Okay… I said to my honey. Let's watch this silly cartoony movie.
Needless to say, I was blow away. Put not entirely. There was one snafu. But first. The visuals are stupendous. Fabulous color and dimension that draws you in to the characters. Almost memorizing graphics. Something new, for sure, in the way a story is told. That's where I had a tiny issue.
It is the story of triumph over adversity. That's always a good. It inspires me. I love movies that have a happy ending. I have had my share of teary and dying stories, so I'd rather pass. But I can't seem to get away from it.
So I really liked the romance and happy intertwined with the struggle and what some would call triumph. But except for a few moments, it felt like something I already saw. Maybe District 9 where you also have Si-Fi characters, invasion scenes and triumph over struggle. The plots just seemed familiar.
Yes, I know the visual styles were very different. Both movies had ruthless characters and awesome action scenes. Transformations left me either curious as to the ongoing story (good for part II) or a little sad and wondering about the character. I guess ending a movie on "what happens next" is the epitome of good movie-making.
I think I liked Avatar most for the meaning. It was only ever so slightly mentioned. Not a key focus or point. But, the Avatar characters did talk about how the humans had destroyed their planet. I felt the life on the screen. Trees, plants, strange animals that seemed to understand the circle of life. The food chain. But the creatures that populated the land brought me thinking about my role in life. About the greater being or protector that guards my life. Hmmm. It's bewildering.
This movie makes me ask myself, "Am I alone?" "Does my circle of family and friends support me like these colorful characters in the story?" [Golly Almighty] Do I do my part to support my friends and family? I sure hope so, but I will think on this, blog, and report back.
Anytime a movie that enters my space for a couple of hours and successfully makes me forget that I am sitting in my own home… well, that's magic. Add to this, the sights and sounds that tickle and delight, and it's a movie I want to tell my friends about.
In fact, I did tell my daughter about Avatar. She had not watched it for the same reason that I had initially been turned off by it. Too mystical and what I call cartoony, at least from the previews. Movie trailers sometimes give off the wrong impression. But given the world-wide acclaim, these movie-makers probably didn't give this issue much thought.
As far as I know, my daughter has still not seen Avatar on the big screen or rented the DVD to watch at home. I know it's not my problem, but I wonder how much money these guys are leaving on the table by not making a better movie trailer. There much be hundreds and thousands of movie-goers who rejected Avatar on appearance only.
Well, blog, I'll be recalling the inspiring messages that I got from this movie for weeks and months to come. I recommend this movie to friends and family.