Although I have long been deeply aware of the disadvantages of preconceived ideas, but in the face of overwhelming publicity from domestic and foreign media and praise from neighbors, my expectations have been subtly mobilized. This excitement The value reached the highest point after seeing Lu Chuan's film review. But what followed was a hint of apprehension. In the face of such high expectations, can I get the full amount of pleasure I imagined? Looking through my movie viewing history from memory, I found that any movie that once whetted my appetite enough was ultimately defeated without exception before such a sacred worship. Especially in recent years.
Martin Scorsese's The Departed in 2006, The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men in 2007, Pixar's legendary Wall E in 2008 and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, each The director or producer of a film is the love of the heart, although it is undeniable that each film has reached a very high standard. But when I faced the standard in my heart, I had to frankly feel a little bit of loss in my heart.
This made me deeply understand a truth: rendering everything to the extreme is the principle of business operation. If you always equate these with the things it renders, you will eventually be disappointed. The most wonderful experience is often the first time. If the expectations are too high and the disappointment is too large to offset this beauty, it will not be worth the gain. This is the premise of watching any film.
Pandora Planet, build a parallel world!
Back to "Avatar", the highest praise from the outside world is to revolutionize the history of film and change the way people watch movies, but the one that strikes me the most is what James Cameron himself said: I hope the audience is watching this movie. At times, it is possible to forget the existence of technology and just be obsessed with the story.
And look at the clamorous discussions around the world about the special effects part of this movie, the fanatical pursuit of IMAX 3D, and the cynicism of the story. These phenomena can at least prove one point: Cameron did not reach the level he promised this time. A perfect state where one can't breathe and just want to be stuck in it forever.
When the frenzy sweeping the world slowly dissipates, time may tell.
The above point of view is not to say that I don't appreciate this movie, on the contrary, I think it is the best sci-fi movie and the best commercial movie in recent years, even if its scope is expanded from sci-fi movies to all types of movies, this It's not an exaggeration to comment. Spielberg and George Lucas' compliments are not flattery, but the sentiments of their peers.
In my opinion, the greatest and fascinating thing about Avatar is that it builds a complete biological system, a world that is very different from the people of the earth but related to it. In fact, a good science fiction movie is the same as a science fiction novel. The most important thing is to create your own system, in which there is a unique language and context. Asimov's sci-fi masterpiece "Base" series is magnificent, it is precisely because he integrated history into the future, and at the same time created the concept of "spiritual history", making that fantasy world as distant and distant as the fallen Roman Empire. reality. Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is arguably the greatest sci-fi film to date, and one of the things that makes it proudly independent is its refined and systematic way of imagining and reasoning about past, present, and future.
Most sci-fi movies are based on novels. They do not need to create any more. What they do is to present the author's concept on the screen as completely as possible, but this desire often fails. I have seen too many sci-fi movies taken out of context, and there are countless examples of making a sci-fi movie based on just one idea.
In "Avatar", although the skin and height of the Na'vi people are very different from those of the earth, their basic characteristics still show the appearance of earth people, unlike in "Solaris" The existence of alien life forms completely surpasses human imagination; although Pandora has huge islands floating in the air and strange tree spirits, the basic forms of virgin forests and various birds and beasts seem to be in "Revelation". , in "King Kong", "Princess Mononoke" and "City in the Sky" have all appeared familiar; even the concept of the leader of the soldiers in the final climax of the battle to control the robot is Cameron as early as "Alien II" in It has been practiced (and the manipulator Ripley is the film's Dr. Grace).
However, these are not the point. Human beings have evolved to the present, and the chances of creating something that no one has ever thought of are too small, and it is not uncommon for people to occasionally intertwine with their ancestors in their thoughts. All the concepts in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy can find prototypes in reality, but Tolkien just created a middle-earth world without semicolons on this basis.
Cameron did not rely on the original novel, but simply used his own images to shape a world, which is worthy of admiration. Looking back now, I think of the Na'vi people riding big birds in the sky, climbing along the vines to the islands in the air; and their lush and magnificent virgin forests, the towering trees where they live together; not to mention They use braids and mounts for psychic communication, and they sit on the ground and call to the Virgin in singing these strange details.
