Loved it!
A movie for which every animated moment was a tiny masterpiece. But then I don't find anyone at odds with the idea that this movie was visually stunning. That's what draws us out. It's the first movie to take full advantage of the new S3D technology that companies like Pixar and DreamWorks have been slapping haphazardly onto every one of their newest features. In the case of a movie like Monsters vs. Aliens, per a random example, it wasn't the movie I was gawking at but rather the technology. No. This movie is actually worthy of its techno medium, as the 3D isn't a crutch but just a compliment to groundbreaking visuals, one aspect of which that really stood out to me was the animation of facial expressions. My one personal issue with the final look of the film would be why are the 2D photographs and videos in the movie shown in the 3D? It's not a big deal. Just bothered me a little bit.No. No. And finally--no. I'm not going to critique the story for this movie. It was a tribute to a specific genre. One that I recognize fully. Despite the handful of naysayers out there nitpicking the plot, I felt the post-apocalyptic setting, the action, and even the (admittedly cliche) boss fight all fall perfectly into the niche for a science fiction tribute. These things are ubiquitous within the genre and so make perfect sense to me. None of it has to be some over-moralizing political statement or some strong opinion about the state of humanity. There are far more compelling stories that already do that in the genre. Avatar merely paves the way for those who haven't quite understood what SF was all about. Now, here's a movie that might help them understand.
For so many, science fiction is about immersing the mind in an unfamiliar environment in order to discover things from a perspective they never knew they could have. It's about the transition from human to something more. Discovering limitations and breaking through them. Finding your feet planted on the ground and then learning to fly.
For the most part, I agree with your assessment. Avatar was indeed visually stunning, and a true to form Milieu-structured tale. However, I feel certain characterizations could have been done better, aka less cliche', and certain aspects of the plot could have been, again, less cliche'.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, those weak areas are exactly what people who do not normally view/read this genre have issue with, and rightly so. They are looking for a good story beneath the effects. AVATAR didn't step up in that area. By mid-point, my husband and I had predicted the entire second half, sans a few minor details. In fact, we got so bored with the story, we had to make jokes about it to keep it lively between explosions and combat scenes.
Again, the visual experience was outstanding and the concept of the alien planet, how all the life inter-connected, was intriguing. But for me, it wasn't enough to keep me from rolling my eyes at the underlying plot.
I'll stop there because I'm planning on posting my own review on this (tomorrow, actually), and yes, I WILL be talking about the downfalls. When you hype up a movie that much, it better live up to the expectations. In some areas it did. In what I feel are the more important areas, it didn't.
~L