Movie Review: AVATAR – Thank you, James Cameron

If ever you keep a list of things to do before you die, I must insist that you add one more entry –

Watch AVATAR on IMAX 3D.

And do it as specifically as the statement says. Forget the movie theater you usually frequent, ignore the hefty 400-peso price for an IMAX ticket, persist through the long lines and sold out screenings, and be ready to give up 2 hours and 42 minutes of your life.

You really cannot must not miss this movie.

Must-see in 3-D. Go. NOW.

Let me rephrase that. This is not a movie, this is an experience. And that is precisely why you are required to watch it, because you will not just be sitting back in your chair staring at moving pictures on a 50-foot screen – you will be immersing yourself in the most visually stunning movie and the most technologically-advanced filmmaking to ever grace any type of screen. It is revolutionary in that aspect; and in that aspect alone, viewing the film is mandatory.

But like all that is ordinary and mediocre in the world, take this review with a grain of salt.

The premise is ordinary, the soundtrack so-so, and the running time (162 minutes) seems draining. But these are nuances you might be willing to forgive once you come to understand what this movie has achieved in terms of pushing the envelope, and the level of patience, focus, imagination, and hard work James Cameron and his crew put into this film. Thus you might understand why I say that it must be view ONLY in 3D.

It takes that extra obligation to be able to appreciate what has been done here. The emotional stimulation one looks for in a movie (there is plenty you can choose from – environmentalism, capitalism, war, culture, love.) can only begin the moment you see the thousand-foot Hometree crashing down in extra-dimensional detail, or when you see the pain and anguish in the Navi’s expressions at that moment. These blue cat-like creatures seem less alien than we are – it is embarrassing that they can show more emotion than we can! – and we have James Cameron to thank for that. He INVENTED technology precisely for this movie (I literally cannot wait for the next video game or movie that makes use and does the same kind of justice to this technology!) to be filmed this way.

But it is not the perfect movie. How many people can hold their bladders for 162 minutes at a time? There are scenes I felt the movie could have done without (most especially the ones with people in it), and I think the antagonist could have been made more compelling and attached instead of slipping in and out of scenes and just be the prerequisite final boss standing at the movie’s climax. And I really think James Cameron needs to lighten up a bit. I am beginning to think the man does not have a sense of humor. But with his movies breaking records left and right, maybe he doesn’t need one.

As of this writing, Avatar is only $7 million away from breaking Titanic’s (another Cameron classic) all-time box-office records, and rightfully so. The world has been waiting for this kind of movie for the last decade, and who else but Cameron would go out and surpass his self-set standards. If you went out and endured the sappiest movie of all time in Titanic, take a flyer on Avatar on IMAX 3-D. It’s definitely better than a movie about a sinking boat.

And let me just add, I can’t believe I wrote this in less than a thousand words.