| Avatar |
 |
 |
 |
 IMAX TheaterCathedral City January 17, 2010 Story by Allen Lawrence Avatar, which as of today the Number Two World Wide, and Number Three in the US, Box office hits, is playing at IMAX Theater in Cathedral City to capacity crowds. As a loyal Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan as well as a fan of Director James Cameron, I could not wait to see Avatar. While it might seem logical to go to see movies like this when it first opens, I was fearful that there would be long lines and hard to get into see Avatar so I decided to wait until it had played for a while, the crowds thinned out and the lines got shorter. Well, I was wrong. I chose today, January 17, 2010, a Sunday morning to show up at 10:30 A.M. to see the 12:30 P.M. Matinee and my timing was perfect. While the lines were long, I was number 15 in line and that assured me of getting a decent seating.
|
Well, to break the tension I have to say that the wait was well worth it. Avatar is a hit by any standards. If you are not into Science Fiction/Fantasy then it is also a love story at times a romantic comedy, a drama and most of all an incredibly unique cinema experience, a combination of excellent acting, incredible CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery), amazing scenery (even, if it is CGI), outstanding color and possibly, best of all a great story.
I have heard it said that there are no new stories left to be written and maybe this is true. Certainly Avatar could be considered a remake of a hundred stories of good guys and bad guys, shoot outs, bravery, coronate greed and clearly well written drama. I certainly could not disagree with any of that. Avatar takes on all of this, and much more. What I was most impressed by, beside the overall experience, was the use of CGI and 3D. The characters, both live and animated were believably real. You could see them as three dimensional beings with good and bad sides and with a deepness of the scenery that here before we could only see with our eyes and not up on the big screen, But yet, here it was, on the big screen, looking and feeling real as life itself, maybe even more real since it stood at least 20 feet tall before your eyes.
If in recent years movies seemed somewhat shallow and maybe even mindless I would guess it was because they have had very shallow messages, they were about fantasy, fun, raw evil, murder and sensationalism. Avatar is different. It is a movie that has a message within a message within a message. Many levels of messages from unique movie magic on the big screen to a plot that deals with corporate greed, man’s inhumanity to man and beast, and other creatures who differ from them. It is about interracial relationships, about love, about cross cultural relations and about, not to mention, what might be out there in the universe that we are still ill-prepared to meet and understand.
This story could take place in China, Vietnam, South America or Africa but it takes place on the planet of Pandora. Humans have all but destroyed Earth, because of greed, lack of interest in “mother Earth,” and now they have moved with space ships, helicopter gun ships, three-dimensional electronics and mercenary soldiers to Pandora to take what they feel they have a right to take no matter the price to the planet, the indigenous people or even their own people. In this environment one small group of rebels join with the indigenous people to fight back. And fight back they do. I am going to tell you no more since you really need to see it for yourself. If not for the political message, for the color, the grandeur, the 3D and its amazing CGI.
Whether this film wins an Oscar for any of its many advances or not, is really unimportant for it clearly will change the way movies will be made in the future. Like the movie UP, it carries a deep human message and may change the way you think and feel. It is a movie that will surely change the way you will vew other movies in the future. It is a movie that forever changes the direction and experience of cinema.
Avatar is PG13 and will be at the 
Avatar is also playing at the 
