2020-2029, Film Review

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Posted on December 16, 2022December 16, 2022 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

© 20th Century Studios, TSG Entertainment and Lightstorm Entertainment

Avatar: The Way of Water – Film Review

Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, CCH Pounder, Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss and Jack Champion

Director: James Cameron

Synopsis: After several years of peace, Jake Sully must do all he can when his adopted planet of Pandora comes under attack from a familiar foe…

Review: From an 80-page script drafted in 1994 to spending years crafting a constructed language and working with designers to design the world which came to be the planet of Pandora, James Cameron’s Avatar was a project long in the making. When it was finally released to the world in 2009, it became an instant cultural phenomenon, smashing box office records here, there and everywhere on its way to becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, a record it temporarily lost, but has since reclaimed after a brief tussle with the MCU. Such an accomplishment meant a sequel was inevitable, but as was the case with its predecessor, the sequel’s journey to the big screen has been beset with delays. Now, after a 13-year wait, it is finally time for audiences to return to Pandora, but was it worth the wait?

At least a decade has passed since the first film’s events, Jake (Worthington) having been permanently transferred into his Na’vi form, has started a family with Neytiri (Saldana), living peacefully raising their four children: Neteyam, Kiri, Lo’ak and Tukitrey. However, their peace is interrupted as the Sky People have returned, still desperate to utilise Pandora’s resources to save Earth. However, the mission has some added personal stakes for the humans as they are also out for revenge against Jake after he led the Na’vi to victory against them. Left with no choice, Jake and Neytiri are forced to relocate to take their family to a new region of Pandora, where they meet another Na’vi clan who, unlike the Omticaya, make their homes and livelihoods in the waters of Pandora.

When Avatar first came out, the one thing no one could deny was its utterly breathtaking visual effects combined with the pioneering motion capture technology. Combined together, these incredible feats of filmmaking brought the beauty of Pandora, its majesty, the Na’vi and the incredible array of characters which call this world home to life in a manner so vivid and fully realised, it could (almost) convince you Pandora is a planet which exists somewhere in the vast array of the universe. Yet, having played his card of wowing audiences with astounding immersive visuals once, surely Cameron and his team of visual effects artists could not outdo themselves to create even more impressive visual effects this time around?

Srane (Na’vi for yes), srane they can! By taking this sequel to a whole new section of Pandora, it gives them what is essentially a whole new world to play in and the cast and crew dive (pun definitely intended) straight into the opportunity. The world of performance capture has come a long way since Avatar was released, but Cameron once again goes one better by pioneering incredible technology with visual effects company Weta, enabling the cast and crew to utilise motion capture technology, while actually filming scenes underwater. These scenes illustrate the incredible power of this technology and are so stunning and mesmerising to look at, illustrating there aren’t many better companies than Weta when it comes to crafting stunning visual effects. No words in the English (or Na’vi) language can do justice to how immaculate these visuals look on screen, and they deserve to be seen on the biggest screen you can find in order to appreciate them in all of their stunning glory. They might as well start engraving the names of the artists on the respective visual effects awards trophies now.

While the film’s visuals certainly leap off the screen, they cannot do all the heavy lifting and there’s still a need for the cast to deliver the performances required to drive the narrative forward. The screenplay by Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, by expanding our horizons of what we know of Pandora, proved to be a smart decision, not just for the technology but for the story too. It puts the characters in a difficult position where they must learn to adapt to the ways in which this water-based Na’vi clan live their lives, which is especially hard for Jake and Neytiri’s children as their lives in the forest are all they have ever known. It is through their eyes that we see this acclimatisation to the new clan and their ways unfold. Each of these young actors’ performances (Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton and Trinity Jo-Li Bliss) shines through motion capture technology.

However, the biggest revelation here is the portrayal of Kiri by frequent Cameron collaborator Sigourney Weaver as Kiri. It might have seemed an odd choice to have the legendary actor play a 14-year-old Na’vi child, but through the magic of seemingly Eywa herself, it works wonders. Also returning from the first film (in a slightly different role) is Stephen Lang’s villainous Quaritch, now taking the form of the Na’vi to utilise their speed and strength as a weapon against them as he leads the charge for the humans in seeking revenge against Jake.

