Open Letter: Avatar could effin’ blow your effin’ mind

Dear Readers,

Statutory Warning: Please fasten your seat belts lest you don’t jump out of your seats to catch the atrokirina (seeds of the holy tree) flying in front of you.’

Please abide by this statutory warning or you could end up making a complete mockery of yourself in the theatre while watching the 3D version of Avatar. I did not follow that and soon realized it was the screen which had come alive due to the brilliance of advanced movie technology and the director James Cameron. Only after watching the movie did I realize why Cameron had waited for 15 years to make this movie. The state of the art movie technology wouldn’t have been possible 15 years back. This is not exactly a review of the movie. It is rather an appreciation of the stunning visual affects you experience in the movie. However please do watch it in 3D. I for one have watched both the 2D and the 3D versions and would recommend that to get the true essence of the movie watch it in 3D.

The world of Pandora is the idyllic land of fantasy where we see luminous fauna, the great Leonopteryx swooping down from the mountains and several other gigantic animals and birds reminiscent of the pre historic age, the floating ‘hallelujah’ mountains and the pandoran tribe of huge blue bodied humanoid ‘the Na’vi.’ As we travel with Jake we have the same fascination in our eyes for the phantasmagoric world of Pandora.

A simple story shown in epic proportions Avatar is about an alien species being saved by the heroics of one human being. The Na’vi tribe lives in the earth like Pandora which is a moon to the planet polyphemus. The tribe lives in close contact with the nature. The humans want to obtain the mineral unobtanium which will solve all their energy related problems. But for that they have to reallocate the tribe to some other place and hence assign a crippled marine, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), with the task of talking the tribe out of their habitat. As humans cannot survive on this planet a genetically modified body of a Na’vian (Avatar) has been created through which Sam associates contact with the Na’vi’s. A love story also develops between Jake and the Na’vi princess Neytiri (Joe Saldana) in the scope of the movie. What Cameron has done is that he has drawn in direct context from the current geopolitical conditions: the exploitation of natural resources, the increasing power of the corporate world, the use of military power against the weak, racial discrimination etc. From Saldana to Worthington to Sigourney Weaver to Michelle Rodriguez to Giovanni Ribisi to Stephen Lang, everyone has played their part very well in the movie but it is the vision of Cameron which needs to get the highest applause. The 3D effect just bombards your mind leaving you awestruck.

James Cameron is a master exponent of action sequences as we have seen in his earlier movies. He doesn’t disappoint us in this movie as in the climax when bullets come rushing towards you. The sound track of the movie has been done by James Horner and stands out quite well.

Avatar will always be remembered as the movie which steered a new revolution in the world of cinema. Many would say that this is not the best movie made in 2009 but I would say that if you have ever dreamt of a fantasy land this is the movie you need to watch and sadly if you have never dreamt of any fantasy land please watch it; you will soon start dreaming. Watch it for the sheer cinematic experience!

P.S: Please be careful if you are under the influence of any form of intoxication. It might enhance your movie viewing capabilities.

Yours truly,

The Reviewer

EOM

Written by my old school friend – Rajkamal. Also please do read my post on Avatar here.

Tagged as: Avatar, Guest Writer, Movies, Rant, Sci Fi