A New Kind Of Film

Long time, no type, but here I am again. I've been busy over the holidays, so I apologize for my absence, but rest assured I'm here to bring you a great review of my latest film viewing; Avatar. You have to admire a director when not only does he produce a film, but actually invents a new kind of film making to do so. Now directors can view CGI and animations in real time and change everything to their liking, ala video game style. Although Avatar does feel like a test run for the new technology, it is in no way simply that.

Avatar is set in the distant future on a planet called Pandora, inhabited by blue natives, amazing plant life and an array of dangerous and beautiful wildlife. And of course, sizable amount of precious metals buried under its' forests and jungles, which the greedy human corporations want to get their hands on. Scientists survey the area using "avatars", a native's body which is controlled through genetic links by a human. Kinda like robots only human. It's complicated, don't hate me. One of the avatar controllers falls in love with a native and things start to unravel in his mind. And when it boils down to it, Avatar is a story of good versus evil, with scientist and native pitted against the might of the human army seemingly bent on destroying anything precious on the planet for little more than money. Like usual.

I came into the movie not knowing what to expect. Sure the film may have revolutionized movie making, but that makes little difference to me if the film is bad. But somehow, some way, we are drawn into this fictitious world, with unreal characters and impossible places, and still we are driven to care for them. To feel their pain as their world is raped by greed. It may be a bit similar plot-wise to other "going native" films, but who cares when your eyes are feasting on a special effects bonanza. Avatar really brings you into the world of Pandora and stirs your emotions. But not just in the film, but towards the world around you. It gets you thinking of the destruction we reap on our own planet every day in every way. On a fake planet made up a hundred light years away, and it still has the power to make you think of just how bad it can get on ours. Because our planet isn't fake. It's real. And we only get it once.

The story is emotive, the characters are varied and likable - and most of all believable even if most are computer generated - and the pace keeps moving along to keep you intrigued the whole time. I'd definitely recommend going to see it, as it really is a big-screen movie. You really do come away still thinking about the film, about the comparisons you can draw to our own lives, and that is why it is a great movie.