So last week, I braved the cold and crowds to go and see Avatar at one of the newer megaplexes.
My expectations were a mix of high and low. I had very low expectations from the previews I have been catching for the past year. The higher expectations are form the reviews extolling both the effects and the overall awesomeness of the movie.
2-Cent review up front: I’m glad I saw it in the theater, but it underperformed for me. So let’s get into it.
The Production
There are a few things unknown about the movie. I can’t find specific amount of the film that was CG. Some accounts claim that 100% of the film is computer genera generated. Other have said that it’s actually in the order of 80% of the film that is CG. I’m not sure. The other guessing game that’s going on is the final budget of the film. The consensus of what I’ve been gathering is that it’s somewhere in the 300 to 500 million dollar range.
The CG
The CG is amazing. The CG is overpowering at times. The CG is the film. Without the CG, there is no movie. The thing is that this is a fictional imagination of an alien environment that is quite fantastical. I feel that it was kinda taken a few steps too far just for the sake of being visually stunning.
Sure, what reference does anyone have for how an alien land looks and has evolved – but so much is vibrant, different manners of locomotion, glow in the dark, and even interactive in manners that feel too imagined.
The 3D
With amazing CG, this was also developed to showcase how amazing CG could be utilizing 3D to take the theater experience to a new level. I think it was definitely an experience, but I’m not sure if it’s something I want to become a trend.
There have been widespread accounts of viewers feeling vertigo or motion sick because of the 3D experience. It’s basically something that can’t be overcome in scenes showing depth of field in a movie given how the human eye works. I’ll try and quickly explain. Notice how in movies there are things in focus, and things not in focus? That is generally intentional. But when showing large environments akin to mountain ranges and such forcing a focal point on the human brain goes against how we are used to taking a scene in. Humans look around and their eye focus on different depths and uses relative sizes and shapes to interpret an environment. The 3D environment created in Avatar only allows the user to see what the director wants you to see in focus. If your eye wanders in any of the large scenes and tries to focus on the background to gain perspective, you can’t overcome the simulated lens blur forced onto you. Hence the motion sickness.
The Story
This is by far the weakest link of Avater. It felt... Too easy... Too idealistic... and mostly, too convenient. It was way to easy to see this trying to be an apology from a white man to the Native Americans. Or maybe it was an apology from an insanely rich white man to the natural resources squandered from corporate humankind.
My big thing was that for a world full of so many glowing, savage, primitive creatures and gravity resistant mountains – an intelligent bi-ped with a complex culture with no written language seems more than just a little implausible and way out of place.
The Overall Experience
First off, if I’m going to pay $3 for 3D glasses, I’m going to keep them. That’s more than nickel and dimming.
As I said in my snap review, I’m glad I saw it in the theater. Despite it being an amazing showcase of entertainment technology, there are limitations in how the technology is currently understood as well as a story lacking in many ways. If you’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars over so many years to make a film, I would hope for something much, much better.
It’s a shoe in for a lot of effects awards. Maybe some sound or editing awards (I don’t think it’s worthy). I’ll be damned if this gets any acting, cinematography or best picture awards.
If you’re into effects and the progression of entertainment technology, then you have to go see this in 3D while it’s in the theater. If you’re more into story and good movie making, you don’t need to go see this in 3D, or even a theater. If you’re feeling guilty at the treatment of indigenous cultures, then just buy a copy of Dances with Wolves – because Costner needs the money more than James Cameron.
