AVATAR: Larger Than Life

Since I saw Avatar in the Solana Theatre for the first time this afternoon, it’s pretty much consumed my thoughts, stimulated my curiosity, and exhilarated my imagination to a whole new level. I walked in without any expectations, not knowing anything about the story line or what to expect. And as soon as the movie was over, I could not stop repeating the phrase “Best movie EVER!” It probably didn’t help that the people I came with had already seen Avatar three times.

I’m probably one of a very small minority of people who have waited this long to see Avatar. And never have I agreed more to the saying, ‘All Good Things Are Worth Waiting For.’

I think the last time I was so excited about a movie was when ’300′ came out 3 years ago. And as much as I loved that movie, I don’t think I was already setting another date to go re-watch it within the week. Today is Friday and I’m booking a date to go again on Sunday to watch it in an IMAX theatre. It’s no wonder Avatar has surpassed Titanic as the highest grossing film in history, taking more than $2 Billion worldwide. Avatar has become a cultural phenomenon.

More than the beautiful imagery and the revolutionary, high-tech special effects (costing over USD$500 million, making it the most expensive film ever made), and epic storyline, the movie is an experience. With 20 years in the making and nothing since Titanic more than a decade ago, James Cameron has outdone himself and exceeded all expectations with Avatar.

Avatar shows you a world beyond imagination, an incredibly beautiful world called Pandora with mystical forests, waterfalls, and floating mountains, a place that illuminates in the evening and is filled with fantastical animals and sacred trees. It’s a place where the natives are blue and 10-feet tall and you learn that balance is the key to all life and everything in this world is alive and connected as a collaboration of energies where every individual has something to contribute. (This part eerily resembles Pocahontas, with the exception that Pandora is an alien world and actually toxic to anything coming from Earth).

Basic Synopsis:

Starring Aussie actor Sam Worthington, Avatar tells the epic tale of a paralyzed ex-marine, Jake Sully, who is recruited to enter Pandora as a Na’vi native, through a genetically engineered body called an avatar, so that he can infiltrate the Na’vi clan and convince them to move from their home which happens to be on a precious mineral mine, which can save the Earth’s energy crisis. Rather than fulfill his mission, he finds his place as a member of the Na’vi clan, falls in love with their princess, and leads the Pandoran natives in an epic battle against Earth’s humans.

Best Part:

• Revolutionary High-Tech Effects invented specifically to satisfy James Cameron’s vision
• Avatar introduces you to a world beyond imagination with majestic forests and landscapes, unique creatures and wildlife, flora & fauna
• Avatar takes you on an epic adventure with a perfect balance of action, theory, romance, and evil.
• I love Sam Worthington and he is perfectly cast for this role
• This cinematic experience is so good, I guarantee you will want to watch it again and again. If not, I insist there is something wrong with you.

Comments:

• Storyline is a hybrid of Pocahontas and The Matrix. A bit predictable, but still incredibly moving to deliver a powerful message to a mass audience.
• Due to Chinese censorship, they cut out the sex scene! I can only presume to assume that when they do it, their hair follicles will also connect.
• You MUST see this movie in theatre, preferably in an IMAX theatre (but book ahead)

• English with Chinese subtitles (which is bad if you can’t read Chinese b/c there are quite a few times when the native Na’vi people are speaking in their native language and there are no English subtitles available)
• If you become addicted/obsessed with AVATAR, just remember: MegaBox at Sanlitun is half-price on Tuesdays! Only RMB 40 per ticket

Food for Thought:

With such a larger-than-life movie, it’s expected to receive a diversity of responses – people who love it, hate it, people over-analyzing, people questioning the underlying symbolism and spirituality.

For anyone who has negative things to say about Avatar, I condemn your judgment and question your sanity.  But then again, there are those who are actually losing their sanity after seeing Avatar and claiming to become depressed that ‘Avatar’ is not real.

From an article on CNN:

James Cameron’s completely immersive spectacle “Avatar” may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

A post by a user called Elequin expresses an almost obsessive relationship with the film: “That’s all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about ‘Avatar.’ I guess that helps. It’s so hard I can’t force myself to think that it’s just a movie, and to get over it, that living like the Na’vi will never happen. I think I need a rebound movie,” Elequin posted.

A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site “Naviblue” that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie: “Ever since I went to see ‘Avatar’ I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it,” Mike posted. “I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and where everything is the same as in ‘Avatar.’ “

As much as I would love to be a native Na’vi on Pandora just to connect my hair follicles to claim my very own flying dragon to ride around floating mountains, I do not become depressed at the thought of how my life pales in comparison to a fictional movie.

Maybe these “depressed” people need to take off their 3D glasses and stick to 2D screens. Urgh, it’s the crazy people like this on Planet Earth that make me desire the reality of another planet to live on rather than the concept of Pandora itself.

I suppose someone more insightful can see how my cynicism here reflects my Atheist beliefs, which brings me back to how the film is actually packed with spiritual symbolism and religious connotations – with people comparing Jesus to an “Avatar,” the concept of having one mate for life after you have chosen the right person to mate with, and when Jake prays to the sacred tree and his prayers are answered when all the native animals step in to attack after all the people are defeated.

And yet, the storyline is appealing to mass audiences, myself included, which I think actually enhances people’s fantasies and search for meaning and truth.

The difference in my search is not in comparing the movie to my reality, but in my quest to understand how in this fantasy world, humans on Earth first discovered Pandora, planted themselves a base camp, and how to create Avatars.

I suppose I must wait for my questions to be answered when they get the Avatar Trilogy Series going.  I just hope the producers don’t flop the trilogy series the way they flopped Star Wars and Matrix.

Fingers Crossed.