Avatar has so many things going for it, not least of which is James Cameron as director. The pros on Cameron in this context include his success in creating a vision for sci-fi epics such as Aliens or the Terminator movies, and one of my old favorites, The Abyss. Magical things happen in Avatar, and the camera captures it all, making you feel as if you are viewing something real instead of blue-screen technology and computer-generated images (CGI). Avatar sets the highest bar we've seen yet on CGI, and moviegoers' expectations have been forever raised as a result; expect to find yourself much more critical when comparing future productions against this film. Watching the camera move lovingly over the landscapes of Pandora, where the action in Avatar takes place, you might think you had stumbled on an episode of Nature, or some similar show. Cameron's obsession with depicting something alien pays off, with lots of small touches that remind you how far Pandora actually is from Kansas. Alien as it may be, Avatar feels like familiar territory for James Cameron fans. Whether it's his depiction of the thickheaded and misdirected military a la The Abyss, or his theme of seemingly impossible love a la Titanic, Cameron draws on all his accumulated skills. There are some familiar faces like Sigourney Weaver, and James Horner at one point pulls out the same muted brass lick in the soundtrack (during a particularly tense chase scene) that we can remember fueling some of the intense action of Aliens.
The more interesting departures from a simple action formula include attempts to weave in environmental protection and terrorism. The former works better than the latter, although the military forces in Avatar could easily be connected to the situation NATO and the US have now in many parts of the world, protecting corporate interests in the name of democracy... Cameron's environmentalist bent is obvious and he frequently draws upon it in Avatar, showing us a world where the natives live in harmony with their surroundings. Instead of magic, we have transferable consciousness and organic computing, concepts every bit as futuristic as spaceships and robotic suits. You won't believe us until you watch Avatar, but we didn't feel at all like 162 minutes had elapsed by the time the final credits rolled. Pacing is incredible, editing is tight, and there's plenty of story to keep you engaged. It's not like a few minutes cut here and there would have been missed, but we think Cameron made the right decision in giving the audience over to Pandora and its inhabitants for this long. Compared to a few of the longer epics that have hit theaters in recent years, Avatar was by far the best investment on date night. It's also a great investment for your collection, but we'd recommend this version only for the extremely cash-strapped, or for those trying to shop for gifts under $20. If you've got the scrilla, invest in the whole enchilada and get your chance to go even deeper into Avatar.
