Australia's Best Movie Magazine

Film reviews

The Vow

A saccharine and paint-by-numbers slice of romance, which is largely boosted by the appeal of its two leads.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (3D)

The under-utilised 3D adds little to this prequel, which only serves as a sore reminder of the brilliance of the original films.

Any Questions For Ben?

The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.

Shame

It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.

search the site

Enter search term:

newsletter

Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter

Enter search term:

Avatar: Special Edition (Film)

by Josh Forward | August 30, 2010 09:49 | Edited August 30, 2010 09:52

If you’re prepared to give another three hours of your life to this film, it turns out those precious 8 minutes of extra footage are rather insightful.

Unless you're one of the three people in the world yet to see it, you'll know that Avatar is epic in every sense of the word. It's bold, bright and bombastic with intense action sequences, immaculately detailed CGI landscapes and features all the extravagance one comes to expect from a James Cameron film. Just as the hype was dying down, it was announced that the film was returning to cinemas with an extra eight minutes of unseen footage to make it that smidgen more epic. Unexpectedly, the additional material helps the film flow more organically than the original.

 

Avatar's greatest triumph lies in its grand cinematic scope and incredible visuals, but the script leaves a lot to be desired, with a familiar narrative and James Cameron's trademark hammy dialogue. However, the extra detail and leisurely pace the additional footage brings, allows the film to breathe easier and feel more complete as a whole. Characters, including the thinly drawn protagonist, are further fleshed out and the new creatures and landscape add fascinating layers to the audience's virtual safari of Pandora. In particular, a new Navi hunting sequence is adrenaline inducing, as well as providing an interesting parallel and precursor to the final battle against the humans by revealing how the Navi hunting tactics are used in war.

 

There is something to be said about catching the film on the big screen one more time. Unlike some 3D films where you remove your 3D glasses mid film and realise they're cheating you by sneakily slotting in a 2D sequence, every second of Avatar is a blurry mess when 3D glasses are removed. The Avatar experience of 3D is used to great effect, placing the audience firmly amidst the action.

 

Whilst some films are classics due to a great script and fine acting, it appears that Avatar has achieved greatness via its use of revolutionary technology to create an incredible world. As the next chapter in a true pop culture phenomenon, Avatar: Special Edition is a filmic event and is worth seeing for fans of the film.