The IMAX Experience

Name of Topic Being Reviewed: Avatar Movie
Category: Movie
Rating:

Let's just say that this movie wasn't at all as I have expected it to be. I went in thinking that it would just be another so-so movie that was so hyped up but in the end, the hype wasn't worth it. I stand corrected.

The movie was well worth the money that I had spent on it. With power house CG Animation Companies like WETA and ILM taking charge, it was a wonder that nothing could go wrong in this movie when it comes to CG Animation.

The movie in itself was a typical story of power hungry humans wanting to exploit a world that isn't theirs to begin with.

Earth has discovered another planet rich with a particular mineral that a small piece of that mineral would costs thousands of dollars. In the guise of wanting to learn the culture of the natives of the planet, they put in place a special research team controlling special bodies called Avatars - a shell of a body with DNA of the particular human who would be controlling them and a DNA of the natives. Only people with the same DNA could control 1 particular Avatar. Enter Jake Sully, a crippled ex-marine whose twin brother was part of the research team but unfortunately died. He replaced his twin as a guard to the research team whenever they want to get samples of the world. As an added assignment to Sully, he was told to try to get the natives to trust him and gather as much information from them so that when they start to drive them away from their home, there wouldn't be that much of a problem.

Stage one of the assignment was easy enough to do. He was reluctantly welcomed by the natives after an accident that caused his avatar to get separated from the research team and started to learn their ways. But the more he stayed with them and continued learning, the more he understood their world, their customs and culture.

When stage two of their plan was about to begin, he was caught in the middle, not knowing which side he should be. When he finally chose, battle ensued with him helping the natives claim their planet back and drive away the humans back to their own dying planet.

In the end, he decided to remain forever in his Avatar body and become permanently part of the natives.

Like I said, the story isn't really new. But how they brought about the story into the big screen was no easy feat.

The characters have really great chemistry. You can see how they interact with each other and you see how very natural it is.

Since the setting was mostly in CG, my hats off to both WETA and ILM for doing a good job. The location while some parts are very real (I remember reading that it's somewhere in New Zealand), how they blended CG and the real thing was flawless that you won't see where the transition starts and ends. The place looks so real to me and the colors are so alive and vibrant that you would think that the animals, plants and even the natives are very real.

The same thing with the characters. The CG characters of the natives and the humans interact in such a way that you would think that the CG character was really there and just an orange ball or a puppet. It's seamless and very real. The CG of the characters were made great that their actions weren't clumsy, repetitive, and stiff. Their movement was fluid similar to how human beings move.

All in all, despite the very typical storyline, the movie was really amazing. Plus the fact that I watched it in IMAX made the experience seem real to me. Kudos for making it into a 3D movie. Five tumbling babies for this movie.


Name of Topic Being Reviewed: IMAX Theater Mall of Asia
Category: Place
Rating:

I had my reservations with spending P400 on the movie where I would be watching behind colored glasses. I was happy enough that my IMAX experience was well worth the price.

The seats were comfortable. The back rest is not stiff...it moves to a comfortable position. The arm rest are also movable. You can pull it up if you don't want any hindrance, especially useful when you want to talk to your friend sitting beside you.

The setting of the cinema is a bit curved so wherever you sat, you'll have the full effect of the movie.

The 3D animation of the movie is really fantastic! I love how the image jumps out in front of you. It looks so real that more than one occasion, I half-lifted my arm to block an non-existent branch or reached out to touch a floating creature.

The sound system is also great! Good combination of bass, voice and sound effects. Spoken words weren't drowned out by the sounds and the background music has the right amount of bass and treble that one doesn't drown the other.

All in all a good place to watch a movie especially for movies that needs those 3D effects to make the movie experience perfect, like when I watched Avatar last night.

My only problem with it that's why it only has four tumbling babies if the fact that since it was so real, nausea was real as well. I'm someone who has motion sickness so, I got a bit dizzy with some parts especially when they were flying around and when they were looking down...I had the feeling of vertigo. So, for people who has the same problem as I am, I suggest you buy yourselves motion sickness meds and drink it before you go watch an IMAX film.