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My impressions (review)...

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on December 21, 2009 at 00:23:45

In Reply to: AVATAR posted by PhilJ on December 18, 2009 at 15:21:46:

After all of the hype can any film live up to expectations? Well, YES. While one could always nit-pick this film's derivative elements and find direct similarities with other well known screen productions, the themes in Avatar are universal, as are most cautionary tales told through historical allegory.

While Cameron's story is familiar, good stories that expose a tendency towards nationalistic greed, race hatred and cultural disfranchisement deserve to be told, retold and embellished in a lot of different ways. One of the side benefits is that, in spite of the unearthly beauty of Avatar's distant world effects, the film is very much grounded in our own American history.

What we have in Avatar is an allegorical tale depicting the cruelty of those who seek fortune through conquest and perceived technical superiority. The ironic symbolism of mistreating indigenous tribes (debasing their native culture, religion & lifestyle) through forced relocation and indoctrination can't be missed (similarities with the Trail of Tears and indian campaigns of the 19th century; indian school christian indoctrination, etc.). Into this are mixed thematic elements from Dances With Wolves and Cameron's Aliens and even the Abyss in an awe-inspiring landscape heavily influenced by Roger Dean artistry.

Avatar is a beautifully crafted film with solid historical grounding transposed to the SF medium (I caught a screening of the 3D version, so my assessment is based upon that rather than 2D or IMAX). While James Cameron's balls-to-the-wall screenwriting style may seem a bit heavy handed in places (replete with scene chewing antagonist stereotypes, less than subtle dialogue and often predictable motivations) Avatar is never less than a passionate, well made, highly entertaining film-going experience.

Highly recommended. Also, this is a film that should turn out to be a demo quality BD. I'd subjectively rate Avatar ****/***** (four of five stars).

Cheers,
AuPh

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