Avatar: Special Edition is released in cinemas in a limited engagement and exclusively in Digital 3D and IMAX 3D.
James Cameron is a game changer, he always has been. A look back at his career highlights and we see that he never shirks a challenge but embraces it, confronts it and ultimately shows Hollywood where the direction of cinematic technology is heading. With Aliens he took a sequel further than most thought possible. Terminator proved that there was a role that only Schwarzenegger could play. In Terminator 2 he demonstrated how to use CGI to heighten the action to seamless levels. He then sunk the Titanic to such harrowing effect that it became the biggest grossing film of all time. That was until Avatar.
Some will point out that his main aim with Avatar was to utilise 3D to its full potential. That is partly true, on the big screen there is no doubt that he achieved that in spades. However, what Avatar did better than anything before, was take motion capture technology and integrate it with CGI so effectively that you don't notice that much of Avatar is in fact computer generated. But is it any good in the home formats?
The truth is that it does lose something without the immersive 3D, but only to a degree. It is still a hugely encompassing film. The planet of Pandora, through Cameron’s unlimited imagination, is realised to such an extent that you wonder whether he might not have actually created the utopia for real. Its vibrant colours paint themselves on the consciousness and remain there long after the credits have rolled. You never question the alternate reality that has been created. It is testament to both Cameron and his effects team that Pandora and it inhabitants never feel like something that has been churned out by a computer, but rather something that has tapped into a dream and released it in a way that only the subconscious can.
It is fair to say that it is an obvious riff on the Pocahontas mythology, but so was Dances With Wolves and that certainly did not suffer as a result. The script has been often criticised for its expositional nature and clunky dialogue and there is an element of truth to this. But, bearing in mind that Cameron has create a whole world complete with eco system outside our normal levels of comprehension, much of this is a necessity. Cameron has never been a writer to excel in these areas, but as one of the characters says when entering an Avatar body you have to “let your mind go blank”.
This is far from negative, but rather crucial to appreciating the film in all its glory. By simply enjoying Avatar it takes on a life like no film has done so before. Cameron’s forte has always been action and here the film is rife with breathtaking and engrossing set-pieces that suck you into the narrative. From the destruction of the Nav’i home world to the flying sequences that will undoubtedly spawn theme park rides, Avatar is a rollercoaster for the eyes.
Sam Worthington has no doubt been made a star by playing Jake and his performance is a way in for the audience. He is our eyes and ears through which we explore Pandora and we are lucky to have such a charismatic guide especially when he is in his Avatar form. Stephen Lang meanwhile is everything you want from a villain, utterly ruthless and efficient in a way that, despite his evil ways, you find yourself enjoying his menacing screen time.
But it is Zoe Saldana in purely mo-cap form who takes most of the acting plaudits. It is thanks to her feline twitches and mannerisms that you so believe in the Nav’i and route for them while they battle the humans. That her performance was not more widely acknowledged at the awards shows a lack of vision by the powers that be, make no mistake that, despite Neytiri’s Nav’i look, it is all Saldana.
Cameron’s dialogue may not be what some look for in a film, but he certainly knows how to delve into his audience’s psyche. You can almost sense the smile on his face when Jakes’ worlds seems to be flipped inside out and he feels like his Avatar body is his reality and his own body nothing but a dream. By the end of Avatar the audience will long to be part of that reality. Miss out on Avatar and you miss out on one of the truly mesmerising filmic experiences of all time.
Extras: Original Theatrical Version, Special Edition Re-Release, Collector's Extended Cut, Capturing Avatar, Deleted scenes 45 Minutes worth!, Production Materials, Pandora's Box, Interactive Scene Deconstruction, Production Shorts, Avatar Archives including 300 page script, BD-Live Portal.
