A world apart

So we finally watched Avatar in 3D last night. In a fit of insanity, we had booked tickets for a 9:30 pm show, completely forgetting that it was a three-hour movie and the next day was not only a work day, it was a day when I had an early morning teleconference with the US office. (Redbull saw me through.)

Here are some random thoughts on the movie:

• The first things we noticed when we entered the theatre were flashes from mobile phones and cameras. This was even before the ads and trailers. And then we realised why people were excitedly taking pictures of each other --- everyone was looking like a dork in the ridiculous 3D glasses!

• Viv, of course, tried to wear them upside down, sideways and what not, and came up with some geeky theories which I didn't couldn't listen to.

• The very first shot of Pandora reminded me of New Zealand. The ending credits confirmed it was New Zealand indeed. Truly the most beautiful country in the world I have seen.

• I nearly fell off my chair when Neytiri started speaking. I could swear that the first few lines she spoke were in Singlish. The only one I can remember at this point is "Cannot do that!" or something like that.

• I am not a huge fan of 3D movies, but this one, oh boy! I actually dodged a piece of shrapnel that came flying towards me. Sheesh. Embarrassing as hell, but hopefully no one noticed.

• My friend Aathira had told me that the movie was very Bollywood-ish and when I watched it, I realised how right she was. Starting from the three-hour duration, the outsider entering a tribe, the angry father, the falling in love with chief's daughter, the jealous fiance who becomes an ally when adversity strikes, the tribal song and dance, the lambi choti (hehe!), the magical healing, the betrayal, I half expected Jake to say something extremely Bollywood-ish like, "Mujhe kya pata tha mujhe sach mein tumse pyaar ho jaayega?" and Neytiri to say "Hamara pyaar pavitra hai!" when her parents questioned her on the mating (that too in front of ancestors! Sheesh!) Anyway, Viv said that it would have been cool if they had used the fusing braid-fibres to mate. I was horrified. "Dude, he did that with the horse thingie and the dragon thingie!"

• We stayed till the ending credits even though it was past midnight. I was really amazed to see that they had got a PhD guy to come up with the Na'vi language. The level of detail that went into the movie is truly stupendous.

• Loved the not-so-subtle references to the US and middle-east. "When someone's sitting on shit that you want, you make them your enemy." Hear hear.

• Normally, I hate war scenes, but in this movie, I was lapping up every second of the three-hour spectacle. I do wish we had chosen a saner time though. Viv actually dozed off for a few minutes!
  

• I wondered if they intentionally called the mineral 'unobtanium' because they couldn't obtain it?

• Even though the concept of the Avatar was very similar to what we have seen in The Matrix and The 13th floor, the execution was the killer, no pun intended.

• The movie is incredibly powerful, and it's not just because of the stunning visuals. I always tell Viv that you should never watch back-to-back movies or even movies on consecutive days because you need the next day to let the movie sink in without diluting its effect. Only the movies that play and stay in the head a day after you have watched them mean something. Everything else is trash.

• I totally loved the ending. Not just because it took me by surprise (I had kind of expected Jake to go back to Earth and try and make that a better place), but also because of the way the last shot was done, with his Avatar's eyes opening suddenly. Simply beautiful.

• Lastly, I loved what Raja Sen said in his review, "James Cameron, living up to his initials, has delivered a miracle."