgeous coat of sci-fi paint.
Zoë Saldaña beautifully brings the Na’vi princess Neytiri to life, and helps make the rest of the Na’vi seem more believable for it. Sigourney Weaver is perfectly cast as the smart-aleck scientist in charge of the Avatar program, Dr. Grace Augustine. Stephen Lang chews the scenery in an almost hammy fashion as Colonel Miles Quaritch, a former military leader who predictably hates everything alien and natural and wants to destroy it for the company’s profits. Giovanni Ribisi (an often underrated actor, in my opinion) is perfect as the sniveling rat in charge of the evil Resource Development Administration, and Joel David Moore provides sympathetic support to the hero in both human and avatar form.
Even at 2h42m, Avatar’s theatrical cut occasionally feels truncated. After you’ve seen the film at least once in 3D, I highly recommend the Special Edition and Extended Collector’s Edition for deeper character and story development (avoid the Extended Collector’s Edition for your first viewing, as its opening scenes spoil what is an impactful reveal later in the film).
