The Blog of Frank W. Zammetti - The demented ravings of a software developer

—- OBLIGATORY SPOILER ALERT! —-

I’m not going to go over the movie’s plot point by point, but some things will get mentioned that, if you don’t want to know anything about the movie before you see it, you won’t want to read.

—- SPOILER ALERT OVER —-

So I went to see Avatar tonight with a buddy of mine and my 9-year old son.  We went to the local Carmike movie theater, which isn’t anywhere near as nice as the Regal 24 20 minutes away that we usually go to.  But, it was a good choice because (a) the theater was only about half-full so there was plenty of seats and plenty of buffer space between people, which I like, and (b) this theater actually has better projectors and sound systems than the Regal does!  So, you trade a much better concession stand, arcade, stadium seating and an otherwise nicer facility for an overall better movie experience.

And for Avatar, that was the right choice.

So, as the title here says, I think the movie is fantastic, put simply.  No, I don’t think it changes cinema as we know it, as some have claimed.  No, it’s by no means perfect.  Is it Jim Cameron’s best?  Maybe.  It certainly doesn’t rise or fall too far above or below his other work (I still think The Abyss might be singularly his best work, but Avatar isn’t too far off and, after I give it some thought, it might jump out ahead).

But in any case, man, it’s damned good!

Now, let me give you the reaction of my friend… he didn’t like it much at all.  I *think* his main problem was just that it didn’t have enough action and was a bit too, I don’t know, wishy-washy maybe?  There’s no question that a big part of the story is a love story, and I’m not sure he’s the type of guy that ever allows himself to like a movie like that.  It’s also definitely “slow” in parts.  This isn’t a criticism of him at all… everyone gets to decide for themselves what they think of a movie, and whatever his reasons, he didn’t like it much.

My son?  I think he’s mixed on it.  He was generally well-behaved throughout, which is usually a sign that he doesn’t hate what he’s seeing.  I’m not at all sure he totally got the movie, but I know he picked up at least some of the key points because he talked about them a bit afterward.  Still, for him, there wasn’t enough action for sure.  I think because the action that was there was really good, it was passable for him.  But yeah, overall I think he’s mixed.

Me though?  I loved it.  Start to finish, I thought it was excellent.  The story, in one sense, is pretty simplistic, and really isn’t anything too original (maybe the idea of the avatars themselves is at least somewhat original, but in a way it’s not a hugely important aspect, as weird as it is to say that given the title of the movie!).

No, at its core, this is a high-minded, new-age-themed movie.  Creatures in perfect equilibrium with their environment, who commune with it and are connected at a fundamental level to it?  A global consciousness that all the inhabitants of the planet are a part of?  The ability to store the memories and “spirit”, in some sense, in that global consciousness?  Yeah, that’s some left-wing hippy crap right there for sure!

But, it’s an incredibly positive idea.  The whole world of Pandora is so beautiful, and not just in a visual sense.  The way these creatures live in perfect harmony with each other, that’s a beautiful thing.  It’s something we can only wish and hope for here on Earth.

Now, that theme leads to one or two bad moments in the film.  There’s practically a dance number (repeated twice in fact) that I groaned a bit during.  It was a little *TOO* hippy-influenced!  It really did look like a few thousand people at Woodstock who got a hold of some bad acid while some happy-happy-joy-joy music played in the background.

But, it’s over pretty quick, so I can cope.

The love story angle, again, was a really nice thing to watch unfold.  Everyone’s always looking for that “soul mate” connection, and that’s what we wind up with here.  It didn’t feel like two creatures hot for each other that just wanted to snog; it really felt like it was much deeper than that.  At the same time, it’s not an overpowering, wimpy kind of romance thing… you know, the kind of love story guys generally HATE to watch.  No, it was very much in service of the overall story and worked well.

The journey the main character takes is really what makes the movie work IMO.  Like I said, it’s not a complex story, and there’s no twist to speak of, it all plays out pretty much exactly as you expect it to.  If you’re looking for a movie full of surprises story-wise, this most definitely is NOT it.  But, a straightforward story doesn’t mean it’s *simplistic*.  There’s a subtle difference.  You can have a story with complex themes that plays out straight as an arrow, and that’s what this is.  How Jake Sully evolves over the course of the story is really the key here.  It’s the journey of someone overcoming his own narrow-minded view of things.  It’s the journey of a man awakening in a mental and spiritual sense in a way he never dreamed of.  It’s the journey of a person becoming at peace with the world around him.

In short, it’s the journey we all ultimately want to take, even if we don’t know it.

Simple exploration is also a big theme here, and that’s a concept that is near and dear to me.  One of my favorite activities is simply going for a drive somewhere I’ve never been.  I absolutely LOVE that sense of discovery.  I’m also a person who loves the feeling of learning something new, not because it’s new information I can make use of, but just that simple moment of discovery when something I didn’t understand or know before now is suddenly clear in my mind.

That’s the reason Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which most people seem to think isn’t so great, I think is one of the best ST movies.  It’s all about the unknown, about discovery and exploration (yeah, it’s about those things under the threat of imminent destruction, but still!).  The act of exploration and discovery, whether anything comes of it afterward, is worth it in and of itself.

