For those of you that know me, beyond my reading and writing, I ran by the alias of 1920’s Movie Fan on Amazon. Really, the moniker should have been Obsessive Movie Fan. Beyond books, movies are my first love. I’m not talking the girly movies full of love scenes and angst, they’re not high on my list and it takes a lot to get me to sit down and watch one. Nope. I’m into action flicks with lots of gun play, thrills, karate moves, intrigue and action.
I know, it’s not what you would expect in the lines of a romance writer. **grin**
After all the hoopla on tv lately, I skipped out today and took off to see James Cameron’s Avatar with my younger boys. I had great expectations, having seen Aliens, Terminator 1 & 2, The Abyss, Titanic, just to name a few of his blockbuster hits. Cameron’s films always come rolling in, guns blasting, edge of your seat action, heart thrilling scenes and teeth gnashing bad guys. The exact thing I love.
Let me prepare you, this movie is two and a half hours long. It is not something you take a child under the age of eight to and expect them to sit still, unless they love video games and the entire idea of getting sucked into their own avatar.
I’m into XBOX 360 so, if you don’t know what an avatar is, here’s the definition compliments of Webster: the incarnation of a Hindu deity; an incarnation in human form; an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy)often in a person; a variant phase or version of a continuing basic entity; an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer user (as in a computer game).
That’s the entire idea behind this movie. An alternative life from the one that you may have now.
I’ll give you a heads-up, whatever bad you may hear about the movie, if you love Cameron’s work, ignore it.
Avatar starts out a little slow. If you’re a fan of NatGeo or The Discovery Channal programs, the start of the film involves the subject of basic ‘Living Among the Na’vi’. The Na’vi are the indigenous people thriving on Planet Pandora and their existence is being threatened by a major corporation that wants a crucial mineral that exists only on their homeland. There’s a purpose for this, if you have an open mind.
My thoughts: So-Called Civilized man-made it a point to habitat foreign lands and either convert or destroy the locals for their own gain. As always, the natives were refered to as savages, lacking any idea of the knowledge the civilized race brought them because they were just so backwards and ignorant.
Avatar explores the question: Would civilized man’s thinking change if it were another planet?
Cameron paraplegic hero, Jake Sully, has the opportunity to live among the Na’vi in an alternate reality. Jake molds, bonds and begins to understand. He sees this new world and the natives for what they are, far more intelligent than his counterparts believe. There is a bonding between the Na’vi and mother earth that is deep and profound, calling back to the tales we read from our own heritage.
This film is intriguing, beautiful, a dynamic explosion that bursts from the screen. The jungle, the wildlife,the Na’vi, the flora and fauna, there’s not enough words to describe the beauty of this movie. It’s has captured the most breathtaking and believable artistic sense I have seen in years.
The drama and the greed brought on by what the Na’vi have on their land is brought to light with the savagery that must have been experienced by the indigenous people that populated our own world in the time of discovery. Change or suffer the consequences, with the possibility of mass genocide by the so-called higher intelligence factor.
The hero, Jake Sully, has to decide what is more important. The life he knew or the life that exists only in his dreams.
I’ll leave you hanging there because I hate it when the review tells the entire story. All I can say was there was a hushed lull over the audience during the entire film, not a child cried, whimpered or whined. Not a soul bounded up and down the stairs seeking refills or a bathroom break. There was clapping throughout the audience when the credits rolled and my boys, ages 8 and 14, were among them.
Great, great movie to add to your future hits!
