Up until recently, I had been under the impression that industry giant James Cameron was reduced to making a movie adaptation of this. This misconception was finally shattered when I saw the trailer for Avatar and it piqued my interest.
Fast forward to a few months later, I have watched the movie in cinema four times and now believe it to be one of the defining works of the decade. Though not perfect, (is anything ever?) Avatar is an awe-inspiring viewing experience that far exceeds any other productions of similar scale. And though it has done remarkably well in the box office, I still consider it to be a highly underrated title.
Keeping alive my tradition of writing about things only after everyone stops talking about them, here are my thoughts on James Cameron’s Avatar.
Story
Avatar has a pretty typical soft sci-fi kind of story. Large future corporation wants to exploit newly-discovered resource on an alien planet and intrudes upon and screws up the life of the native indigenous inhabitants. Maybe it’s influence from American history, but this kind of setting seems pretty common. In the movie, the planet is Pandora and the indigenous people are the Na’vi, a race of 3m-tall wide-eyed blue-skinned elfish-looking people who live in tribes harmoniously with nature. (Where have we heard that one before?)
The name “Avatar” comes from a science experiment being conducted as a side project by the mega-corporation, where human and Na’vi DNAs are combined to create Na’vi-like bodies that a human operator is able to remotely control. The goal of this experiment is to find a way to negotiate with the Na’vi and steal their planet’s resource legally, with Plan B being to blow every shit up. Of course, beyond the liberal tree-hugging scientist folks who seek knowledge and coexistence and all that jazz, the rest of the human colony on Pandora consists of former US Marines who seem to overwhelmingly prefer Plan B. America, fuck yeah!
The main character Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a crippled ex-Marine who ends up operating an Avatar due to the death of his brainier twin brother. He (or rather his Avatar) is sent to live among the Na’vi and learn from them. His love interest is Ney’tiri (Zoe Saldana), the daughter of chief of the Omaticaya Clan. Their romance follows the textbook boy-meets-alien-girl trope that is common in Hollywood and absolutely pervasive in anime.
The story is without a doubt the weakest part of Avatar. Highly predictable and formulaic, it is serviceable but nothing ground-breaking. The perceived liberal bias underlying the story has also drew criticisms from conservative commentators ever vigilant for Hollywood propaganda, who accuse the movie of being anti-technology, anti-humanity and anti-capitalism.
Personally, I find nothing wrong with the message of the story. It doesn’t preach against technology, but merely the abuse of it — after all the Avatars are themselves products of bio-engineering. It is also rather far-fetched to accuse it of being anti-humanity, considering not all human characters in the story behave selfishly.
Everyone cheered for the triumph of the human spirit over the technological might of the resource-hungry aliens in Independence Day (or was that movie anti-technology too?), so why not for the Na’vi who, in their brave stand against human colonists, display the very same spirit that we as sentient beings value so highly. To me, it is no different from cheering for the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in a WW2 flick. No one would accuse those films of being “anti-German”, and for good reason.
That said, I do think that the story could have presented a more balanced perspective of the conflict, particularly the fear and anxiety of the human colonists who find themselves besieged in a foreign land. In a way, in its current form, Avatar resembles an early WW2 movie where the moral superiority of the Allied forces is undisputed and the viewer knows exactly who the “bad guys” are. WW2 movies have since moved on and taken on subtler approaches in depicting the emotions of war. Perhaps the Avatar franchise will last long enough to do the same.
Visual
The main selling point of the movie has to be the visuals. Instead of filming in exotic tropical jungles and throwing in a few CGI alien creatures, James Cameron decided to digitally create the entire planet of Pandora. Such an undertaking is pretty insane compared to the industry-standard practice of digitally enhancing live-action footages (Ã la Lord of the Rings), a much cheaper method that usually produces more realistic results. The fact that James Cameron chose to do it all digitally at great expenses is testament to the strength of his vision.
That said, though the amount of effort that went into conceptualizing and animating the flora and fauna is impressive to ineffable extends, the alien-ness of the setting is somewhat dampened by the fact that almost every one of the critters has an Earth-bound equivalent. And don’t even get me started on how every planet in Hollywood history has two-eyed bipedal humanoid aliens. Still, the creature designs in Avatar were creative and detailed enough to make me overlook this fairly standard complaint.
