Avatar

Yes, an entire blog entry. It was that cool. You see, I went to go see Avatar tonight. In IMAX 3D, no less. And it was amazing. Really.

First of all, the scenery was amazing. Second of all, it was nice to see someone who is differently abled as a hero, not just politically correctly speaking. It's never explained how Sully lost the use of his legs, but it's shown that he's just as capable with them as without them. Not only does he not ask for any help, but he refuses it when it's offered. And he doesn't need it. Third of all, the motion capture work showed, it really did. Facial expressions looked real, movements for all the animals were realistic (though I'm not quite sure how feasible it is for horse-like and wolf-like creatures to have six legs), and the crowds weren't just copy-pasted. Fourth of all, it was set up like a true epic. The plot was conventional (easily accessible) but still left room for variance.

I would say one of the few complaints I had about the movie was the excessive scenery porn. I mean, I appreciate that there was some detail put into the environments, but really, I don't think plants bioluminesce in anger when they're stepped on IRL. I also don't think some of those scenes needed to take as long as they did. We get it. They're doing whatever. Also, I found some of the characterization (well, most of it) to be subpar. There was no depth to the villains, and that disappointed me. I mean, it's an epic, so I understand that for the viewer to empathize with the heroes, the villains need to be hated and not understood, but for me, I appreciate a villain who's as sympathetic as the hero. YMMV, however.

Probably going to see it again this weekend in regular 2D just to compare. I don't mind throwing my money at this; it deserves it. Most fun I've had at a movie in a very long time. PSA to everyone: You will enjoy this movie.

- Jen -