Yes, my son and I finally saw this movie! We were originally going to see it over the holiday break, probably while visiting m family in upstate New York. Figured it would be a nice treat to take him to see that movie, which we could both enjoy. But the holiday planned wound up being cancelled because of a fiasco, as first my girlfriend, and then my son himself (and his mom, or my ex-wife) got sick. Turns out that they tested negative for Covid, although my girlfriend tested positive, which forced me into quarantine for that week, even though I, too, tested negative.
So we still wanted to see the movie. And finally, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we got to see it at the Imax at the Palisades Center in West Nyack, New York. And let me just say that I have been to some cool Imax theaters, where it felt like it was almost a planetarium, it was so big. And this was not like that at all. The movie tickets were double the price of regular movies, and the screen was barely much bigger than an average movie screen. What IU am trying to say, if you have not figured it out yet, is do not go to see this movie at the Imax, at least not the one in West Nyack.
Anyway, yes, we did see this movie. I remember seeing the first one in the theaters - how could anybody forget? - but my son had seen it only when he was quite young, and did not remember it too much. So I dug up my DVD of the movie, and he watched the first one the night before. I kept going between watching that movie with him and the end of the rather riveting Giants-Vikings game on Sunday afternoon/evening.
On Monday, since he had off from school for MLK Day, we went to see the new Avatar movie.
How was it?
It's everything that you could want in a movie. Some people I know complained about how long it runs. To me, though, I think that a longer movie is not necessarily a bad thing, if it is a good movie. And this, like the first one, is a very good movie.
The themes are simple. Much like the first one, this one is a predictable enough story. No, I will not give any spoilers here just yet. Perhaps I will do a spoiler version at a later date.
However, it is a great movie, and one that has something to say about our modern world and struggles. It is not giving anything away, of course, to mention that this story is supposed to take place in the not too distant future, when the human race has reached another planet (or is it a moon of a large planet?) perhaps in a century and a half from now. Quite typically, we begin to ruthlessly exploit that planet's resources, and are basically doing that against the wishes of the natives, or the tall, blue-skinned people who are in the movie promos and such. There are some obvious similarities with our modern culture and the clashes that it has had for many centuries now with native, aboriginal peoples in the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Pacific islands, and Australia.
One thing: I had heard that the CGI in this movie is extremely good. That you cannot even tell that it is CGI. And this is actually quite true. It was one of the reasons that I made a point of taking my son to see it a the IMAX. It is amazing, and the other special effects are something to behold, as well.
Ultimately, I believe that this was a successful follow-up to the first Avatar movie. As many people have noted, it took a long time - a very long time, even - for this second movie to come. But it was worth the wait. It packs some real emotional punches, offers some surprises and some interesting side stories and rivalries to go along with the main stories. There are both similarities and differences between this and the first one, although this one takes place primarily in the water, much like the title would suggest. Yes, it's over three hours, and yes, it is dominated by CGI. But it is extremely well done, and it is worth seeing.
Definitely highly recommended!
No comments:
Post a Comment