Avatar

Rating: ***1/2 (out of 4)
Cast: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver
Director: James Cameron

James Cameron has a taste for risky projects. He goes for mind-boggling budgeted projects. His 'Titanic' broke record as the most expensive film ever made in its time. Here he is again, after a more than 10 years hiatus from making feature film, 'Avatar' reportedly cost USD 300 million to make.

Hollywood directors are increasingly adept at burning money for special effects, often seemed like a massive waste. James Cameron is not one of them. In fact, he is a rare breed. He spends big money, giving the audience the kind of visual effects feast that they expect, and yet keeps his feet firmly on the ground and not get carried away. He is aware of his essential duty as a filmmaker to tell a story well, by establishing characters that connect to the audience, so that the expensive special effects are there with a purpose, in the context of the story. It matters to the audience what happened to the characters, who win, who lose, who died and who survived.

It was a USD 300 million well spent.

At 163 minutes, it doesn't feel long. It is absorbing, although not right from the beginning. It grows on you. It took its time to establish and develop its characters, and succeeded in sucking the audience into the story. When the final battle is staged, we were absorbed, and we were heartbroken when somebody got killed, we rejoiced with the final victory. (not a spoiler I supposed, a big-budgeted Hollywood production always end with the good guy winning)

Story wise, it isn't new. It is similar to 'The Last Samurai' and 'Dances with Wolves'. It is a tried-and-tested formula, but having said that, it is not probable to expect the studio who invested USD 300 million to experiment with an innovative untested story arc. Formula get re-used again and again simply because it works, so long as the film is well-crafted.

'Avatar' sure works, it is a crowd-pleaser, the kind of blockbuster that pulls in even the indifferent movie-goer who seldom visit the cinema, because the people around them are saying, 'You have got to watch 'Avatar''. And, it will not disappoint. Audience who attended the screening will feel satisfied, and fulfilling. It is not just a rousing entertainment. It is an effective entertainment with substance. It sends its green message, and it plays as a parable of human world conflict, such as the middle east conflict and the war against terrorism, or the exploitation of the native people by foreign intruder, or the relentless human greed under capitalism.

'Avatar' is a perfect example of how a mega film budget should be spent. We have been seeing too many awful special effects extravaganza in 2009, 'Transformers 2' and '2012' being some of the worst. 'Avatar' gave me a new hope; Hollywood still has someone who knows how to craft a good, expensive blockbuster.

If only we have more James Cameron.