Avatar – After the hype…

I finally got to see James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ last night at our local cinema. Fortunately, Ashford is now blessed with a decent multiplex and we were able to enjoy it using the new ‘3D’ technology. This is fascinating in its own right, but back to the film…

There was still a queue, reason enough to make the film interesting, particularly since it’s been on show since last December. Most films have entered their ‘tumble-weed’ phase by this point, but Avatar was still packing them in. The Cinema was full. I haven’t seen a queue like it since Star Wars A New Hope in 1977.

Everyone I’ve heard talk about this movie has been raving about it, so it’s quite difficult to go in without raised expectations. However, as you begin to get immersed in the world of ‘Pandora’ (a slightly too obvious reference to there being ‘trouble ahead’) you can see what people are referring too. The CGI, the visual referencing from camera angles, depth of field and interpolation of forced perspective, the blend of reality and non-reality into a cohesive and absolutely convincing alien planet is staggering. At no point do you think “Ah, yes, there’s the CGI bit.” Finally, the technology to visually create anything we can imagine has reached its early maturity, where we go from here – God knows! – but it will be good.

Pandora is beautiful, there is no other word to describe it. From the gas giant planet hanging in space nearby (actually way too close, but I’ll forgive them) to the elegantly proportioned animals and planets suited to the low gravity, a marvellously interpreted collection of flora and fauna that, with the exception of the hammer-head rhinos, works in convincing you that Pandora could be real, it could exist. (Why have I singled out the rhinos? They’re far too stocky and dense, if you have low gravity there would be no evolutionary pressure to create such an animal. Evolution would favour light weight, agile creatures. The rhinos were far too agile for their build and ‘looked wrong’ to my eyes. A minor complaint overall.)

Next up, inspired touches around the bio-luminescence, a fantastic way for the film to get across the message that all life was connected to each other, which was a bit spoilt by the characters eventually referring to it. They stopped short of calling it the force or the circle-of-life, but it was a close call!

My particular favourite was the flying creatures. Usually dragons and similar creatures are portrayed with an inaccuracy that makes anybody even vaguely familiar with aero-dynamics and power-to-weight ratios cringe. In short, these creatures are too big and their wings are too small. Yet, the creatures in Avatar work. They are big, but we’ve got the bonus of low gravity. Clearly their bone structure is more akin to a bird, lightweight and agile, you can see that in their design. They ‘could’ work. They look convincing.

Clever ideas abound. The ‘brain stem’ that emerges from the hair of the Na’vi, allowing them to communicate directly with other creatures without relying on a telepathy ‘plot device’. The Na’vi have tails – perfect for balancing in their aerial homes. The creatures on Pandora have separate nasal passages in their chests, so they can keep their mouths closed when running or flying. All very clever indeed.

So impressed, was I? Astonished at the visual feast and enjoying the clever ideas – yes. Fantastic, enthralling, memorable. But the story…

Given the astonishing level of creativity depicted in the art of bring this film to the screen, the plot was a let-down. It’s effectively ‘Pocahontas on Pandora, with sci-fi helicopters.’ I know it has to appeal to a mass audience, I know it has to be acceptable to the xbox/playstation generation, I know it’s there to make money, I know there are people out there who can’t cope with more than a basic Disney experience… but if you’re going to do something of such grandeur, such majesty in the visual space, can’t we please have a plot to do it justice?

The characters intentions were so plainly obvious you knew exactly what they would be like and do from the get go. They were really paper thin. The bad-ass army dude who gets his come-upance, the jaded scientist who sacrifices herself in the end, the gung-ho tough but good hearted girl-pilot who goes down in flames fighting the fight, the irritating corporate sponsor who has a few doubts but doesn’t have the backbone to do the right thing. Cliche after cliche after cliche. Come on!

The plot telegraphed what was going to happen so obviously I was surprised that captions didn’t appear saying things like “This guy is the baddy, but don’t worry, he’ll be killed at the end <wink>”. You knew there was going to be a desperate battle, you knew there was going to be a moment where it all looked beyond help, you knew it would come good in the end. You knew our hero was going to be the ‘chosen one’ and that he’d be accepted by the tribe after overcoming hurdles. You knew there would be a tragedy half-way through. You were just waiting to see exactly how it panned out. There was no twist. Avatar deserved better. It was a missed opportunity.

Having said that. I will buy it on DVD. I might even buy it on Blu-ray if I ever get around to going HD. It is an amazing spectacle and I’d heartily recommend people see it in the cinema and in 3D. This is one that really wont be the same on the small screen.

When Pandora, in myth, opened her box and let out the calamities of the world, when they finally finished clearing up the chaos, there was one creature left. They called it ‘Hope’. My hope is that now we’ve got the visuals, the writers can be allowed to create a real story. Can’t wait!

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