‘Avatar’- A Sumptuous Visual Feast. Go Hog.

Nothing is going to quite prepare you for this. Reviews and promos are all right, but 10-15 minutes into the movie and you know that it was all inconsequential. Come to watch ‘Avatar’ with an open mind, because you are going to need all of it, just to keep pace with the events that unfold on the screen. Don’t even bother analyzing it. Because quite frankly you can analyze a movie, but how do you analyze or rate a wild extravagant joyride? So just put on your seat belts, hang on and relish the ride. Because you haven’t had such an experience in your life so far, neither are you going to have another one like this in near future.


The basic plot is not very intricate (please do not do injustice to yourself and the movie maker by focusing on the plot though). Its year 2154, and human beings have landed on a planet called Pandora. Their aim is to extract the rare mineral called, quite intriguingly, ‘unobtanium’. However, the native tribe called the ‘Navis’ inhabits the place having the richest deposits of the mineral. Human beings are faced with the situation of moving the tribe from there; either by gaining their confidence and seeking their co-operation or by using force (read war and extermination).

As a part of exercising the first option, the scientists have created this ‘avatars’ (part navi and part human). Every individual on ‘avatar’ mission has his or her own unique ‘avatar’ (corresponding to his/her own DNA). These ‘avatars’ are mind controlled by their corresponding humans by ‘plugging on’ (a la Matrix). Avatars then mingle with the Navis, in order to learn about them and eventually win them over and convince them to relocate. Jake Sully is an ex-marine who is on the avatar mission. He (or rather his avatar) is the one who gets closest to ways of the tribe and in winning their confidence. In the process he also falls in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) the daughter of head of the Navi tribe, and starts getting sympathetic to the cause and the rights of the tribe. However, the patience of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who is leading the attack forces is running thin, and decides to pull the plug on Jack and other avatars; and launch a full-fledged attack against the Navis. But Jack, with the help of a few others in the mission who are sympathetic to the cause of the Navis, manages to get back into his avatar and organize a massive defense against the human attack. Poetically, the Navis prevail in the war, mission gets curtailed and most of the humans leave Pandora for the good.

But ultimately and decidedly, this movie is all about one thing- Pandora, and one man- Pandora’s creator (James Cameron). From the moment when the camera sweeps over thick green vegetation in the opening sequence, you are left wide-eyed (literally and figuratively) and agape (you must and should watch this movie strictly in 3D only). After that, right throughout the movie, Pandora keeps opening up to you, one startling thing at a time. To say that Pandora, with all its vegetation & foliage and creatures (especially as seen in 3D) is mesmerizing would be an understatement of the millennium. There are luminescent flowers and trees, waterfalls, floating mountains. You have floating jelly fish look-alikes, horse like creatures with six legs and a snout, archaeopteryx like birds. There is so much thrown to you in every single shot. The screen doesn’t seem big enough to contain all the elements shown, and at times you are left trying to decide which side of the screen to focus your eyes on. Pandora is humongous. Pandora is whopping. Pandora is in your face (literally only). It is a never before visual extravaganza. Its like being a part of the most vivid and stark video game ever.

With James Cameron in the chair, you can also be sure of some futuristic gadgetry: transparent touch screens, transparent 3D simulation, futuristic choppers and jets, etc. The effects- like when Jack dives into the water, or as the Navis and avtaar go about nimbly jumping from one tree to another are simply awesome. This is taking CGI and movie making technology to an all new level.

There are also some ethical overtones thrown in. As the Colonel talks of ‘pre-emptive’ strikes to create some sort of ‘shock and awe’; you cannot but miss the subtle hints at America’s war-mongering policies. You are also hinted of the debate about nature’s conservation and the rights of various native tribes and people over their natural resources.

On the downside, the movie does tire you down a little bit in the second half, once the feeling of awe starts wearing off. Because quite honestly, you do not expect any joyride to last two and half hours; lest it starts getting dizzy. The internal (ethical) bickering of the humans and the later part of interaction between avtaars and Navis seems to lack a punch. The depiction of fairytale rituals of Navis looks insipid and threatens to create a drag on the movie.

