12-22-2009, 03:49 PM
At the Cinema: Avatar
... But not in 3D
My grandson & I braved the crowds to see Avatar, and I was pleasantly surprised -- it was better than expected. This is not to say that this is a great film, or paragon of story telling, for it is not. The story is very derivative of several other films and is filled with the expected stock characters (Nobel Savages, Bad Ass Colonel, Sympathetic Scientists, etc. etc. etc.) Indeed, the film bears more than a passing resemblance to an old Outer Limits episode written by Robert Town (China Town) and starring Robert Duvall. Chameleon is a lot of fun, well done for a low budget 1960's B&W TV series, and in fact a more sophisticated story than that being told in Avatar.
However...
Avatar is a milestone in cinema history if only for the technical skill on display (thanks to Weta and ILM) and for the imaginative world Cameron has envisioned. The CGI is very impressive, but often it is very obvious that this is animation and it looks like animation. Perhaps I will return to watch it in 3D and see for myself if that hype (and the $500 Million spent) are well deserved/used. I do not think 3D in and of itself, is critical to story telling. Just another tool that might help tell the story but can not make a non-story into something it is not.
Suffice it to say it was an enjoyable 2.5 hours, the grandson had a great time, and that does count for something. This film will not "change" Hollywood in the same way that say Star Wars and George Lucas have, but that's OK.
:wink:
Narukami
... But not in 3D
My grandson & I braved the crowds to see Avatar, and I was pleasantly surprised -- it was better than expected. This is not to say that this is a great film, or paragon of story telling, for it is not. The story is very derivative of several other films and is filled with the expected stock characters (Nobel Savages, Bad Ass Colonel, Sympathetic Scientists, etc. etc. etc.) Indeed, the film bears more than a passing resemblance to an old Outer Limits episode written by Robert Town (China Town) and starring Robert Duvall. Chameleon is a lot of fun, well done for a low budget 1960's B&W TV series, and in fact a more sophisticated story than that being told in Avatar.
However...
Avatar is a milestone in cinema history if only for the technical skill on display (thanks to Weta and ILM) and for the imaginative world Cameron has envisioned. The CGI is very impressive, but often it is very obvious that this is animation and it looks like animation. Perhaps I will return to watch it in 3D and see for myself if that hype (and the $500 Million spent) are well deserved/used. I do not think 3D in and of itself, is critical to story telling. Just another tool that might help tell the story but can not make a non-story into something it is not.
Suffice it to say it was an enjoyable 2.5 hours, the grandson had a great time, and that does count for something. This film will not "change" Hollywood in the same way that say Star Wars and George Lucas have, but that's OK.
:wink:
Narukami
David Reinke
Burbank CA
Burbank CA
