By now, there have been billions of column inches, both real and virtual, dedicated to the film Avatar. It is the most crazy, hyped up, prophetic feature film in my memory, at least.
I was a bit young when Star Wars came out, but I'm sure it's similar.
When I first saw trailers and promotion for this film, I just kept seeing blue people and weird CG forests. Like many filmgoers, I saw a bit of spectacle, a bit of explosions, but it didn't really mean anything to me, because I was mostly seeing it on my flat, tube, analogue TV set in short snippets.
My belief was not suspended. Sorry, Fox.
So, the movie came out, and people started getting really excited.
It still didn't look good to me, so I chilled out and read the reviews.
They were good, really, really, good. Upon seeing it in London, writer/actor Simon Pegg called it a "game changer." Since he and I share equal vehemence for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, I thought, "OK, Maybe."
A couple of weeks ago, I watched the Star Trek reboot for the first time, and emailed my friend, Ilram Choi who had fight coordinated for my film Kung Fu Girls Club and then went on to do movies like Transformers, Revenge of The Fallen, G Force, and Star Trek.
He told me in his email that I absolutely had to see Avatar. He went on to tell me that he had done about 70% of the movement for the aliens, and even got an acting credit as "The Basketball Avatar" at the beginning. My resolve was starting to crumble. I had to go see this film.
So, with 12 bucks in hand and my favorite son (now 8) in tow, I went to the movies on a Saturday afternoon, to see what the "Pocahontas Story with Blue Aliens" was about. I have to tell you, I have been a fan of 3D cinema and comics since I discovered a book called "Amazing 3D" in the early 80s. I have subsequently gone to see every 3D movie I could, including "Spacehunter," "Spy Kids 3D," and "Sharkboy and Lava Girl."
All amusing, yes, but this was the real thing. Finally.
I wanted 3D TV back in the 80s, when it was impossible. Now that it's close, I'm split. But anyway, on to the theatrical experience that is Avatar.
So I put on the plastic 3D glasses, watched stupid trailers for stupid 3D movies yet to be released, and got ready for something.
The Fox 2D vanity card sequence started, which got me thinking...why haven't they redone this in 30 years? Universal and Sony have, and Warner Bros. would do something cool like a blue WB logo. Not Fox. Oh, well.
The movie starts. No titles. Cool. We open in space, teeny bit of exposition. One thing that I dig about Cameron is that he sets up these worlds at the beginning, like he did in Aliens and The Abyss that are set in whatever time they're set in, but the characters don't care. Things like space travel, hypersleep, and cloning are so old hat to the people in the film, that when the story shifts and the truly fantastic starts to happen, the audience is along for the ride.
It's what good science fiction is about, and that's cool.
I'm not going to go into the plot and tell you what the setup is, you probably already know. I will tell you that as a filmmaker and a filmgoer, I am as jaded and raspy as they come. I watched that film with my arms crossed, thinking: "Okay Jimmy, whatcha got?"
Every frame in that movie, whether practical, CG, composite, or whatever, felt real. Felt incredibly real. It was a 3D movie where you didn't notice the 3D after the first couple of minutes.
The storyline is conventional, but the storytelling is not. The entire time I'm watching the film, all I can think of in my mind is,
"How the F*&k did JC do this?"
Every shot in the film is breathtaking. The acting is understated, once again, there's a been there done that quality with most of the characters. Their backstories would fill ten other films, but they didn't really clutter them here.
It was, all told, a remarkable theatrical moviegoing experience. One that will be pleasurable on DVD and (3D?) Blu Ray but would be missed if not seen in the proper theatrical setting.
This truly does raise the bar for every major sci-fi/war/action/romance/comedy film that Hollywood will churn out over the next decade, and certainly raises hopes for Battle Angel and Avatar 2:Still Avataring!
Just Kidding.
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