"It is hard to fill a cup that is already full up."
In terms of characters, themes and emotional tone, Avatar is very much a James Cameron film, with frequent echoes of The Abyss, Aliens and (inevitably) Titanic. What is surprising is the lack of setting up - Avatar hits the ground running and is engaging right from the outset. Cameron's knack of crafting a narrative that constantly moves forward or intrigues is very evident here, making the running time feel comfortable rather than bloated. The richness, detail and immersive quality of the CGI and use of 3D is undeniably superb, and whilst it can never be utterly photorealistic (although this represents another leap forward) Avatar creates a fully-realised and credible world. The 'tree-hugger' moments are thankfully kept to the minimum, although Cameron is hardly subtle in getting his message across here. Careful and wholly successful casting (Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Giovanni Ribisi) in key roles gives the film dramatic weight, and whilst the actual plot is generally unremarkable, Avatar does provide a satisfying and fascinating journey for the viewer. For me, the only real weakness was James Horner's underwhelming score, but that came as no surprise and did not detract from the effectiveness of the film overall. Few films are ever likely to be developed and made on the level of budget and investment that Avatar enjoyed, but ultimately this is a tribute to James Cameron that he could craft a largely-CG film that cut through the negativity and once again showed the whole world what the cinema experience can give to the audience.
In terms of characters, themes and emotional tone, Avatar is very much a James Cameron film, with frequent echoes of The Abyss, Aliens and (inevitably) Titanic. What is surprising is the lack of setting up - Avatar hits the ground running and is engaging right from the outset. Cameron's knack of crafting a narrative that constantly moves forward or intrigues is very evident here, making the running time feel comfortable rather than bloated. The richness, detail and immersive quality of the CGI and use of 3D is undeniably superb, and whilst it can never be utterly photorealistic (although this represents another leap forward) Avatar creates a fully-realised and credible world. The 'tree-hugger' moments are thankfully kept to the minimum, although Cameron is hardly subtle in getting his message across here. Careful and wholly successful casting (Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Giovanni Ribisi) in key roles gives the film dramatic weight, and whilst the actual plot is generally unremarkable, Avatar does provide a satisfying and fascinating journey for the viewer. For me, the only real weakness was James Horner's underwhelming score, but that came as no surprise and did not detract from the effectiveness of the film overall. Few films are ever likely to be developed and made on the level of budget and investment that Avatar enjoyed, but ultimately this is a tribute to James Cameron that he could craft a largely-CG film that cut through the negativity and once again showed the whole world what the cinema experience can give to the audience.
2 comments:
How can a Director blind the audience of a dire plot and petty script just by putting his well known name in the title?
Never under-estimate the power of a global audience that fell for 'Titanic'....!
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