I have just seen it.
For those who don't want to read my rant: every bit of hype this movie is receiving is deserved and the expectations are met. It's an instant classic that bears repeat viewings.
Go see it.
For those who have a bit of time:
The four things that made the movie so amazing to me (by increasing order of importance
4 -
The special effects: CGI and Fxs are double edged swords. When overused or when used to cover the absence of a plot, you get
Transformer 2,
2012 or
Matrix Revolutions. You need to have the right balance between spectacular and eye-pleasing, and know when to stop piling it on or it comes off as overwhelming and gimmicky. Cameron was very clever: he used the Fx to
serve his story not to pump it full of steroids like the three examples I mentioned.
The animated characters are fascinating to look at, with every subtle expression and body language realistically rendered .
The visuals (especially the fauna) are simply awe-inspiring. When the movie end, you will be sad to leave such a magical universe.
3 -
The main characters: Cameron is one of the few directors in Hollywood who truly loves and respect women. All his movies have strong, independent yet fully feminine characters and Avatar gives one of his best so far (Neytiri, played by Saldana). All the main female roles are meaty and compelling, and I really related to that.
Sam Worthington is
incredible: quietly charismatic, subtly sensitive, charming, funny and incredibly sexy even as a blue cat-man. Those who saw him in
Terminator know that he can shine even when given crappy material, so imagine him in that.
As for the other characters, there is a decent amount of character development given the genre, but the baddies are really caricatured and one-dimensional (money guy wants money, army guy wants to blow things up, yawnnn). But it doesn't spoil the movie and, as I said, the women truly shine in it.
2 -
the storytelling: I say story telling not story because the plot is basic and you already know what will happen and how it will end just by watching the trailer. But it's irrelevant as what matters is not what the story is but
how the story is told. And it's told beautifully: the dialogues, the pace, the music: everything is just pitch perfect. There isn't a moment of dullness, there isn't a single scene that does not advance the character's development or the plot.
It's the kind of movie that can be watched over and over.
1 -
The Alien culture: the humanoid are acted and voiced by African-American actors, and their dress, facial features, way of life and religion (animism and shamanism) are all unmistakably pan-African. I found this amazing.
For once an American director who can look at traditional African cultures with a admiring eye, without paternalism or condescension.
I mean, do you remember that Spielberg movie
Amistad where the Africans (supposedly at the center of the story) were treated like props, without even having their language translated? That's pretty much how Hollywood looks at Africa, so the respectful and inspired way Cameron built the whole Na'vi culture, and made it so appealing was really the high point of the movie, and one of the reason this movie is groundbreaking in more ways than just visually.