Expectations can be a funny thing, something I’ve discovered with the work of James Cameron. Having not yet seen Titanic, I saw Avatar this past December anticipating it being, as many people had told me, and incredible experience. For the first hour or so they were right, but then something strange happened: I got used to the groundbreaking special effects. I began to pay more attention to the story and characters, and when the film ended I had grown tired of the film, and I was anticipating what would happen before it did. The last 45 minutes are as incredibly predictable as anything I’ve seen in recent years, and while the visuals were admittedly stunning, I was left hungry for more meat of the incredibly flashy bone. If the blog had started before it came out and I reviewed it, I likely would have awarded it 2.5 stars, which is not wholly negative but compared to what I anticipated it was quite a disappointment.
Then I saw Titanic expecting a similarly hollow film, but was pleasantly surprised. It was not perfect, but I found it an impressive and infinitely more engaging experience from front to back, likely due to the work of actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. I expect great things from one film and it disappoints, while I expect little from a different film and it impresses. This led me to wonder that if I did not go into Avatar expecting to be blown into next week, maybe my opinion would change. This is not something that could be solved by a viewing on DVD, as any pleasure I derived from the film was from the 3-D effects.
Now, when most people do not love a film rarely do they look to see it again. In fact, just the other week my brother decided to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on HBO. I hated the film the first time, but it couldn’t be worse, could it? Yes. All it did was emphasize its place as an instant migraine-inducer. However, when a special edition of Avatar was announced, I vowed to go and see it again in its natural 3-D environment, thus giving the film a second chance to win me over.
Much to my surprise I found myself much more forgiving of the film’s flaws, which are still very much prevalent, particularly in the final third. Part of this could be the format I saw it in, which is called XD, or Extreme Digital. Anything with “extreme” in the title has to be worth it, and I figured if the top-of-the-line technology didn’t do it for me nothing would. The picture was absolutely brilliant from front-to-back, and the breathtaking visuals were even more striking. The first time I saw the film in normal 3-D I got used to it about an hour in, but in XD I never really got over it. Another plus was that the XD auditorium has LEATHER SEATS. I wasn’t sure if I was watching a movie or sitting in a lounge.
As for the supposed “extra 8 minutes” of footage, well you got me there. There was not a scene that grabbed my attention as being completely new. From what I understood the mating scene between Jake and Neytiri was supposed to be extended, but it didn’t strike me as any longer than my first viewing. However, like the first time, it felt like an hour simply because it’s so awkwardly staged and placed. It’s not The Room-level awkward, but it’s as close as ultra-expensive Hollywood blockbusters get.
However, this film is still far from perfect, and my enjoyment came from the absolutely flawless visuals. Cameron creates such an incredible world here, and the XD format lets you see every last centimeter of the picture with minute detail. I am much more willing to accept it as a breakthrough of visual filmmaking now, but it works best when the plot is ignored. Around the 100-minute mark Cameron goes into autopilot, piling cliché on top of cliché and yet he seems convinced he’s being innovative. The final battle scene is impressive-looking, but as far as structure is concerned it is entirely by-the-numbers. At the end of the day it might as well be titled Dances With Ferngully. (see below)
The love story also keeps the movie down significantly, mostly because the likes of Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana aren’t exactly Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It’s not that I think their performances are bad, but at the end of the day the Na’vi aren’t human, no matter how much they are able to emote more than the average movie Smurf. Either way, even if it was a human relationship rather than a Na’vi it still wouldn’t have worked for me. Movie romances always come down to the basic rule that they must feel like they could actually happen, and not that they’re happening because they are the two leads. Titanic was able to pass that test, and in part perhaps what Cameron started with Titanic led him to feel obligated to shoe in a Titanic-esque love story, which in Avatar is thoroughly unconvincing.
Releasing this film again is a cash-grab of gargantuan proportions, and James Cameron has justified this by saying that the release of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland in March cut into some of Avatar’s profits. Seriously. However, on some level it’s a wise move. People may not have been able to see it in 3-D, and I know a couple who have only seen it on DVD. If I had seen it merely on a television screen or even in 2-D, I would have found it unbearably banal. If you haven’t seen Avatar in 3-D, then you haven’t seen Avatar, and that is the only movie I can think of where that applies. In nearly every other project 3-D is a gimmick that not only costs more but usually darkens the picture and leads to a rather unpleasant experience. Somehow, Cameron has made 3-D look richer and brighter. Sometimes it turns out going bigger is also better.
I do understand that Avatar is the number one film of all time for a reason, and that is because it holds a definite universal appeal. It follows the basic crowd-pleasing plot structure beat-by-beat without fail, and that nearly always works with the public. I hold no grudges against Avatar, and in fact after this second viewing I hold it in a mildly high regard, if only for the undeniable technical achievements throughout. Despite my numerous reservations, if you were to ask me about Avatar, and whether or not you’d like it, chances are you probably will. Just as long as you see it the right way.
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