More impressive is how the life-action footages and motion captures are integrated with the purely CGI environment. Actress Sigourney Weaver talked about her experience during a recent appearance on The Daily Show and from what I understand, Na’vi expressions were animated using facial data captured by head-mounted cameras on the actors. So not only do the actors do motion captures and voice overs as in traditional CG methods, they actually have to act out the scene with real expressions. I’m not sure how much of this is promotional hype and how much of it is actual working technology, but it does point to the future direction of such productions. (Are we looking at the primitive ancestors of Holodecks?)
Traditionally, there is a stigma against CGI characters amongst actors (somewhere between “they took our jobs!” and “they are destroying our artform!“), but Avatar’s filming technique presents a possible solution to this age-old conundrum, an opinion that is apparently shared by Signourney Weaver. In fact, not only does this technique help to mend the bruised egos of actors who are given CGI roles, it has the excellent advantage of overcoming the uncanny valley effect that is all to prevalent in such productions. Though not entirely perfect, the facial expressions of the Na’vi are very convincing and occasionally allow the audience to forget the fact that they are merely 3D models.
As a result, though the scenery of Pandora and the aerial battles are all very visually extravagant, I personally find Ney’tiri’s facial expressions and body gestures to be the most well-animated part of the entire movie. Zoe Saldana did an excellent job depicting the character and every single one of her facial nuances is perfectly captured by the fluid animation. Having watched the movie four times (once in 3D), Ney’tiri’s close-up shots always manage to fascinate me in how well they manage to naturally engage the audience without being conspicuous. Animation technology has come a long way since Gollum and the ill-fated Polar Express.
CGI characters have traditionally been relegated to take on the roles of villains and sidekicks, because the audience finds it difficult to empathize with animated characters bearing uncanny expressions. James Cameron challenged and defeated the status quo by not only making the Na’vi people believable and likeable, but having the audience emotionally associate itself with their struggle against human invaders. For that feat alone, Avatar deserves a ton of recognition.
Of course, the technology still has some way to go. Though the 3D environment and the characters look extremely realistic and believable during the daytime shots, night-time lighting still feels like a video game, partly because real-life night lighting is pretty much non-existent.
There are also very few scenes in the movie where both human and Na’vi characters appear on-screen at the same time because there still exists a jarring contrast between the two that serves to disillusion and emotionally distant the viewer from the Na’vi. This effect is most noticeable in three scenes: when Jake first wakes up in his Avatar body, when Ney’tiri touches the face of Jake’s human body and when Grace is being carried by Jake’s Avatar body.
This problem will have to be resolved by future technology advances if any Avatar sequel or prequel is to go into the intricate back-stories of human-Na’vi relations, where physical contact between the two races (and not just through Avatar medium) are inevitable. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole concept of “Avatar” was born to bypass this particular technical limitation by giving the story a reason to minimize contact between humans and Na’vi.
Setting
For a sci-fi epic, the back-story of Avatar is currently not very well developed. It is quite clear that a lot of planned content had to be cut from the movie due to its already lengthy 162-minute runtime. Although a few lines in the movie hint at the current state of Earth and past interactions between humans and Na’vi, much is left unexplained. However, I chalk this up to the limitation of the feature-film format rather than a lack of planning.
For example, the humans are on Pandora to mine for a mineral called Unobtainium. Though not explained in the movie dialogues, unobtainium is apparently a superconductor at room temperature, which explains the floating mountains of Pandora and their magnetic interference on electronic equipment. When considered in that context, it can be deduced that the giant artificial-looking ring structures that surround the Tree of Souls are in fact the hardened form of molten metals shaped by an underground magnetic field.
From such unmentioned details, it’s quite clear that a lot of background planning went into creating the world of Pandora and I can only hope that the subject will be further explored in future works.
Some questions that I have off the top of my head:
- Are the night-time lighting effects real light as perceivable by human eyes or a visual representation of Na’vi extra-sensory perceptions? I’m leaning towards the latter due to the fact that their footprints “glow”.
