Blue MoonSo the wait is finally over. After months, and quite honestly what felt like years, of buzz and teases, we are finally treated to the real thing. I went in with a heavy amount of suspicion and skepticism, as I generally do, with this film. Anything that is this talked about should have the thought in the back of your mind that it's going not going to live up to your expectations. And as the lights dimmed, and I had my Urkel style 3D glasses wrapped around my head, I was just laying back ready for anything to show up on the gigantic IMAX screen. What I was treated to was Dances with Wolves meets FernGully. However, do not be mistaken by that comparison. I fell in love with this film for offering an abundant visual spectacle against a story that is both parts exhilarating and tedious.
It's one hundred and fifty years into the future, and Earth is going through an implied energy crisis. The solution is to mine a precious mineral out of a distant moon called Pandora. The problem is that the natives, twelve foot, blue creatures called the Na'vi, aren't willing to give up their home without a fight. A private corporation uses some military men to do the dirty work, leading the pack with Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang). On the diplomatic side is Sigourney Weaver and her "Avatar" program, which uses lab grown Na'vi bodies to link up to the human mind. Sam Worthington is paraplegic marine Jake Sully whose deceased twin brother was a part of the Avatar program. This allows him to use the Avatar successfully. What happens from here is a budding romance between Jake on one native named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and a final battle between the Na'vi and the military forces.
James Cameron is a man that seems incapable of making a bad film. However, he's gotten a bad rap, justly I'm afraid, for his tardiness on delivering a new narrative film after the mega success of Titanic twelve years ago. But here he reminds us why he's such a celebrated filmmaker. Cameron's eye as a director is one that is rich and visually stimulating, and he constantly fills the frame with a wealth of interesting images. Cameron is a man who knows how to tell an interesting story and let his characters help guide the story among the exceedingly excellent visual effects.
Still, I would have to say that the premise of Cameron's script is better than the actual execution. The film is peppered with corny dialogue and the final battle carries on for quite a while. This has been an issue with all of Cameron's scripts, and his invention and imagination as a director is sometimes undermined by his shallowness as a writer. However, this isn't to say that the script is bad; in fact, there are many moments in which the story and premise offer interesting paths to take. It's in the execution of the dialogue and the overindulgence in some of the set pieces that gets in the way of it becoming a perfect film.
Worthington has been popping up here and there for a while, and he was undoubtedly the best thing in Terminator: Salvation. Here he presents another performance that embodies that everyman quality that is essential for an action movie. Worthington is slowly becoming a household name, and his performance is one that is easy to become involved in the story. Other players like Weaver, Saldana, Lang, Joel Moore as a fellow Avatar compatriot, and Laz Alonso as a high ranking Avatar warrior are also good additions to the cast, though a few like Giovanni Ribisi as the weaselly corporate big head is a little off. But then, this isn't a film to see for the acting.
But, there is an element to the acting that is worth seeing. The greatest mark the film has to offer is the performance capture used to its fullest advantage. All the emotional markings on a face, both grand and minute, are perfectly captured here. I think this is where Zemeckis and his company wants to go in his films, and even though I like his films, there shy in extreme comparison to what is achieved here. You feel these computer generated characters in the same way you would respond to a live action one, and as the film goes on (and on, and on), you forget you're watching a CG creation. That is a miraculous gift a film can bestow on an audience.
Some of the scripts flaws do prevent it from being a truly great film, but there's enough here to offer a great time at the show. The visual spectacle alone makes this a film worth seeing, but there is also enough in the story and acting that keeps one in the seats at all times. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect before I walked in, but after I walked out, I knew what I had seen was fantastic, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was a marvelous film from a genius in the medium. Congratulations Mr. Cameron, just don't take another twelve year break for us to get another reminder of that genius. ***1/2 / ****; GRADE: A-
Acting OutI've talked a lot about whether or not a single good performance is enough to recommend an entire film. This comes up in many films, mostly comedies. Though some recent examples have included The Reader and The Road. Both of those movies had powerhouse performances from their leads, but it ultimately wasn't enough to recommend the film as a whole. This is another film that features one great performance. However, there's also enough here within the rest of the ensemble and the execution of the film to find a very enjoyable movie.
Zac Efron, most known to tweeners everywhere as the headliner of the High School Musical franchise, plays Richard Samuels, an ambitious high school senior in 1937 New York with dreams of fame, fortune and acting. While downtown, he crosses path with a theatre company putting on a modernist retelling of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and the man directing the play as well as starring as Brutus is a young Orson Welles (Christian McKay), a good four years before he became a huge success with the release of the now classic Citizen Kane. Welles is an egotistical maniac, but extremely brilliant, and the entire company tiptoes around his erratic behavior. Samueles also has a budding romance with the Welles's chief assistant Sonja (Claire Danes).
The main reason to see this film is because of McKay. It's a daunting task trying to take on a role of someone as known as Welles, and McKay does a perfect job. He captures the voice and look of Welles, but he doesn't simply do an imitation. He makes Welles an actual character, not just a dramatic set piece in the background. McKay puts in an incredible amount of passion and energy, to the point where it actually feels like your watching the famous actor/director on the screen once again. He gives us as Orson Welles that we've always remembered, and it's a commanding performance deserving of all its acclaim.
The rest of the cast is good, though nowhere near the level of greatness that McKay offers. Efron is trying to breakout of his trap in the Disney musicals, and he does show enough charm and likability to be taken seriously as an actor. Although, if he wants many good notices in the future, it would be nice to have him get roles that don't shoehorn in unnecessary musical numbers, as is done here, particularly when Efron's popstar voice doesn't gel well with the '30s atmosphere. Danes is all smiles and charms, and she gives another well done performance here.
Director Richard Linklater and writers Holly and Vincent Palmo perfectly create a world in that feels genuine to the time period, but there are times when the story feels like it meanders, and the goal at the end of the picture doesn't feel like its that important. The execution of the play is fascinating, but it doesn't feel like there's much value there. The whole film has a lot of whimsy and charm, but there isn't much beyond the surface. The story isn't much and the only thing that's here is pretty much here is a group of individuals trying to put on a play that never reaches the sense of importance or greatness that the film is telling us. Still, it's a trip that is enjoyable pretty much all the way through.
The film's far from perfect, but there's still plenty to enjoy in this film. The cast is able to carry the premise, and while the story isn't always on task, the atmosphere still plants you in a carefree world that feels genuine. Add all that to the miraculous performance by Christian McKay, who deserves an Oscar nomination, and you've got a film that mines plenty of praise to warrant a recommendation. I don't think this would be a great film without McKay, but it's a pretty good one with him. ***1/2 / ****; GRADE: B+
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