This world may have many flaws, but it is real and believable, because thousands of carefully crafted details are linked together, and naturally operate independently in fantasy. You must know that "The Lord of the Rings" also uses three parts to fully present a world, so I believe that Cameron's original intention is not to cover the current 160 minutes, but it is cut down to this length based on various factors. Not explaining some details may play a big role in enriching the film. For example, how was Dr. Grace's first entry into the planet and communication with the local residents? She gets along well with local children and has access to where they live, which shows that she has gained a lot of trust from the Na'vi. The film doesn't address this and has Grace go directly to the colony with Jack, which strikes me as a bit of a surprise.
How much coquettish is the technology and the story?
When I see friends who have dissenting opinions on the Internet, the general summary is: the special effects are extraordinary, the story is too simple; the action scenes are always wonderful, and the depth of thought is superficial.
I think these evaluations are obviously biased, but some aspects do hit the spot. In fact, it's not that there is a problem with the film itself, but that we demand too much from the director. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, James Cameron is a technical fanatic, and he is often paranoid to perfection at this level, but we can't expect him to be culturally as well. Kubrick-like depth. The discussion of the importance of technology and stories is actually a commonplace topic of how to balance business and art. Looking at Cameron's previous works, from the first "Terminator" series to the flourishing "Alien II", from the action classic "True Lies" to the box office giant "Titanic", almost all of them are the top ones. It is a commercial masterpiece, and occasionally there are works with a relatively strong humanistic color like "Abyss".
The commercial success of these works is undeniable, but a deeper dive into the ideological depths may be a little paler. The most profound meaning is probably the "Terminator" series, especially the second episode. A large part of the reason is that the unique apocalyptic background of the story gives it a strong metaphorical color. Cameron's work created a new height of film technology at that time, and at the same time, it is also permanent in the history of science fiction because of its rich storytelling.
If you want to achieve top-level achievements in business, you will inevitably weaken the depth of art, which is almost a law of the film market. Just imagine in a limited time, how to be fascinated by how to make the viewers get the maximum sensory and spiritual enjoyment, how to slow down the pace and dig deeply into the artistry of ideas? Art and business are like two ends of the scale, so the smartest way is to balance them. The one who has done the best in this regard is Spielberg. His commercial masterpieces can often accurately find the golden ratio between commerce and art, and his art works usually have an excellent entry point in commercial aspects. However, with the growth of age and the gradual transition to the background, Lao Si's recent works have clearly begun to show fatigue. On the contrary, Cameron began to move closer to the direction of the film master from the early business and technology giants, and he began to find a golden section of his own, although this division in "Avatar" is still slightly biased, and the technical level has passed. Multi-rendering did sacrifice some of the story lines that should have been explored in depth, and the level of technology I was looking for was hidden behind the story. But there is no doubt that we have been able to feel the gushing master atmosphere from its vigorous momentum. So, "Avatar" is just the beginning.
Avatar, isn't it the best?
Before I saw the film, the title I drafted for this article was "God descends, God Zhan returns", which is undoubtedly a legendary and bewitching title. But after watching the regular version and the Imax 3D version respectively, I still suppressed the fanatical pursuit in my heart and changed the name to the current one.
The reason is not only what I stated at the beginning, but also because of my intense discussion with a beautiful woman. She told me that in those two-plus hours, she had fulfilled her childhood dream and nearly cried as Jack and Princess Neville soared across the sky. She asked me, don't you want to stand with them on Pandora's planet and fight side by side?
Hearing this, I was stunned.
In the face of the overwhelming discussion about the "Nail House" fable, I sincerely don't want to participate. The Chinese people have bowed their heads to reality too many times. Don't squeeze the only remaining fantasy space with self-righteousness.
In the face of many viewers who have listed many similar plots and similar concepts one by one to show their knowledge, I sincerely want to say something: Anyone who has seen a few movies can feel it, and you don't need to declare it here.
In the face of her words, I want to throw away all the complexities that I am unconsciously absorbing, and just quietly return to a simple movie fan and indulge in a movie.
And this is what I want to say: "Avatar" may not have brought me enough satisfaction, but it may have brought a baptism to the hearts of some people and realized the childhood dreams of others. In this moment, it's perfect.
2010-1-11
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