Avatar

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray

Release: April 22, 2010

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 162 Minutes

"A reluctant hero. An epic journey. A choice between the life he left behind and the incredible new world he's learned to call home. Return to James Cameron's Avatar -- the greatest adventure of all time."

If you haven't heard of Avatar by now, I don't know what to tell you. James Cameron has done it again. First, by breaking box office records with Titanic, and now 12 years later with Avatar. This movie has made almost $2.8 BILLION worldwide!

The Movie:

When you mention this movie, there are only going to be two different types of responses. Either "I loved it," or "I hated it." I loved it. Yes, the story is very clichéd and you can compare it to some older movies (aka"Dances with Wolves"), but James Cameron tells the story so well, it doesn't matter. From the moment the movie starts, you are taken away and captivated by Pandora. Sure the movie may suffer from a few bumps along the way, but its nothing that won't be address and accounted for (atleast, I hope) once the sequel comes out in 2014, which I'm already looking forward to.

This epic sci-fi movie takes place in the year 2154 on a planet called Pandora. The RDA corporation, led by Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) is in search of a valuable mineral called "unobtanium" which happens to be located beneath the surface on Pandora. Pandora is inhabited by natives that are called the "Na'vi," which happen to be 10-foot tall, blue-skinned species. To obtain these minerals, the scientists on board are growing their own Na'vi-human hybrids, called "Avatars," that are operated through mental links and genetically matching humans in tanning bed-like devices.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic Marine, has joined the RDA in replace of his twin brother that had been murdered. Joined by anthropologist, Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), and led by the head of the Avatar program, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the three of them enter into their Avatar forms and go into the forests of Pandora to collect biological samples.

After an attack that leaves them separated, Jake is rescued by female Na'vi, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Neytiri is later instructed by her mother to teach Jake their ways, which leads to their bonding and inevitable relationship.

As he finds acceptance among the Na'vi, and also the ability to walk, Jake eventually learns that Colonel Miles Quatrich (Stephen Lang) is planning on attacking and killing whatever gets in their way of the forest and the natural resources that they have came for. The battle over Pandora leads to Na'vi versus machine. Who will win? Who do you think!

Now if there's one thing James Cameron does well, it's that he knows how to cast the right people. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Joel David Moore, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi (eventhough his chracter reminded me of Ari from Entourage), Stephen Lang and, of course, Sigourney Weaver all were tremendous in their roles. Especially Zoe!

The technology that went into this film, is nothing that you have seen before. Cameron has re-raised the bar for CGI and 3-D and it's gonna be a while before we see someone that can pull-off something as well as Cameron has done here again. I was really impressed with the high detail in the CGI. It is really hard to tell, and almost unbelievable that Pandora isn't real and that the Na'vi aren't real.

What I really liked about Avatar was the way Cameron filmed it. Knowing that all of Neytiri's moves and facial responses were done by state-of-the-art motion capture, it just gives it a more real feel to the movie. Just like with Lord of the Rings' Gollum. Gollum was a CGI character but was motion captured by Andy Serkis. The difference here is that Zoe Saldana was actually acting in front of the camera while it was being filmed, but when you look into the camera you don't see Zoe, you see Neytiri. Again, Cameron is a technical genius!

Now, unfortunately, this release DOES NOT include the 3-D version. That probably wont be available until the end of 2010, or early 2011. BUT, again, this movie shines on Blu-ray, and Blu-Ray owners will not be disappointed with this release.

Presentation:

This film is presented in full 1080p with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. To say this movie is visual perfection is still an understatement, but that's what you are going to see! Being that it was shot digitally, there is not a single bit of grain to be found. The image is crisp and the colors are gorgeous! This movie is exactly what you want to show your friends as a "demo" disc when showing off Blu-ray to them. I've seen well over 300 movies on Blu-ray and this is, by far, the best one to be placed into my machine. For almost three hours, my jaw was dropped at how perfect this looks. Every little detail can be seen from up close to far away. It's really hard to believe that Pandora is actually CGI and not real.

Audio:

You might be too distracted by the amazing visuals of Pandora and the Na'vi, but as amazing as this movie looks, it sounds just as good. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sounds spectacular! Again, this movie is demo material! There's also Dolby Digital 5.1 in Spanish, French, Portuguese and English.

Bonus Material:

There are no bonus features on this edition. However, Cameron has already stated that there will be a multidisc special edition coming out later this year.

Bottom Line:

Well, it is the BIGGEST movie of all-time. It has only been out for FOUR days and Avatar has sold over 6.7 million copies on DVD and Blu-ray! You have to see this movie. Even if you know you aren't going to like it, you have to give it the benefit of the doubt! If you have an HDTV, please do yourself the favor and watch this in HD/Blu-ray!