Watch ‘Avatar’ just to see what new realms can movie-making touch. Watch it to appreciate and be awestruck by one man’s imagination and his audacity to capture it on screen. The make-believe has never been so breathtaking and overwhelming. ‘Avatar’ is one sumptuous visual feast. Go hog.

Rating: 4/5

2012 – A Clichéd Apocalypse

2012 is set in the backdrop of Mayan philosophy/calendar that the world will come to an end in 2012. However it is left upon an Indian scientist (played by Jimmy Mistry of Guru fame) to exactly pin point the precursor of the same. And as the apocalypse finally strikes, it is as usual left upon the great America to rescue the world, or in this case save a few thousand human beings to ensure the continuity of our species. The movie revolves around the characters who manage to escape the unprecedented destruction.

The movie - just like the director’s (Roland Emmerich) one of the previous ventures (Independence Day) - maintains its Indian connection. In this case however, the first scene of the movie is based in India itself. Also this time around, even China is shown to be playing a pivotal part in the movie. As if to some how reflect (and en-cash) upon the growing significance of these two countries. In 2009, an Indian scientist discovers that the temperatures in the coal mines have been increasing quite rapidly and beyond the expected range. He apotheosizes that more than usual level of solar eruptions are causing the otherwise neutral neutrinos to react with earth’s crust. Which in turn experiences changes, and is shrinking. By 2012 the crust would shrink so much, that the landforms would alter drastically and even the magnetic field at poles might get interchanged.

Cut to 2012 and to America, the earth suddenly starts behaving strangely – there are cracks every where and any where, as if the Kotla pitch is cracking up on the fourth day of a test match, but in this case the cracks run deeper, almost valley like. There are volcanoes accompanied by their distant cousin, the tsunamis. This sends the already tumultuous lives of the characters into more of a tizzy. John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis, a not-so-successful-writer-turned-limo-driver (what?? whatever!) who is divorced to Kate Curtis (Amanda Pete, ‘A Lot Like Love’). Kate is now living with Tom McCarthy and her two children.

As the apocalypse, comes visiting they try (successfully) to escape America and reach China (yes, enter the dragon) where the nations have been building something like a modern day Noah’s Ark, which has the strength to survive the dance of apocalypse and in case of a tsunami hitting, it would float over the waters. The escape sequence is typically Hollywood and full of crash-bam-thud that you have seen before umpteen times. Amidst the cries of ‘HANG ON’, Tom discovers that his one hour of flying lesson that he had once taken was good enough to fly them all across the world to China. They also come across a tenor-baritone-bass-whatever Russian boxer-turned-business-tycoon, his twin sons (wearing Shakira’s wig) and his keep (who in turn keeps a dog smaller than a large squirrel). (Woof).

You also have much clichéd American president, giving his much clichéd speech. You have an American scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor) delivering superlatively clichéd dialogues, like: ‘Humanity dies, when we stop fighting for each other’ or ‘Every one has the right to fight for his life’ etc. They some how manage to reach China and enter the ships and ride out the tsunami which almost crashes one of the ships into Mount Everest (what is the size of a tsunami by the way? SMS to win 2 grams of masala popcorn absolutely free). Ironically enough, the Indian scientist who first warned about the apocalypse doesn’t survive (so much for being a back office of the world). The high fives and ‘yes’es tell you that the movie is finally ending. Great. Give me five.

Don’t pin your expectations very high with this movie. The characters are pretty superficially built and lack any sort of intensity. The apocalypse plot is a much beaten one, and the makers of the movie failed to capitalize on the novelty and buzz around end of the world in 2012. The only saving grace of this movie is its graphics. It in-fact makes it a ‘decent watch’ overall, and saves it from becoming a forgettable one.

Watch this movie for the typical Hollywood adrenalin rush, if you haven’t had one in recent time.


Rating: 2.5/5