While the change in location serves the story up to a point, with the film coming in with a run time of 192 minutes, the film does struggles to justify such a lengthy run time with an imperfect second act. Furthermore, by putting the focus to such an extent on the young Na’vi children, certain important characters are relegated to bit-part roles. There is undoubtedly a familiarity in terms of the narrative, but when it is time for the Na’vi and the humans to clash once more, it remains utterly compelling and reinforces Cameron’s credentials as a master of crafting action. It might have taken a bit longer to return to Pandora than he would have liked. Still, when you have a director like Cameron in his element, pioneering ground-breaking performance capture and visual effects, all in the name of our entertainment, you just have to take your hat off to him and say, irayo (thank you).

While it can feel a bit repetitive in terms of its story, the long-awaited return to Pandora goes to extraordinary depths with stunningly immersive visuals which surpass its predecessor, reinforcing Cameron’s reputation as a master blockbuster filmmaker.

2010-2019, Film Review

A Monster Calls (2016)

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

A Monster Calls – Film Review

Cast: Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Kebbell, Liam Neeson

Director: J.A. Bayona

Synopsis: A young boy, battling with bullies and his mother’s terminal illness, finds an unlikely companion in a gigantic living tree, who teaches the boy tales about life.

Review: Growing up, no matter who you are, no matter your circumstances, is tough. Of course some may have it easier than others, but all of us as we leave our early years behind us enter a tricky phase in our lives, a period that is not exactly simple to negotiate. Now imagine if you’re in a situation where you’re frequently getting picked on at school, and your life at home is well difficult too, which again is something it is possible many out there have gone through. Yet what if, during these tricky and testing times, you were visited by a giant talking tree monster who came to you when you needed someone to talk to? That’s something certainly no one has ever had to experience, unless you’re the main character in this interesting delve into the fantasy genre, spliced with heartbreaking family drama.

Conor (MacDougall) is the boy in question battling all of these difficult situations in his life. Picked on by bullies, and with his mother (Jones) terminally ill due to cancer, his only solace is the titular “monster” a walking talking tree voiced and mo-capped by Liam Neeson, who in the dead of night, comes to Conor to tell him stories, all the while seeking to make the boy’s life happier. From a screenplay by Patrick Ness who also wrote the novel on which this is based, director J.A. Bayona steers this mesh of fantasy and real life drama and tragedy, into an extremely imaginative tale, that’s visually quite tremendous to watch, and gets some beautiful and emotional performances from its cast.

In what is only his second film role, MacDougall has much of the film riding on his shoulders, and for a young actor he rises to the challenge and does a tremendous job. He really conveys the unimaginable pain that someone in his position would be going through superbly well. Though his performance does wobble in parts, his emotion and rage against his circumstances ensure you feel for his character. Felicity Jones, on the back of Rogue One, gives also a very wounded and powerful performance as Conor’s mother. Though she is battling a terrible illness, she does her best to be positive and upbeat for her son’s benefit, and Jones could just potentially be a dark horse in this awards season race for best supporting actress. Signourney Weaver and Toby Kebbell do shine as Conor’s stern Grandmother and somewhat absentee Father respectively, but its Jones and MacDougall who are the leading lights, and they take home the acting plaudits.

There’s also the not so small matter of Neeson’s Tree Monster, a sort of Groot XL who can say a lot more than “I am Groot.” Through his booming voice and motion capture work, he brings the character to life brilliantly. Neeson has shown in the past he has quite the deep, powerful voice that has lent itself to the deity like figures of Zeus and Aslan, and as a tree like being, his voice and its deep tone is quite effective. It gives the tales that the Monster tells Conor really weight and ensures that they have the impact on the audience that undoubtedly the film makers wanted it to have. The tales themselves are told in a very intriguing manner, and doubt that it is extremely effective, at tugging at the audience heartstrings, and Bayona adapts the story beautifully, so much so that you might find it hard to fight back the tears once the credits begin to roll.