- Did the symbiotic relationship between the Na’vi people and their mounts evolve naturally? It’s hard to see how they manage to retain their inter-compatible organs through years of natural selection, especially in the case of the predatory flyer who has no survival incentive to enter such a relationship. That said, the concept is actually not that far-fetched.
- What happened to the English school that Grace founded for the natives?
- How did humans first discover and come to Pandora?
- What happened to Earth?
Another thing that absolutely fascinates me is the Na’vi language. Created by Paul Frommer, a Linguistic PhD at USC, it is a fully functional language that the actors had to learn for their roles in the movie. Based on a few interviews and articles by Dr. Frommer and the dialogues found in the movie, language enthusiasts have already assembled a partial learning guide to Na’vi.
Due to contractual issues, the full grammar and vocabulary of Na’vi are unlikely to be made available until a licensed language guide is published (which it eventually will be), but it’s amazing how much progress has been made so far by reverse engineering. For example, we know that the Na’vi have an octal number system as they only have four fingers on each hand. (By the way, the Avatars, being a mix of Na’vi and human genomes, have five fingers.)
A rich and imaginative back-story is the hallmark of any successful sci-fi epic. Although the movie Avatar has an apparently simple story, it can be seen from the examples above that there is much potential for the franchise to expand into a proper fictional universe, much as how Star Wars grew from Episode 4 into a full-fledged epic.
James Cameron mentioned that he has enough materials planned for three movies. I can certainly see potential for at least a prequel and a sequel to Avatar.
Conlusion
Avatar is a ground-breaking piece of work in its ability to create believable CGI characters that the audience can emotionally invest in. James Cameron has managed to break down a long-held line between live action and CGI and it is this achievement that Avatar should be remembered for. The movie was a huge gamble on the prowess of modern animation technology and its high-risk production method probably forced James Cameron to be more conventional in its other aspects (i.e. typical Hollywood blockbuster story-telling).
Hopefully, with its now established credentials and matured production techniques, the franchise can move on to more subtle storytelling and further explore the intricate history and culture of the Avatar universe.
By the way, I recommend everyone watch Avatar at least twice, especially if you watched the first time in 3D. In my opinion, the lost of visual fidelity and details for such a beautiful movie is not worth the gimmicky 3D effect that is only really effective in a few “long hallway” scenes. Watch the movie in 2D and take some time to appreciate the amazing details found in Ney’tiri’s every expression.
P.S. I want to learn Na’vi. Who’s with me?
“Avatar is a ground-breaking piece of work in its ability to create believable CGI characters that the audience can emotionally invest in.”
I watched it in 3D, but I have to say that is was this human-like expressions slightly put me off the film tbh. The Navi aren’t human but their expressions and facial structures are almost exactly human. Not a major problem but for some reason it was quite jarring.
As you pointed out though, the story is completely predictable, and for me that is certainly what kills the film. What do you get out of watching something you know what is going to happen? I did like the angle they took with the disabled guy but they spend so little time with him that it didn’t matter.
I never normally have a problem with emotionally investing in CGI/Anime characters but I really couldn’t care less what happened to the characters in Avatar. I can’t even remember half of their names, but when the lady who flew the ship died I didn’t care, when the leader of that Navi tribe died I was hoping the scene ended sooner.
When the red head was dying and they where chanting everyone in the cinema was laughing. I cared a little when she died but I knew it was coming.
So in all no I don’t want to learn Navi but if there is an Avatar 2 I will probably see it in 2D and save money.
P.S. 3D Subtitles are awesome.
Agree with you for the most part, DM.
I’ve remember hearing that Cameron said he was going to make two more sequels, if this movie was a success.
The -idea- of avatars being Na’vi versions of the human selves does go a long way in fostering audience empathy for the CGI characters.
Still, though, most of the Na’vi look the same. It feels like they’re all just clones of each other, which then tends to create this emotional distance again.
Somehow, certain things that appeared in the movie were remniscent of some other…controversial stuff. The movie itself reminded me of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Pocahontas.
