So I have now joined the millions who have witnessed the spectacle that is Avatar. I really don't even need to bother with a review because all of you have probably beaten me to seeing it anyway. However, it is Movie Review Monday, so I will go for it.
Let's start with the part everyone is enamored with, the effects. I give them a solid A. Great effects. Unfortunately for me, I was not impressed. Maybe it's all the PS3 games I play, or the artwork I do, I don't know, but I just wasn't taken aback by the glorious grandiose visual masterpiece of the effects. Batman: Arkham Asylum has graphics that are just as marvelous, they just aren't in 3-D. Maybe that has something to do with it as well. I've seen every 3D movie that has come out for the last 2 years. Coraline blew me away. That is when I, personally, was stunned by the leap in 3D technology. So maybe I am not blown away this time because I have seen the progression in each 3D movie I've paid to go see. If you haven't seen any 3D movies for a while, then you are probably going to be awed.
Next let's go to the meat & talk plot. It was good. A solid C. Not too cheesy, not too serious, followed the story-telling formula for success. It was nothing new either. The joke I had heard that it was just a re-make of Ferngully. After seeing it, I realized that statement wasn't really a joke. If you have never heard of Ferngully, it was an animated movie that came out in 1992. The plot was:
The magical inhabitants of a rain-forest called Ferngully fight to save their home that is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus.
Avatar...same story.
Now, this is what perplexes me. This movie? This is the movie that everyone loves right now? Really? It must just be the visuals, because I KNOW for certain that in the USA, people hate this kind of message. I don't, and most of my friends don't, but the baby boomers think this sort of thing is nothing but a bunch of tree hugger crap. So I guess the masses are choosing to ignore the message & just have fun with the visuals. Interesting. Of course, maybe I'm being a pessimist, am completely wrong, and everyone has woken up to realize how important the earth really is. How important all life really is. Maybe, just maybe, people are beginning to truly understand that we are all connected. The earth, the trees, the animals, the rocks & the people. We are all one. Seriously though, I doubt it.
I did notice not really feeling emotionally invested in the characters in this movie. There was some sort of detached feeling throughout the film. I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe it was because the plot was familiar, so as a viewer I knew what was going to happen before it did, thus leaving me unsurprised. I'm not sure. I'm still rolling it over in my head. One thing I can say is that I have heard many evangelicals calling it a "Godless" movie. Okay, LOL, you really didn't get it. Godless? Absolutely not. God is what is being lost. If you don't see this, it frightens me to think what you picture god is. This is NOT a "godless" movie.
So, did I like it? Yeah, I liked it. I like Inglorious Bastards better. District 9 did a better job storytelling. 2012 was more of a thrill ride visually. Heck, even Zombieland left me caring about the characters more, but go see it. The 3D & Weta effects are beautiful and maybe, just maybe it'll change you for the better. I give it a B- to a C+.
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