7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.4 |
An ex-Marine finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people.
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle RodriguezAdventure | 100% |
Action | 94% |
Sci-Fi | 66% |
Fantasy | 56% |
Epic | 48% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Blu-ray 3D
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
One life ends. Another begins.
Avatar is the new "King of the World," the latest from Director James Cameron and, over the past decade-plus, the only film audiences
deemed worthy of supplanting Cameron's own 1997
Best Picture recipient Titanic as the top Box Office earner of all time. Avatar is an undeniably beautiful picture and an achievement
of
digital technology that surpasses every other film ever made in terms of its visual effects work and sheer scope of production. For that, the film is
most
certainly praiseworthy and a must-see experience, but has Cameron -- seemingly so completely absorbed in the world of Pandora and his
personally-developed 3D camera system that's granted the film the finest 3D presentation ever -- forgotten to add more emotional heft and
thematic
substance to what is the most visually spectacular movie of all time? The answer, unfortunately, is "yes." Even Avatar's spellbinding
visuals
and the seamless and completely believable world of Pandora can't mask that underneath it all is a core that yearns for more substance, craves
greater
import, and demands a story not so riddled with transparencies. Make no mistake, Avatar is an incredible movie and the plot holds
together just enough to
see viewers through what is a fast-paced and oftentimes enchanting experience, but the film ultimately misses out on its chance to be hailed as an
all-time great thanks to a lackluster and seemingly hastily-developed story and an emotional center that's only good enough to prop up the visuals
but not
carry the movie as much more than a ridiculously large-in-scope testing ground for the next generation of CGI delights.
A whole new world.
Avatar's Blu-ray 3D transfer delivers a mesmerizing 1080p experience that's about as close to perfection as any high def 3D release is likely to
come for quite some time. It would be fitting (not to mention easy) to simply label this one as "perfect," and indeed, there are so few problems here,
and all of them so microscopic in size, that it would border on the sinful to give this transfer anything less than a "perfect" rating. Only ever-so-slight
"ghosting"
is
visible when the disc is played back on Panasonic's first-generation Blu-ray 3D hardware; eagle-eyed viewers may note a few instances in the yellow
Na'vi-to-English subtitles and a trace amount in one or two shots, but that's pretty much the extent of it. The 3D image is
simply stunning
in
how seamless it truly is; every moment practically transports viewers to Pandora, whether the lush tropical outdoor areas or the more sterile and
technologically-advanced interiors where humans work when they're not on the surface or inside various military vehicles. The image is wonderfully
deep
and detailed, with the 3D image adding a great deal to most every scene, whether extending the background far off into the distance or allowing
viewers
to better appreciate the size and shape of various circular computer displays and workstations that are seen in several places. Avatar's depth
is
nothing short of remarkable, and it tends to look so real that viewers might occasionally forget that this is 3D; with every other release, there have
been
instances where the effect is in some way lessened or, on the other end of the spectrum, greatly over-exaggerated, but not here. Look at the
instances where Jake speaks into the video log camera; the way the
graphics are offset from the rest of the image is fantastic, giving a new meaning to "virtual reality." The image is so crisp and visually astounding
that it never allows viewers to slip back
into the real world, and even the weight of the 3D glasses and whatever eye strain might accompany other titles at least seems drastically lessened
here. While
there aren't many "wow" moments -- nothing really jumps out at the audience -- Avatar impresses through its stability and constant depth
of
field. It's hard to describe just how wonderful this transfer is; it's the definitive 3D release of the year, and that's not even to mention how fine it is in
several other areas of note.
