Avatar and other thoughts, maybe in the morning...
Its been awhile since I've come to this blog, or have anything substantial to write about. It takes a certain spark for all these grandiose, groundless thoughts whizzing about in my brain to slow for just a moment, just long enough for me to listen. For this rare occasion, it took what I now believe a very viable candidate for Best Picture of '09. In fact, I will venture to say it will win the award.
That movie is Avatar, a very welcome surprise to this year. For the most part, I was pretty disappointed with this year's offerings, pretty much this decade save for Gladiator and a few others. This is not to say most of these movies are horrible; a good majority are actually pretty entertaining and worth the premium that they ask. However, only a select few movies are ones which I will revisit over and over again with the same enthusiasm that I did the first time I watched it. These movies I believe are done well and at the same time offer me this sense of wonder or manliness which no other movie can quite touch. My favorite movie of all time, Laputa, happens to offer both of them. Not to say I have an extensive movie resume behind my preferences; I actually think that my movie IQ is pretty shallow. With that in mind, I don't even think Avatar can crack my personal pantheon of movies, but that's only because I don't have that kind of money to invest.
Avatar is one of those movies which are "complete" in my opinion, as in the movie obtains total audience immersion. Other movies of the past that attempted this level of immersion were limited by the technologies available at the time, so most of the older classics seem dated. Not to say special effects are everything; it merely is a vehicle for the plot and character development. This total immersion happens when all three of those elements combine harmoniously into a single unit, grasping you by the wrist and throwing you to the thick of the action. The characters have to be natural, believable. The best actors are the best con artists. Plot is much like a paved road; the smoother the ride the better. When all three work in sublime unison, you will get a beautiful product.
The movie made real good use of the recent technological advances in motion capture and CG rendering. Although this was my first experience with the system, I would have to say the movie made real good use of the IMAX 3D system. I felt as if the movie was made intended to be watched in this matter, so much so that one would lack the whole experience watching the movie on traditional screens. This is why I will have to say Avatar would fall short of my hallowed list. Nonetheless, it was really worth the ride.
Classic story with new age presentation. For me, that's all I will ever need or want out of a movie. Originality is clever plagiarism. I'd rather have a predictable well done movie over a fresh bad movie. In any case, what I mean is that the plot and characters in the movie are ones seen before. Avatar is a classic tale of natives and invaders, starstruck lovers, and the importance of knowing our place in the grand scheme of life. I was reminded of elements that alluded to ideas presented in Laputa, Xenogears, and others. Not that they were the first to do it, they are just examples that popped into my head(Xenogears isn't even a movie). Now, if a movie attempts to revisit old allegories, you must present it well. This is a prerequisite. Failing to deliver the message, whether in bad scripting or acting, will sink the entire ship. No amount of special effects can right it. In that regard, I felt there we're no real gaping holes or glaring acting issues. The classic elements were done well.
What put this movie over the top is how these classic allegories were meshed into the packaging, the special effects. If the CG was done in a cheesy manner, it would be too much of a distraction and would lessen the experience overall. The total opposite was true; I think this is how Cameron would have liked to realize one of his life-long ambitions. The final product he made is worth the fifteen year wait. The indigenous world of Pandora is lush and vibrant, with colors and iridescence that we can only dream of in our terrestrial reality. The action sequences such as the flying scenes were breathtaking. I literally found myself gasping for breath sometimes, maybe due to the fact I forgot to breathe every now and then. I think I "dodged" some bullets and shrapnel during the final battle.
Along with the special effects is the sci-fi aspect of it. Personally, sci-fi is one of those genres that I have a really tough time to warm up to. Sci-fi shows I tend to like sort of ease me into the story, giving me familiar concepts and limiting the technobabble. One good example is Battlestar Galactica, which to me was just how the a contemporary navy would have acted if thrust into a more galactic vessel as opposed to a sea-faring one. What Avatar did really well was how it presented the native Na'vi peoples. Many comparisons can be made to various Native American or African tribes. Night elves also popped into my mind. As the movie progressed, that whole notion just melted into this sense of an indigenous peoples who had great vested interest in all of nature. The connection that the audience can make to the Na'vi is what I felt was a little lacking in some of the aliens presented in other sci-fi movies. By the end of the movie, the genre that this movie is in didn't quite seem to matter much anymore.
I also find with most of these movies, you can't help but talk about it after-wards. Maybe its a requirement. I found myself thinking about things like the nature of war, conquest, love, artificial intellegence, and the concept that ties every one of these together: consciousness. This movie touched on one of my favorite pastime musings. Pandora as a world is theorized by the invading scientists as one that is connected much like a nervous system, synapsed together by this "energy" (somewhat like chi) by Ewa (sp?), the main deity of the Na'vi. This synapsing is so extensive that it links all the memories of past generations of Na'vi as well as the wild. Thus, destroying the fauna or flora is tantamount to destroying the burial grounds of the natives. I say this now and I know I will have to be reminded of it time and again, but sometimes perspective is too narrow. A cup too full will overflow and precious water will be lost. What is old will be new again, for we are all but too human. I guess it was that good of a movie for me to revisit these old thoughts.
Excellent movie. The premium paid was worth the experience. With that in mind, I was planning on revisiting the concept of a hero, but I think I need the sleep more than anything. Hopefully I will remember to write down these precious few thoughts. More to come later.
