Review of Avatar (2009) by Chiyen — 20 May 2017

Avatar!! A game? No. When people hear the word avatar, most would think of a game character but in this case, it brings a new meaning to the word avatar, literally. James Cameron not only the writer but also the director of the movie “Avatar” (2009) has brought everyone’s dreams into reality by utilising the modern art of visual cinematography and 3-D imaging to blur the lines of virtual reality, making it more realistic. Cameron has also utilised certain star actors such as Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington who have won multiple awards in the past to play crucial roles in his film.

The movie being in the category of fantasy/science fiction, it begins in the future or more precise, year 2154 and one the many themes of the movie is protecting the environment.

Involving the military, they set off on a mission to collect, colonise and learn from the new planet, Pandora. Their main task for this operation is to collect a rich mineral that Earth desperately needs more of and they recently found that there was an abundant amount under their village.

Unobtanium, the mineral, they need to save their energy crisis or to put it bluntly, to survive and is what keeps the project running. Those who went had to be in cyrosleep as Pandora, the new planet is 4.4 light-years away from Earth. The movie is both a show and tell with its incredible graphics of a new world, its nature and of course the natives, the Na’vi, blue people who stand at 10 feet tall and its story plot of the mission to collect the resources and a turn of events after the main protagonist learns about what was going to happen if the mission proceeds.

I like how the actors played their parts well, and not just with their words but with actions as well. Some actors in movies struggle and get nervous and would cause themselves to not sound or seem natural. Zoe Saldana who played Neytiri, the Na’vi princess, was perfect for playing the role in this film as she could not only play the part but was actually able to get into character for this film. For example, she manages to accept a different accent to mimic being a native Na’vi.

The computer-generated imagery also known as CGI, can only capture the movement and facial expressions in animated forms, but it is the actors job to give life to their characters. The director, not only did he capture the motion, but also the intent of the actors to make his characters even more realistic.

There are of course strengths and faults in this movie just like any other. One of the biggest faults in this movie is that the transitions from one angle to another is a little off but hard to notice. For example, a different hand positioning from a camera angle to another and mild nudity of the natives as another fault. The strength of this film is that it follows its theme and executes it as the film goes towards the end, they of course follow up and was able to save the environment from the destruction.

Overall, I think the movie ”Avatar” is a great film. It being rated as PG-13 is at minimal as the faults of those who are younger would have to watch the violence and mild nudity. I personally enjoyed the film and it left me in amazed and if you haven’t seen it yet, then I suggest you go see it now. It would not only leave you at the edge of your seats but also keep your blood pumping .