The 4th Annual James Horner Blogathon – Avatar (2009) – Encore Review

This is the first of 3 reviews that are part of The 4th Annual Remembering James Horner Blogathon hosted by Becca over at Film Music Central . Tnx for letting me participate!

–

“This is how it’s done. When people are sittin’ on sh*t that you want, you make ’em your enemy. Then you’re justified in taking it.” – Jake Sully

Number of Times Seen – 4 (20 Dec 2009, Sep 2012, 22 Jun 2014 and 18 Jun 2019)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – In the distant future, a crippled former soldier takes the place of his deceased scientist twin brother on a mission to an alien planet in order to be a part of a program that helps to understand the native population.

My Take on it – This is a film that I have seen numerous times and have loved it each and every time because it is done on such an epic scale.

This movie is able to show the world the true potential of special effects and technology in a story and allows the viewer to experience an amazingly realistic looking alien world that is unique in its appearance, atmosphere and even its structure.

James Cameron has proven time and again how great a writer and director he is and in this film, he tales us to a place whee we can inhale so much about this new world and at the same time make us believe the various causes that the characters are fighting for (or against).

The creatures, aliens and even the technology presented to us in this futuristic world are wondrous to look at due to the special effects helping create the illusion that these things are part of reality and it draws the viewer in quite deeply to a very compelling story.

The plot structure of this film is slightly reminiscent of other films, most notably Dances With Wolves (1990) but that just enhances the story instead of taking away from it.

The Directors Cut of this film is around 3 hours and this version allows for us to learn so much more about everything happening on this alien planet.

It also develops the background of the characters and their individual stories in much more comprehensive way which helps make things even more enjoyable to watch.

The music by James Horner is superb in this film and it is able to be quite powerful since it fits in so well with the them of the story’s plight and helps enhance the love story aspect of things.

Check it out here:

The love theme I see you is also amazing and deserved much more attention then it got at the awards shows.

It gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to it because it’s such a powerful song.

Check it out here:

Cameron has stated for years that this story is incomplete and that he has plans to make numerous sequels.

It’s taken more time that the trip to Pandora (numerous times so far) for him to realize these sequels yet there are rumors that we should get to see them in the next few years.

Let’s hope that they continue along with the excellence of the story line of this film and don’t wander off on silly tangents.

This isn’t a prefect film but it still does a wonderful job showing us how far films can go with the right imagination and funding of course. 🙂

Bottom Line – Amazing film that shows the true potential of special effects and technology as they create an amazingly realistic alien world for the story to take place. Cameron is an amazing writer and director and lets us take in so much of this new world that he has created while also making us believe in the various causes that the characters are involved in. The creatures, aliens and even technology of the future are created so amazingly via special effects and draw us so far into this compelling story. The plot structure is reminiscent of other films, namely Dances With Wolves (1990), but that doesn’t take much away from the impact of such a story. The three hour run time of the Director Cut allows us to learn so much more about things on this alien planet and the backgrounds of the characters and develops the story even deeper for us to enjoy. The music by Horner is superb and although it isn’t as gripping as some of his other work on epics, it fits in really well with the story and is able to add so much to the suspense and more importantly the love theme of the film. The film’s song I See You is spectacular and gives me goosebumps whenever I hear it. Unfortunately the continuation of this story has taken longer than numerous trips to Pandora but it still leaves much curiosity as to how Cameron plans to continue this story. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Director James Cameron, known for being tough on set, allegedly kept a nail-gun on set that he would use to nail cell phones, that had the misfortune of ringing, to a wall above the exit sign. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10) (no change from original review)