Watching Avatar at Jordans IMAX was in every sense as spectacular as one could expect. The 3D effects were spectacular, with an astounding quantity of details packed into every frame.
The storyline is in every aspect built on the typical boiler plate, used in many movies like Dances with Wolves. The hero goes into a hostile territory, does soul searching are realizes that the evil is not where he ended up but from where he came from. He falls in love and stands up for what he believes in.
Then there are the usual cliches of developing a respect for nature, a nadir where defeat seems inevitable when the protagonists and his cohorts find the strength to stand up for themselves.
The minority who has not seen the movie are well advised to check out the scenes and contemplate the creation of effects of the movie rather than trying to get into the story. Director James Cameroon has indeed scored a big win in creating a beautiful world with human-like beings and wild beasts more fierce than any legends of the past have created.
Even the "normal" world where the protagonist comes from looks impressive in 3D with mamouth robots, futuristic fire power and sophisticated aircrafts. Indeed the critics were right when they said that it has changed movie making forever.
Cameroon has revived 3D and has struck a big home run for the film industry, in bringing back the movie experience to the theatres. We are already seeing the aftermath of this in that the two forthcoming Harry Potter films and the epic "Clash of the Titans" are all coming out in 3D.
In the meanwhile, Sony plans to bring the 3D experience to our living room, which is, as many pundits predict a risky move for the ailing electronics giant.
One other thing I liked about Avatar is that it did not take too may cheap shots always seen in other 3D movies, like bullets and daggers aimed at your face and the like. There is no need for such gimmicks anyway. The scenes are most impressive enough by themselves.
Except for Sigourney Weaver, there are hardly any big stars in the movie. This is probably a good thing, for the real star of the movie is the techhology that made it. Sure enough, there will be more like Avatar and there almost certainly will be a sequel. Hopefully, the screenplay for the sequel will be more imaginative than this one.
Nevertheless, I heartily recommend Avatar. It is not a movie to be missed.
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