Lol 3D subtitles rock, they’re like floating words in the middle of nowhere. I was at the side of the cinema so the subtitles looked strangely skewed, as did the rest of the supposedly wonderful 3d effects.
I couldn’t watch it in 2D because of the horribly late showtimes.
Wonder if it will look the same on my laptop screen though…..
I want to learn Na’vi too!
I just watched the movie last week, in 3D, and I have to agree with your article.
The story was so predictable I didn’t even need to follow the dialogue to go through it, and instead that really freed me up to appreciate the beauty of Pandora.
I will say, this is the first CGI + live action movie to successfully combine both aspects together in a smooth manner. Obviously there are some “uncanny valley” parts, but overall, the merge between CGI and live action was really smooth. I could almost believe the Hallelujah Mountains were actually real.
Aside from that, I am very impressed with James Cameron’s vision and perseverance in to making this movie. I read a very interesting article somewhere that stated he actually spent nearly 10 years to develop the cameras and technology required to make this film after Titanic and it truly has paid off.
I’m definitely looking forward to any future installments of Avatar, pretty much imminent since it’s already grossed over USD 1bn worldwide according to BBC. I just hope the story in the sequels will be much more compelling than the 2D-ness of the first movie.
Wow, 4 times? You must really like the movie ^^;
I saw Avatar in 3D last week and I while I was expecting very little from the movie, it turned out to be a pleasant experience. The story, while simple and predictable, wasn’t riddled with plotholes and shortcuts. The strange world and the Na’vi people were unique and intriguing. But it was really Ney’tiri that kept me interested ^^;
Definitely had flaws though. The movie slowed down in some areas and other parts of the film seemed entirely unnecessary. The whole scene with Grace dying and the chant made me think “wtf”. Her and a lot of the other side characters were not well developed and I had no interest or care for them.
You say the 3D version had less detail than the 2D version? I was wondering that myself. I probably will not see it again in the theater but will definitely look forward to a blu-ray release of it.
I’m also feel that the movie Avatar is really great but lots of my friends didn’t think so.
Most of my friend say that it’s being boring where the part James Cameron tried to introduce the world of Pandora to us the Viewer but I personally think that, Because we had been introduced so deep into their world so that we will understand how much they loved for their planet and so we will fell the angry of losing it.
Anyway, just watched it once in normal screening. Really wish to go for 3D screening again.
From what I’ve heard, this is the beginning of a series that’s going to span over 3 movies like you mentioned, but the next two will be prequels to this, in time-line descending order, so we may be seeing what happens before all this in due time. This is only what I’ve heard from word-of-mouth of some people close to the industry though, so take it with a grain of salt.
“Watch the movie in 2D and take some time to appreciate the amazing details found in Ney’tiri’s every expression.”
Erm…. just go and watch a live action movie instead?
And like the “amazing details” will be more amazing if you watch the movie “at least twice”. Seriously, wtf?
In my experience, I don’t usually get to take the time to appreciate the details in the first viewing because I am paying attention to what is happening to the story. Perhaps you are able to do both at the same time, but you won’t know for sure until you view the movie again.
And really, what is wrong with appreciating how close to reality animation can get? Do you also have a beef against photo-realistic paintings? I mean, why don’t those people stop wasting their time and just use a camera?
You narrowed your mind and missed the point. I can’t fill a cup that is already full. ;)
Minor spoiler alert in here, people.
Interesting assessment, darkmirage.
Originally, when I saw the trailer, I thought to myself “Oh god. What a predictable movie, I’d rather watch Sherlock Holmes.” However, my Mom got really into it, and decided she wanted to see it.
So I went in the theater somewhat biased against the movie, convinced it would turn out like crap.
I was wrong.
I agree that the visuals are the strongest aspect of the show. They really draw the person in, and the effort spent on the landscape definitely pays off.
That said, I do wish that the natives would have lost the fight, considering that would be in-line with colonialism in the real world (as much as I like the Na’vi, I was jumping with joy when they blew up their home, convincing myself there would be a tragic ending), but I guess in order to make the audience feel good inside, they had to end it well.