As if the amazing 3D visuals weren't enough, Avatar yields an exceptional color palette and plenty of fine detailing that both elevate the disc
to the
top of the heap and make it the premiere Blu-ray 3D disc in production. The transfer handles CGI and physical material alike with a precision that's
rarely achieved on Blu-ray; the two mesh perfectly, with the transfer picking up not only the most subtle of nuances on real objects such as human
faces, but also on all of the digital environments and creatures that give Pandora and its inhabitants a tangible sense of reality that is the key factor in
making the movie as successful as it is from a visual perspective. Additionally, Avatar's striking color palette is handled as well in 3D as it is in
2D; there's no
perceptible drop-off in color, whether the steely blue and sterile hues that dominate the opening of the film or the lively and bright purples, oranges,
blues, and greens that define many of the exterior Pandora shots. Blacks, too, are faultless with only one or two very minor instances where they
appear a bit more murky than they probably should. Flesh tones, too, are solid, and there's no perceptible amounts of banding, blocking, or other
eyesores to be found. Perhaps the highest praise that could be given to Avatar's 3D transfer? Release it wide -- give it away, even, to every
single 3D buyer -- right now and place this disc in every 3D demo player across the world. Get the disc in people's hands and in front of their eyes,
and 3D
units will move, and move quickly. Why the highest-grossing film of all time and the one fans want to see more than any other in 3D is saddled with
an exclusive and therefore pricy release is beyond the imaginations of anyone but the highest-ups at Fox and Panasonic. Perhaps they have insight,
charts, and
other odds and ends that tell them that exclusivity on this, or any, title is the way to go, but it's near impossible to fathom a reality in which getting
this release out there wide -- even as-is with no extras -- could be bad for rapid 3D adoption. It's the Blu-ray 3D release of the year, and only a select
few will see it for the foreseeable future.
Avatar features a reference-quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's perfect in every regard. Much like the 3D video presentation, it manages to deliver a seamless and mesmerizing experience that never feels overpowered, overdone, or in any way unnatural. The track thrives on delivering everything in harmonious balance, whether the slightest background nuances or the most powerful of explosions and action-oriented effects. While the latter are certainly loud and sonically exhilarating, such events never break the boundaries of what one might expect of such an occurrence; the track finds a wonderful stability in all that it does, and while it might not be quite as raw and powerful as some tracks, it holds its own -- and then some -- by basing its every element within a real context. Bass, then, is exceptionally potent without ever becoming monstrously agressive; vehicles rumble around the soundstage, various object explode, and the ear-piercing thuds of machine gun fire send plenty of power into the soundstage, but never enough to deafen the listener or overstay its welcome. Imaging is fantastic as many of these same elements seamlessly move about the soundstage; whether at slow, average, or fast speeds, directional effects open the soundstage wide and never allow it to close back in until the end credits have rolled. James Horner's magnificent score is wonderfully crisp and effortlessly delivered about the listening area. The track handles the various environmental effects of Pandora -- whether subtle atmospherics or the greatest cries of various beasts -- with unmatched precision, while other atmospherics that are heard in the metallic and artificial environments that house human characters also enjoy their own sets of ambience that altogether create a perfect 360-degree field of sound within every inch of the movie, no matter the place or the time. Rounded out by faultless dialogue reproduction, Avatar's DTS lossless soundtrack is one for the record books.
No supplements are included.
When dissecting Avatar and granting it that overly-important numerical "score" that's ultimately going to carry more weight than a commentators' words, one must determine just how much of an impact on that number the special effects and the overall scope and grandeur of the film will have up against the decent but recycled and clichéd storyline that leaves audiences emotionally frigid and wanting something better to fill the void and make this into an all-time great movie. Certainly, one can see that Avatar is an important and destined-to-be prominent film through the rest of the history of the medium not only as a clear-cut fan-favorite but also as a hallmark visual effects movie that will be remembered alongside the likes of Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Jurassic Park, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Toy Story. Where those pictures succeed, however, is where Avatar lags behind. Each of those films are carried not by their effects but by their stories and all of the emotion and power they bring to the table. Their special effects are undeniably impressive and serve as milestones in cinema history, but for all the dazzle they're but supportive elements to a greater whole. Avatar overwhelms audiences with spectacle but underwhelms through its lack of novelty, absence of thematic import, and shortage of raw emotion, even considering that Cameron's film tries to incorporate the latter two but to lackluster results. The film runs cold despite a strongly-beating heart and plenty of blood and energy flowing through its blue veins, and the result is a dazzling achievement of special effects that should have been so much more. This Blu-ray 3D exclusive title is currently the best in the business. There's no point rehashing the "exclusive" argument; it is what it is, and when this title is one day released to the general public, it will push sales of 3D TVs like no movie before it and probably no movie after it, at least for quite some time. The dazzling lossless soundtrack is the perfect accompaniment, and the absence of extras comes as no surprise. Obviously, this is worth claiming for Panasonic 3D HDTV owners, and hopefully it will be available to all in the not-too-distant future.
2009
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