Avatar: A Review in 4K
Courtesy of Disney+
By Luke Weidenkopf
13 years after Avatar’s initial record-breaking release on December 18, 2009, Disney rereleased the highest grossing film of all time in theaters. Disney pushed for Avatar to only be shown in IMax 3D, the way it is supposed to be seen. James Cameron, the film’s director, also released a 4 minute preview of his upcoming sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which comes out later this year on December 16.
Cameron lives and dies by the belief that Avatar should only be seen in theaters,
“We authored it for the big screen,” said Cameron in a recent interview. He has only ever intended this franchise for theaters. “I want people to really get in there and feel like they’re there, on a journey with these characters.”
Many considered the rerelease of Avatar to be a waste of theater space, believeing that it would bomb in the box office. The doubters were severely disproven. Avatar smashed the box office, earning $10 million domestically and $20 million internationally. It earned more than the hotly anticipated, although very disappointing, Don’t Worry Darling (2022), which starred many A-list stars including: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, and Chris Pine.
I had never seen Avatar before and many people had questioned me asking me why. I always said that it was a movie designed for theaters and I just missed the cultural time to view it. I was 5 when it first came out and was too young to understand the film. I have since been waiting to see it on the big screen.
And am I glad I waited. I went to a 4k theater, equipped with moving seats which mirrored the film. For example, when Jake Sully is riding his banshee, the seats move like I was in his place (essentially like a standing roller coaster). The theater also had smoke which would burst out whenever an explosion popped on screen. Every seat was equipped with both water sprayers and seat mechanisms, so that when a character fell in water, the audience was sprayed with water. Whenever a character fell, I was punched in the back by my seat. The theater was designed to put the audience in the world of the movie.
The film itself is a visual masterpiece. It’s a cliché to say but is completely true. Pandora feels real. There were many times when I was watching the film where I questioned whether the Na’vi were CGI or real. It is simply breathtaking. It is a movie that was sculpted for the cinema.
The sound design is also outstanding. There are times when you can hear the beads in a character’s hair move as she slowly turns her head. Everything from a technical point is perfect.
The actual story itself is quite bland and generic. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, is a typical ex-military wounded soldier who doesn’t know where he belongs. His backstory is bland and he doesn’t evolve or change throughout the film. However, Sigourney Weaver gives an amazing performance as Grace Augustine, a doctor trying to save and communicate with the local Na’vi.
The film’s theme is not subtle or hidden at all. Cameron slaps you in the face with his theme and then punches you again to make sure you got it: it is wrong to move people unjustly from their homeland for commercial means. It is completely true, but Cameron’s way of communicating this makes the audience feel like a group of kindergarteners.
Avatar is a world bending, mind shattering visual epic but its poor character development and over the top narrative stops it from becoming an all time great. This film no doubt deserves to be seen in the theater and Cameron believes that its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, will capitalize on the initial success.