Funny Moment of this colourful blob( when i saw it )
DONT READ IF U HAVE WANT FOR MORE THEN 2 TIMES
the follow may content bad spelling and grammer + bais-nessss
When you see those animal that spin around (orange helicopter thing)
and someone scream ROFLCOPTER!
when the MC conneted his martix wire in to the horse and the MFC was decribing the connection “feel her strong front leg” and “Ride her steady” ( i noe it is immature)
Grace Death scene “Need to get… speciment”
To WoW player, and u noe what i mean there is jokes about Night elf that u can relate in this movie ( or they are like smurf with just more girl in it what u like the most)
there is more but i cant think of any
weird bits
even thought i watch the movie in 3d i though some of the effect wasnt needed like 3d dirt flying to people’s face.
how this movie is like a copy of some good movie;
Navi usb stick= Matrix head cable
Fern Gully was the based of this story ( i think)(i believe it is ok to copy idea here and there but to think such a expensive production with the story taken 15yrs to write, you would think that the sotry would have more deeper meaning to it like giving the human a strong reason to go to the planet or more info on the planet itself
Lord of the ring create a whole world
horrible bits
navi with human faces making out
http://poststuff2.entensity.net/010610/image.php?pic=avatar.jpg
Actually, the night lighting would make sense in the context of Pandora.
Pandora itself is a moon of the gas giant Polyphemus. As we see from several night sky shots, the giant takes up a large proportion of the sky. That the reflected light off the surface of the giant would light up much of Pandora’s night is something that is very plausible. Its blue colour also explains why much of the Pandora night is tinged in blue.
Still haven’t come up with a satisfactory explanation to all the bioluminescence though.
>watched 4 times
>high praises about it like every other fag
>hurr derp this show is underrated
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So I ended up seeing this twice; once in a regular theatre, 2D and then again on IMAX 3D. I must say, that Imax 3D blew me away. I feel like as that’s really how James Cameron intended the film to viewed, and was really waiting for 3D movie technology to come to fruition to release this film, the visuals can’t really be fully appreciated in 2D. In 2D the avatars still looked fake, flat, and the expressions looked fabricated. In 3D it was incredibly and wonderfully different, with fully fleshed out features and expressions. In 2D you can’t really appreciate the detail that went into the construction of Pandora, and all you have to focus on is the rather mediocre-at-best plot. That was my take at least.
In terms of the details of the movie I do agree that it seems there were parts that were evidently left out, and since Cameron is a perfectionist I’m not surprised at all to hear that so much was thought out. As much as I think a prequel would be nice to satisfy the detail-pickers out there, I don’t think that it would happen, just because you wouldn’t have Jake and Neytiri running around together on Pandora. As much as people gripe about the plot, for the most part it seems everyone got quite attached to the main characters and their pairing. From what I’ve heard at least one of the sequels will be the two of them exploring Pandora more which means more pretty glowing thingys.
In terms of the footprint thing, I actually think it might be a response of the plant itself. There are plants which do respond in physical or biochemical ways to pressure, so it wouldn’t be too farfetched for plant matter to fluoresce in response to the pressure of a footstep.
I still know a handful of people who haven’t seen it yet, so I’ll probably end up seeing it at least one more time.
Another (interesting) angle:
http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/100204
Unfortunately I had it compared to Pocahontas before I saw it courtesy of fail blog. So half the time I was going “Pocahontas.” “Pocahontas….” “Pocahontas!” “Pocahontas!!” “Pocahontas……….”. Not like I said it, but I was thinking it anyway.
i also had the unfortunate exposure to the comparison of pocahontas, though the art is of course commendable (i did have fun making fun of the story though)
I lol’ed when you described it as ‘underrated’…
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carpets and mattingse produced in many attractive designs and heart winning workmanship it has been tailored
to fit the sleeve closer to the end. When dryers break and families
need to save room clothing for thhe growth of this industry.
Communication lines are always oen and dealers and franchisers can expect that they would review the textile industry’s petition. We wonder whether any of the numerous websites dedicated to clothes, shopping and fashion.