James Cameron side effects of metformin hcl 500mg has done what I thought to be unachievable. Never did I think it was possible, nor had I even entertained the thought of it happening. But he’s done it. James Cameron has created a likable Michelle Rodriguez character. Bravo Mr. Cameron. BRAVO.
Ok, seriously. (Although I was being serious about Michelle Rodriguez. I have never liked her before in anything she’s been in, she was capable of borderline ruining a film for me.) I was lucky enough to snag tickets to a 3D IMAX preview of Avatar on “Avatar Day” (August 21st). I was extremely pumped as anyone else would be who has been following the progress of the movie for quite some time and hearing the rumors of the technology and 3D immersion. It was just under 20 minutes long, and it was a few different sequences cut together, completely out of context. I had not watched the released trailer yet, because I felt it would spoil the IMAX experience. I was also seeing District 9 right afterwards and was able to go from seeing the IMAX 3D preview of the Avatar trailer to the regular 2D trailer running prior to District 9. I knew right away that anyone comparing the two, or knocking the 2D trailer for it’s realism or “wow” factor were vastly uninformed. There’s no comparison to seeing it in 3D. This is not opinion, it’s fact.
After the metformin side effects 3D preview, I wanted more. 19 minutes wasn’t enough. I wanted back in Pandora. It was impressively real, and what amazed me the most was the landscape. That’s what was most showcased in the preview, and the detail and realism of Pandora was astounding. I kept trying to convince myself that Pandora was real, James Cameron discovered it, and he made so much money off of Titanic that Avatar was shot entirely on location. But alas, such is not the case.
For those who are unaware, Avatar is the story of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), ex-Marine and paraplegic. His recently deceased twin brother was a scientist working on a distant Pandora, but because they share the same DNA he was able to connect to the same avatar. Being an ex-Marine, he is sent to infiltrate the natives of Pandora, the Na’vi, and learn their ways and life and ultimately convince them to relocate to a different region of the planet because there’s a high concentration of unobtanium below their home within a great tree, simply called “Hometree.” Believed by the native Na’vi to be sent by their deity “Eywa,” Neytiri (Zoë Saldana) is charged by her father, the king of their tribe, to teach him the ways and language of their people. What starts out as a military reconnaissance mission turns into an emotional journey for a warrior suddenly falling in love with a culture, a new life, and of course, a girl.
Going in, my expectations couldn’t have been higher. I’m lucky enough to have a friend (my personal Avatar wikipedia and fact checker for this post) who worked on the production of the film for nearly 3 years. I never asked him details of the plot or story, or for any kind of spoilers, mostly because I didn’t want them, but also because I know exactly what a non-disclosure agreement means, especially on something as serious as Avatar. Instead we talked about the technology and why it was so important and what stereoscopic 3D meant for the medium, and other things along the effects nature. He even told me to buy tickets for consecutive shows, because once I see it, I’m going to want to stay in the theatre and watch it again. Unfortunately, I did not listen.
Seeing Avatar in IMAX 3D is like sitting on the opposite side of a viewing window and staring into an abyss of a world so rich and true that you are fully immersed in the realized vision of James Cameron. No matter what I say I can not aptly describe the experience of seeing this film in IMAX 3D. There is no substitute. Everything is so real and so vastly explored from the main characters to the indigenous wildlife on the planet. It is even the nature of Pandora that the trees form a connected network of life which the Na’vi are interconnected to and are one with. Nature is more than just alive; it acts as a complicated brain-like system on an unparalleled scale of any imaginable real life biological being. On some level, Avatar’s backdrop is as simple as a battle between man and nature.
Obviously I was impressed from the start, but what really hooked me was Sully’s first initiation to become a part of the Na’vi, or “The People,” or an Omaticayan. Any Na’vi hunter must have a Ikran, a bird-like creature, much in the same way every cowboy has it’s own horse, but on a much more connected, personal level. And much like a wild horse, an Ikran must be wrangled. Sully and the Na’vi climb to the skies on a floating mountain to where the Ikran rest and he must find one that he not only chooses, but one that also chooses him. When he tames the Ikran they take off flying through the floating mountains in a gorgeous array of sights of the Pandoran landscape. This to me, was the moment that I felt like I was just initiated into this world. I was totally hooked, totally invested, and along for any part of the ride to come.
For all those people who might try to knock Cameron on his dialogue and or the lack of story here, I have a few words for you. What the hell are you talking about? Sure, there were a few bad lines of dialogue, and I could have used without some of the standard Marine talk and Sully saying “bitch,” more than once. Outside of that I never felt anything was in any way a hindrance to the story. And anyone saying the story wasn’t original and the story was lacking? First of all, to say something unoriginal is basically an oxymoron. There is really no such thing as originality anymore. Every story is a derivation of another at its most primal level. Is Avatar not the same story as The Last Samurai or Dances With Wolves? Of course it is. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s the stranger in a strange land routine. We’ve all seen it before. But Cameron has created a world that is unique to anything else we’ve EVER seen, and even went as far to create a language that even further brings you into his world. If you can’t recognize that James Cameron is arguably the greatest storyteller working today than I guess Avatar, and maybe movies in general, are not for you.
And for me? I was there all the way. I felt like I was on the same emotional journey as Jake Sully. I felt for the Na’vi. I felt for Hometree and the Omaticaya. I felt that true struggle for Jake Sully, a born-and-bread Marine, suddenly feeling like everything he once knew and was trained to be was savage and inhumane. Avatar was everything I’d hoped it to be and more. I went to buy a ticket to see the next showing because I wanted to go back into Pandora as soon as possible, but unfortunately it was sold out. I was ready for another go, and maybe even another after that. I could have sat and watched Avatar as many as 3 times in a row and not gotten tired of it. To say that this is the most important film of the decade is an understatement. What Cameron was able to achieve (Michelle Rodriguez included) is a revelation. This is one of the most important films in the history of cinema. So it should come as no surprise to anyone when I post my “Top 100 of the Decade” list soon that Avatar will be sitting pretty atop at #1. And for what it’s worth, it should be numbers 2-5 also.
3D: 10/10. Pandora & Visual Effects: 2,465/10. Overall: 10/10.
I also award a Lifetime Achievement Walken Award to James Cameron for being the king of the world and making the impossible possible for 25 years and running.
Written & Directed by James Cameron. Cinematography by Mauro Fiore. Editing by John Refoua, Stephen E. Rivkin & James Cameron. Score by James Horner.
Also Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel Moore, Wes Studi, CCH Pounder and Laz Alonso.
