I don't know how to begin this post other than to say the beauty of Avatar is not to be surpassed on the big screen. As I'm sure many know already, Avatar has been re-released in theatres and has now been running for a week or so. I meant to write about this earlier, but I've actually been both sick and busy and haven't had a chance to really take in my feelings on seeing this movie again.
This isn't just a re-release; the movie has been rendered with such detail as never before. The Na'vi skin alone looks utterly gorgeous, more real than ever before--and that is saying something, seeing as how the original 2009 release still had better CGI than any movie released after it!
I go some stretches without watching the movie so I can appreciate it again all the more when I do sit down to watch it. Nonetheless, not a frame gets old.
People say disparaging comments about Avatar all the time, the most common words flying around being "Fern Gully" and "Pocohantas." I heard both of these after my second viewing from the people behind me. I wanted to roll my eyes and snap, "Well you just sat through the entire movie, so you must know it's much more than that!" And it really is. I'm brimming with happiness, actually, because there is no one who can say something truly, legitimately bad about Avatar after seeing it in the theatre. It's gorgeous, a severely underestimated piece of human ingenuity and art.
And this does not just refer to the CGI, of which I swear it cannot be surpassed by anyone else. The beauty is in the art of the shots (the cinematography), the music, and the almost countless bits of just perfect acting that convey so much about a character and their emotions, their inner thoughts and potential motivations. Their lines are perfect in every way. In the theatre, there is so much more you can hear and see, little details you might seem to notice for the first time no matter how many dozens (or hundreds?!) of times you've watched the movie over the years.
I really hope people get to see the movie in theatres again, even those who only have a cursory interest in it!
What's more, the bonus scenes we get to see from Avatar 2 are just so.... again, beautiful. I say that with an admiring sigh. The first time I went to see the re-release, I got to see Lo'ak, Neytiri and Jake's son, interact with a tulkun. It is a scene that is fairly simple, especially compared to the one I got to see with the second viewing--of Jake and Neytiri's children, along with Kiri, swimming with some young Na'vi from the Metkayina, the main clan in Avatar: The Way of Water. This is the scene I really wanted to see of the potential three you might get.
First, I couldn't even try to count the amount of animals you're introduced to, and the beauty of the Metkayina is just surreal. I have a deep love for the ocean--dolphins are my favorite animals, and if I could be a mermaid, I totally would *laughs* ... and the Metkayina are basically Na'vi mermaids. Okay, not quite, but check out their cool tails! A clan of divers would be exactly where I would want to be on Pandora. If I could get a clan tattoo, it would be theirs. Kiri, of all the Na'vi children, is most fascinated by everything she is seeing.
What made this particular scene so utterly delightful, so emotional, was how it finished. Two of the three Metkayina children make fun of the Omatikaya children because they can't hold their breath more than your average person (or Na'vi). Somewhere in all this, the children realize Kiri is not among them and they get worried because she hasn't surfaced that any of them have seen.
The scene cuts to Kiri. Still in awe of everything she is experiencing, Kiri has utterly forgotten to breathe--and she isn't struggling at all. It is like her fascination alone, her need to see everything she can and take it all in, has simply replaced the need to breathe. You can feel, and share in her wide-eyed wonder. And what makes this scene over-the-board emotional is knowing Kiri is played by Sigourney Weaver. It's like Grace, who so loved Pandora she would surely give her life a hundred times over, gets to experience and live vicariously through Kiri.
This scene, to me, is the perfect one to introduce Avatar 2 with.
Speaking of Kiri being played by the wonderful Sigourney Weaver, I have a hypothesis that if nothing else brings me some joy. I like to think Kiri is Grace reborn, even if she doesn't know it. She might not be aware of her past human life, but I think Grace's soul is Kiri's. At least, I would like to think so. And there is a scene which wonderfully ties them together--a shot of Kiri watching one of Grace Augustine's video journals on screen.
Emotionally, it was a lot. If you're a huge Avatar fan, I'm sure we share the same feelings.
By the way, I see this movie both in a 4DX showing and IMAX 3d. To be honest, the 4DX effects of the moving chairs really threw me off for the first half of the movie. I did not find it enjoyable or immersive until the scene where Jake flew on his banshee. Before that, you felt a lot of Jake's mistakes, like him falling off the pa'li (direhorse) and when he was falling through the forest trees. Yikes! After he gets his banshee though, it worked. Maybe I was just used to it by then, or maybe the synchronicity was just so much better after that point. I'm not sure, but I do recommend trying it at least once. Maybe you will like it!
I will say I finish off this post with just a hint of frustration--that no matter what words I type, I feel I cannot convey the true breadth of my [very happy and profound] emotions, of how this movie, this world of Pandora, leaves me feeling. Yes, I cried. Several times. I had to delay leaving the theatre after the Avatar 2 scene because it was just over-whelming. Pandora makes me so utterly happy. If we had holodecks like in Star Trek, I would put myself into ruin because all my money would go towards using one all the time, so I could be on Pandora!
But, let us take care of ourselves. Pandora needs to be a happy place, and I don't want any "Avatar blues." Enjoy the movie, and look forward to the next!
I also wore a special shirt and necklace for the occasion, and had a special little backpack, too!
Finally, I was VERY happy to get my hands on a poster (or two!) to commemorate the experience!
By the way, if you read this post I would love to hear your own thoughts too! One of the purposes of this journal is to share my thoughts with others and thereby connect with others, so I would love comments.
Eywa ngahu ma tsmuk!
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