Throughout this movie, the main character Jake is exploring an alien environment, discovering about it and its inhabitants and learning about things he had never been exposed to before.  There are times when the simple joy of this comes through clear as a bell, and I absolutely loved being along for the ride!  The fact that Pandora doesn’t exist doesn’t matter because it exists in Jim Cameron’s mind, and now on the screen, and exploring it is effectively as real as exploring a real planet.  He’s also learning about himself, which is one journey of discovery we’re all on whether we want to be or not.  Discovering our fears, exploring our limitations and learning about our motivations and values is the very definition of the human experience, whether it’s on Earth or Pandora.

What about the FX you ask?  Simply stated, magnificent.  Is it the best-looking movie I’ve ever seen?  Well, if not, it’s damned close.  There’s so much detail here, and the blending of the practical and CG is just unbelievable.  I still think the shot of the alien ship floating of Johaanasburg in District 9 is the best reality/CG blending I’ve ever seen, but there’s some of that here as well.

Over the past few years we’ve seen some amazing advances in blending computer-generated graphics with the real world, and this is certainly a big step in that direction in terms of characters.  The expressiveness of the CG Na’vi really can’t be understated.  This most definitely is the next level of motion-capture.  It’s really is amazing in parts and you’ll absolutely forget you’re looking at creatures that don’t actually exist at times (it’s not perfect though… every now and again you notice something that’s not *quite* right, and it jars you for a moment… which is really telling you how good it is the rest of the time!)

I was also struck by the quality of the sound.  Like I said, this theater has a killer sound system, and that most definitely helps, but especially during the scene when the humans first attack the Na’vi in force, the explosions were truly magnificent.  You could feel them force of them from the sound coming out… just the right volume and tone, and of course perfectly matched to the visuals.  And frankly, that really helped heighten the emotional experience of this scene.  It’s a truly sad moment, and if you’re at all empathizing with the characters at that point then I think you’ll notice that the sound plays a big role in getting you there.

Now, there’s definitely some parts that aren’t as good as others here.  There’s a few lines of dialog that are groan-worthy.  There’s a few logical problems here and there (My biggest one: no Na’vi thought of the trick Jake does to get the big flying creature???  Really?!?  They’ve been doing that for like 100′s or 1000′s of years and THE MOST OBVIOUS SOLUTION IN THE WORLD NEVER DAWNED ON THEM?!?).  But, if you are willing to not nitpick, you’ll be fine (and nothing really knocked me over the head and threw me for a loop, I only saw relatively minor things).

Cameron also hits you over the head more than a few times with an obvious left-wing agenda.  Now, I’m OK with this because I agree with most of the agenda… but there’s a few instances were it’s *SO* obvious, and more than a little preachy, that it’ll pull you out for just a second.  I think you’ll recover quickly though.  But, if you’re of a right-wing mentality, be prepared: you’ll probably want to blow up Hollywood after this.

Some people will see this movie as something of an anti-technology movie, and I think that’s wrong.  Technology isn’t the enemy, its our usage of it that is.  It’s forgetting that life without technology is possible and that what’s really important in life isn’t your iPhone or your PS3 or your Audi.  Those things can enhance an otherwise good life, but they can’t make a life good, and if you’re one of those people that thinks they can… I don’t know how else to say this except: you’re wrong.  Conversely however, giving up technology altogether isn’t a ticket to instant happiness.  There’s got to be a balance.

So, overall, great movie.  It’s definitely NOT for everyone though… if you’re expecting 2 1/2 hours of non-stop action, you’ll be disappointed.  If you can’t allow yourself to enjoy a love story, you’ll hate it.  If you aren’t accustomed to thinking about “meaning of life” sorta stuff, you won’t get it and won’t like it.  If you’re bothered by beings that don’t look exactly like you (i.e., you’re a bigot) you’ll probably hate it.  But, this isn’t a movie for people like you.

This is a movie for people who believe the world would be a better place if we got along with each other better, and everything in our environment too.  This is a movie for people who realize that a simpler life is often-times a better life.  This is for people who are capable of caring about others and allow themselves to feel emotions based on a story.  Too many people these days see emotion as weakness, and that’s a load of shit.  If you can’t or won’t allow yourself to be emotional based on nothing but ideas, if you can’t put yourself in a hypothetical situation and feel the emotion of it, then this isn’t a movie you’re going to like.  And if all you want is explosions up the wazoo, well, you’re going to be happy for only about half this movie (you’ll totally LOVE that half though).

And, while I haven’t bought a Blu-Ray player yet, I definitely imagine this is the movie that will make me do so.  If you see Avatar and think it’s anything but one of the top three best-looking movies ever made, I frankly question your sanity.  And if nothing else, you’ll enjoy the audio/visual aspects of it for sure, story aside.

But if that’s the ONLY aspect of it you enjoy, I’d say you completely missed the point.  This is a good story, even a great story I think, even if it’s very predictable and not overly complex… but it’s a movie that definitely isn’t for everyone.

And, come to think of it, that’s very sad because it really SHOULD be for everyone.  The story really SHOULD affect everyone in a similar way and it really SHOULD make you realize that the human race probably isn’t on the best path right now… I like to think we’re not doomed or anything quite that drastic, but when you look at the Na’vi and Pandora in this movie, you’ve GOT to realize how far we really do have to go.

Hey all… just a quick note that my book, “Practical Palm Pre webOS Project” is now available at Amazon, and I presume, other retailers.  For info you can go here:

http://apress.com/book/search?searchterm=zammetti&act=search&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Hope you enjoy it and Happy Holidays… eh, screw that politically correct crap: MERRY CHRISTMAS!