YAB Review: 'Avatar'

Today’s Youth Advisory Board post comes from Alyx who was among the record breaking number of eager moviegoers storming theaters (regular, IMAX and 3-D alike)  for the opening weekend of James Cameron’s long awaited, hyper marketed “Avatar.” Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment.

What was the biggest draw?
Yes, I admit it. I am a blockbuster fantasy geek. So “Avatar” was an obvious must-see movie for me. The trailer was amazing, the 3-D intrigued me, and the blue people were interesting enough that I thought, “why not pay the four or so extra dollars to check this movie out?” I’ve seen tons of advertisement for it through commercials, internet ads, Facebook groups, etc, etc, so there was no way I was not constantly reminded that this film was coming. And so that’s why I went on opening night, just to see if all this hype was really worth it.

What did you expect going in? How much did you know beforehand?
I admit that I basically knew nothing about the plot of “Avatar” when I went to see it. All I knew was that James Cameron (who I’m a fan of) was the director, and the previews (which in my opinion really make or break a movie) looked ah-mazing. As I began to watch the movie, a few things stuck out to me. One, the storyline was a lot like Disney’s Pocahontas in the beginning (eventually it veered away from it, but not entirely). Two, it’s apparent how much thought and imagination was put into this movie. Every alien and plant was totally original, and was something I really appreciated. Three, the movie may have been a long three hours, but in my opinion every second was well spent moving the story along and bringing me closer with the Na’vi (the alien tribe) and the ally humans. During certain deaths in the movie, I felt my eyes watering (but never cry. It was not that kind of movie).

Describe your moviegoing experience:
3-D is the future: I had my skepticism about 3-D movie making. Firstly, I had never been to a 3-D movie before, so I had no idea what was in store for me. Secondly, the bulky design of most 3-D glasses I thought would take away from the movie-going experience in general. And thirdly, I had my doubts about how much better this “3-D” experience could be from any other regular movie. But after exiting Avatar all of my worries had vanished.

If nothing else, go just to see the 3-D. I felt like I was immersed in a multi-million dollar piece of art. Every plant, alien, and human alike popped out at me, leaving my mouth agape with awe. Never before has a movie been so beautiful. Nothing really jumped out at me to frighten me like I thought it would, which I was grateful about. It really didn’t need to just throw 3-D in your face—the audience would come to accept and appreciate 3-D in their own time, just like I did. Going on opening night it was packed (as I expected) with a wide variety of ages (ranging from ten to fifty-somethings).

Sum It Up
In the year 2154, America has found a valuable mineral on the planet Pandora. The story follows an ex-marine (“ex” due to the paralysis in his legs) who becomes a part of a multi-million dollar scientific experiment to deal with the natives in order to mine the minerals. These beings are created by combining human DNA and Na’vi DNA (the native alien tribe), which humans can link to through machines. The goal of the Avatars is to communicate with the natives to find a way to relocate them from the Home Tree where they live. Sure, it sounds very sci-fy like, but trust me, it’s much more complex and brilliant then how I just described it.

So, what’d you think:
“Avatar” is now one of my favorite movies of all time. Masterpieces like this only come once every blue moon, and when they do arrive, the public must praise them for what they are—a beautiful work of art. Generation Y has spoken (by their millions of Facebook updates and Twitters saying how much they love, love, love Avatar) that this is one movie the public can’t afford to miss. Avatar restores faith in me that the best in technology is yet to come, and I cannot wait until it gets here.

About Alyx

Alyx Steadman is a sophomore in high school in Montana, and loves every minute of it. He loves reading, writing, acting, singing, and being a social butterfly. In the past people have accused him of being a YouTube addict and a pop culture junkie (and sadly Alyx cannot deny these accusations). His love for teen culture has led him to many hours slaving on the computer soaking up every piece of drama Hollywood has to offer. In the future he hopes to pursue a writing career as some type of journalist. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover how he’s feeling to be in the Ypulse Advisory Board.