AVATAR...

A Review of James Cameron’s new Science/Fantasy Movie…

Hi Guys,

I had planned on publishing this Blog last week, on Friday, but I found myself paying a visit to the doctors again, this time for a really awful food poisoning problem, caused probably from one of two places, I ate at whilst travelling with work last Thursday. I feel a little better now, not firing on all cylinders and feeling more than a little sore all over, but it has set me back a bit for the moment.

This last two weeks has been extremely busy for me, as I worked on more pages of Worlds End and then helped out on a friend’s children’s book, by painting some of them over his pencils.

I have a queue of commissioned work now, which needs completing before I can get back onto Worlds End, so Blogging will continue to be light from me for a while, whilst I get straight, so priority one can remain with the graphic novel.

Almost two weeks ago now I went along with my wife, Margaret, daughter, Joanne and her fiancé, Toby to see the much-lauded film by James Cameron. Now I had seen many reviews and it seemed to me that people either loved it, or hated it.

I had seen the trailer and was blown away initially, but a little worried on the small screen of the computer about the quality of the CGI characters, or at least their flesh textures, as they seemed a little smooth in such small format.

I have to say I was really excited about going along and have to admit all the hype was well founded and certainly had me smiling all throughout.

For the benefit of all the nay sayers that have said it wasn’t a good film – all I can say is they must have forgotten what it is like to have fun!!!

Looking again at all the negative press, it showed to me the same kind of mind set I spoke about in my last Blog about the geekish attitude of the comics fans. Maybe it was the fact many of his fans from his earlier days producing classics like, Terminator and Aliens still have not forgiven him for the massively expensive departure of those earlier storylines, to produce Titanic, or maybe just like many of the comics fans, they really have forgotten what it is like to have fun, in line with what, just like in comics has become the normal fare in movies…mega violence, ultra swearing and the like. Nothing wrong with that, but, as I said last Blog, there is more than one way to tell a story.

The storyline, without giving anything away was your basic good guys versus bad guys and was full of the typical gung-ho American Marine character types, but worked perfectly in contrast to the native Na’vi who live on the planet Pandora. The basic premise is typical of the human race, as a collective whole…whereby we seek to take whatever resources from where ever we please, with a total disregard for the consequences.

As far as being a unique storyline, I really think this is an almost impossible thing to do now with centuries of repeated patterns, but it is, after all, how you piece all of the parts together to get the final script that is important and for my money, James Cameron, has got it right.

The characters may not be any more deeper than normal, but this is an adventure film and a long one at that, any more characterisation and it would have had to be six hours long, or negate the ability to show the spectacle, so again for me, it was the right mix. I have recently seen Blogs reporting of similar storylines existing in comics and books, reports, which imply James Cameron ripped off the concepts, but I guess time will tell, how much influence any of these had on his story, if at all there were any.

The film boasts a great cast too, with Sam Worthington as Jake Scully,
Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine and Stephen Lang as Colonel Quaritch', to name but four.

On a personal note watching the epic spectacle of the incredible vistas all along the way, throughout the entire movie, with its planets subdued in the skies, its floating islands, it lush vegetation, its indigenous inhabitants and alien otherworldliness, I have to admit to feeling more than a little emotional at times, as for all the world, it looked as though James Cameron had seen inside my head and created the CGI version of my own Worlds End.

The incredible amounts of miniscule minutia and the attention to that detail were breathtaking. Looking around the world of Pandora, you never for one second think to yourself this is CGI, due to the incredible talents of those at Weta Digital, who created the visual feast of effects.

Maybe I can get Mr. Cameron to look at Worlds End as a CGI movie for me…hey stranger things have happened. Now then where is my phone book…

Don’t be fooled by the 3D either, there is none of the clichéd use of the medium here in this film, none of the pointing the gun at the audience, but there are alien moths, flies and other floaties, which make for an even more incredible experience.

I don’t want to discuss the story any further here, as many of you may not have seen the film yet. My advice is, go and see it on the biggest screen you can and in 3D, it really is worth the extra money to see it in this format. We came out of the cinema with the feel good factor in our heads and pockets and isn’t that what we are going along there for in the first place for a little escapism? Oh yes, and more than a little smattering of FUN!!!

Until next time have fun!

Tim Perkins…
February 2nd 2010