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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

AVATAR (2009)

Directed by James Cameron
Starring Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Laz Alonso, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel Moore, Wes Studi, CCH Pounder, Dileep Rao, Matt Gerald

What is it with Cameron and the most expensive films ever made? Then again they have all grossed their budgets back many times over. Fans have been whining why did he leave a gap of 12 years between Titanic (1997) and now Avatar. Well Cameron hasn't really been scratching his ass but developing the new 3D-techology, creating Dark Angel TV series and directing few deep sea documentaries.

 Jake Sully (Worthington Clash Of The Titans, Terminator Salvation) is a paraplegic marine who is sent on a mission to a new world to investigate the indigenous humanoids called the Na'vi in order to evict them from their rich woodland for a precious metal scattered beneath the ground. The human scientists use avatar bodies which are grown from human DNA mixed with the DNA of the natives (direct quote I believe). As he gets deeper into his mission, Sully soon finds himself torn between his orders and his need to live in this new world he is growing to love as his real home.

 The story itself is obviously lifted right out of Pocahontas especially after Sully falls in love with the daughter (Saldana, Star Trek, who is never seen as herself but only as the motion capture version of Neytiri) of the native leader. The bad guy in the film, colonel Quaritch (Lang) is somewhat a standard nemesis but like a friend of mine so fittingly put it, if you have to have a clichéd character, do it wholeheartly. And Lang surely does. Cameron himself has said that he has made the film partially as a commentary on how the US goes all over the world to deprive the land of it's natural resources, usually oil. The commentary has valid basis in truth to say the least and deserves to be heard. But Avatar is far more than a political statement. It is also a glorious, breathtaking look into a beautiful new world.

 I can understand if some people can't relate or get into the film comletely because the argument is that the whole film looks just took much like computer graphics. Well, it is mostly done with a computer but the effects are stunning. Maybe it's also hard because your subconscious knows it's not real since there is no such planet as the depicted Pandora and it just keeps insisting that. For me, I don't care. Avatar is a nice tale although not too original but does that really matter? For some, sure. For me? No. Cameron is a master filmmaker and knows how to move the film forward. Granted, he is cocky as hell when it comes to his ego and personally I find that more than a bit vomit inducing but the fact of the matter is that Cameron is brilliant at what he does and in Avatar he has created a true cinematic classic. Deal with it.

KITEYTETTYNÄ SINIVALKOISILLE
Varmaan jokseenkin jokainen jota Avatar kiinnostaa tippaakaan on jo nähnyt elokuvan ja muodostanut jonkinlaisen mielipiteen siitä. Mitä niihin mielipiteisiin tulee, ne ovat näyttäneet jakaantuneen kirkkaasti kahtia. Avatar on joko yksi upeimmista elokuvista tai se on pelkkää kierrätettyä tietokoneanimaatio roskaa. Harmaata aluetta ei ole tullut vastaan. Omasta mielestäni tosiasia on että Cameron on tehnyt hienon, massiivisen elokuvan, joka näyttää upealta ja on ajoittain koskettava, mutta ennen kaikkea aina kiinnostava. Tarina on toki otettu suoraan Pocahontasista, mutta onko tuolla nyt niin väliä? Se soveltuu hyvin futuristiseen scifiin. Leffa on myös esimerkillisesti toteutettu seikkailuelokuva ja väittäisin sillä olevan tietystä näkökulmasta hyvin vähän tarinan kanssa tekemistä, sillä Avatar on pääasiassa puhdasta tirkistelyn halua uuteen maailmaan sekä kulttuurien ja intressien törmäämistä jotka johtavat konfliktiin. Aivan kuten omalla pallollamme luonnonvarojen ja uskonnon nimissä. Cameron on aina ollut nerokas toimintaohjaaja ja se näkyy nyt myös tässä filmissä nostaen jokaisessa miehessä pintaan sen 8v muksun joka leikkii sotaa. Naisille on toki Titanicin tapaan kiellettyä romantiikkaa ja aivan kuten Titanicissa, romanssin ja jännityksen yhdistelmä toimii saumattomasti. Erityiset bonuspisteet menevät Langille pahiksen roolista, jonka kanssa mies on selvästi pitänyt hauskaa. Kuten kuuluukin.

Avatar at IMDb

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