Visually breath-taking, combined with an emotional story that is not afraid to go in some dark and troubling places, that will hit home for anyone who has had a family member battling cancer, or experienced some rough years at school.

2000-2009, Film Review

Avatar (2009)

Posted on November 22, 2016July 10, 2019 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Image is property of 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Film Partners

Avatar Film Review

Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribsi, Joel David Moore, C. C. H. Pounder, Laz Alonso

Director: James Cameron

Synopsis: A paraplegic former marine is recruited as part of a mission on the alien world of Pandora, to drive a hybrid body known as an Avatar, and soon finds himself with conflicting thoughts as to where his loyalty truly lies.

Review: If ever you were to talk about certain directors and their passion projects, then for the mastermind behind Aliens and the first two exceptional Terminator films, James Cameron, Avatar is most certainly his passion project. Back in 1994, the director wrote an 80 page vision for the film, yet his vision could not be realised due to the limited technology that was available to him at the time. As such, the project was put on the back burner, but years later after going through much effort to create a rich and immersive world, and finally that vision was truly realised, and it certainly was worth it.

The world of Pandora is immediately visually absolutely stunning and breath taking to look at, it looks and feels as though Pandora could be a place somewhere out there in the universe. The terrain and the wildlife are all so rich in detail, it is incredible to watch, and the indigenous people of Pandora, the Na’vi are also equally beautifully realised, again they feel as though they could be a species that actually inhabits a planet somewhere out there in the reaches of the universe. Cameron went to great effort to create their language and his endeavour absolutely pays off. It is so authentic and so beautiful, if it was a real place, admit it, you would want to go there. The visual effects are truly magnificent and the film absolutely deservedly bagged an Oscar for its astounding visual effects, it was a game changer when released back in 2009 and remains the absolute pinnacle of what a film can achieve in terms of visual effects.

Of course, a film with pretty visuals looks great but, being all style and no substance wouldn’t be any good to anybody. Fortunately, that isn’t the case as the screenplay, penned by Cameron does have substance to it. At the heart of the story is Jake Sully (Worthington) who after a death in the family is recruited to the Avatar programme, an arm of the human operation on Pandora which is seeking possession of an extremely rare mineral. With use of said avatars, Jake becomes a part of the Na’vi clan and soon falls head over heels for the fierce and strong willed Neytiri (Saldana). Yet the love story is only one facet of the story, with many themes running through it, some of them could be perceived as being very political, but it drives home the message in an emphatic manner, carrying plenty of emotion and suspense with it, and James Horner’s score, is equally brilliant.

As a leading man, Worthington is functional, but he could have been a lot more compelling and less monotone would have been helpful. Saldana though shines as Neytiri, she’s very well developed and a very capable warrior who certainly can hold her own against anyone. The chemistry between the two leads is for the most part, solid, but it is a bit iffy in other parts. Signourney Weaver is also excellent as Grace Augstine, the head honcho of the Avatar programme. The humans here though are the main baddies with Parker Selfridge (Ribsi) and Miles Quaritch (Lang) the principal antagonists, with Lang being the standout as a gruff colonel who won’t take any bullshit from anybody. Cameron is one masterful director and here he helms the action to an impeccable quality. It is a rare feat to make the audience want to see members of its own species fail, but everyone watching should definitely be on Team Na’vi when the shit starts to go down.

Avatar certainly was responsible for the resurgence in 3D, and that certainly helped boost its numbers at the box office, as it smashed records here, there and everywhere taking just seventeen days to make one billion dollars, before eventually ending up with a total of nearly THREE billion, or 2.788 billion to be exact, to earn the title of the highest grossing film of all time, a title it has retained to this day, and it will take an almighty force (Star Wars?) to take that title away. Or maybe given Cameron is planning on return to Pandora at some point down the line, that title will remain with this franchise, whenever that sequel will eventually arrive in cinemas. One thing is for sure though, is when that sequel does arrive, there will be no shortage of people out there, keen to make a return to the vast and incredible world of Pandora.