Avatar in 3D
My best friend and I went to see Avatar last night. I must say, I was impressed. I went in having no clue to what the movie was about and left eager to see a sequel. In a nutshell, this movie truly is worth seeing if you are into fantasy and Sci-Fi movies like Lord of the Rings (LOTR) or Star Trek. It brings a great mix of LOTR meets Aliens meets The Matrix with a small (very small) dose of District 9.
Directed by James Cameron (Aliens, Terminator, Dark Angel), Avatar is the story of a group of humans sent to a moon named Pandora to mine a very profitable mineral. You follow the story from the point of view of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former Marine Corporal sent to Pandora in the place of his dead twin brother.
Soon after his arrival on Pandora, you learn about the avatars they have been sent to operate. Avatars are genetic facsimiles infused with human DNA that are designed to give humans a medium to use in interactions with the indigenous humanoids called the Na’vi. They are the blue creatures that up until now I thought were all called Avatars. It turns out that only humans are avatars. The human avatar driver links with his or her genetically engineered avatar telepathically by lying in a machine that is a cross between a CAT scan machine and a pod from The Matrix. Once linked, the human becomes a Na’vi avatar, until he or she goes to sleep, which is when the human mind returns to it’s human body.
The team of avatar drivers is lead by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) who also has her own avatar. She, along with her team, take samples and perform experiments in the moon’s wilderness. Dr. Augustine also made headway with the native Na’vi and started a school, teaching English and giving medical aid. The humans want to relocate the Na’vi to another area so they can mine the earth beneath the Na’vi’s homeland.
That’s where the heart and plot of the story takes off, but if you want to learn how it ends, you’ll have to go see the movie yourself. Take a journey with Jake Sully as he learns the way of the Na’vi and fights for the survival of the native people. Classic story concept.
The classic story concept mixed with superb effects and computer graphics draw you into a world where you believe what you see is actually there. Adding the 3D experience only adds to the effect. I must say, however, that there is still a lot left to be desired by Real 3D. I wear glasses, so wearing 3D glasses on top of my normal glasses is always annoying. Also, try to get your seat to as close to the middle of the theater as possible. It gives the best experience. Too close, you loose some focus and have to turn your head from side to side a lot. Too far away and you start to feel distant and loose some of the cool factor.
All and all, this was a great movie that I would recommend to audiences high school and up. This is not a kids movie. Leave a comment, and share your thoughts about Avatar.
