Première of "Avatar"

On Wednesday I went to the cinema in Tel Aviv together with Yoram to see James Cameron's "Avatar". In case you want an experience full of surprises and unpredictability, then this is nothing for you, but if you enjoy beautifully produced science fiction, then you are up for a treat.

The theme is classic, an educational story about an energy conglomerate who wants to exploit the planet Pandora for an extremely valuable mineral called unobtainium, all on the expense of its native inhabitants. Pandora is inhabited by a humanoid species, the Na'vi, who by first glance seem primitive, but who really lives in a highly evolved symbiosis with a huge planetary network which connects the spiritual consciousness of all life. The rest of the ingredients are self-evident. Protagonist meets Na'vi girl, falls in love, gets enlightened about real values and morals and ends up fighting the exploiters, who are backed up by a military force, including a fierce colonel who serves as the main antagonist in the final battle between good and evil. The message is of course of high importance, to cherish the wonders of nature instead of ruthlessly exploit limited resources, but it feels like this theme has become a bit devalued and I wonder how many people really sucked the message in and brought it home to incorporate it in their principal attitude towards life.

The strength of the movie was no doubt the animations. All Pandora creatures were very well-made and there was no evident boundary between actors and animations. What in daylight seemed like an Earth-like forest, was during the night revealing itself as a colourful fluorescing fairyland that would make any trance party organiser green with envy. The movie was filmed with newly developed stereoscopic cameras that simulate human sight, and you get the 3D effect using polarizing glasses. However, I am stereoblind from birth and therefore not able to enjoy the 3D effects. I can experience occasional sensations of depth when I watch it, but it is very limited. Yoram, though, claimed that the 3D effects were quite amazing.

For the science fiction fans this is a must, but if you want a lot out of the story it is a pretty weak movie, but no one can take away that it is amazingly beautiful!