Back to Pandora with the Return of ‘Avatar’

If you missed writer/director James Cameron’s “Avatar” in theaters when it first came out over a decade ago (2009!), you’re in luck: it’s back, for a limited time, remastered and looking better than ever. With the long-gestating sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” coming in December, Disney thought it would be worth reminding audiences that the first one made close to three billion bucks back in the day.

Of course, you’re going to want to prepare your bladder; it is, essentially, the same movie they released in theaters in ’09, all two hours and forty-five minutes of it. Actually, it’s even longer this time out because there’s an unnecessary intro video by Cameron and a preview clip of “The Way of Water.” The intro is Cameron explaining the technical bells and whistles entailed in this remaster, which has all the excitement of someone trying to sell you a new graphics card for your PC. Suffice to say, the picture is now brighter, sharper, some scenes have HFR (high frame rate) and the sound has been upgraded for 9.1 Atmos (are you asleep yet?). The preview is stunning, showing off the upgraded tech’s crisp visuals while also feeling like you’re watching the demo of a new TV at Anson’s. HFR really has that effect.

The remaster is gorgeous. Details are sharper and jump out better (especially in the 3D version), colors are vivid and bright, in general the picture seems brighter also

Gorgeous

To remind you, “Avatar”’s story concerns the fictional moon Pandora and its native inhabitants, the Na’vi. The evil, greedy humans want a valuable natural resource (it is no joke called “unobtainium”) that is abundant on the planet, particularly where the Na’vi reside, so of course they are going to forcibly move and/or exterminate them. Baddies represented by Giovanni Ribisi (taking over Paul Reiser’s similar role in Cameron’s “Aliens”) and Stephen Lang as a gung-ho warmonger. Over on the good guys, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic jarhead who gets to sub in for his deceased researcher brother since they share basically the same DNA. He gets to pilot the titular Avatar, a body grown from Na’vi and human DNA, as he tries to infiltrate the native clan and learn their ways (and weaknesses). He’s under the wing of Sigourney Weaver’s Dr. Grace Augustine, who wrote the book (literally) on the Na’vi. On the Na’vi side there’s Pocahontas, I mean Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), who is the successor to the clan’s “shaman,” and daughter of their chief (Wes Studi).

Yes, the remaster is gorgeous. Details are sharper and jump out better (especially in the 3D version), colors are vivid and bright, in general the picture seems brighter also. The already majestic footage and sweeping scope of some sequences get an added kick, and Pandora looks especially alive. That said, the same problems remain. It’s been pointed out ad nauseam how it effectively retells the Disney version of “Pocahontas,” crossed over with some bits and pieces from Miyazaki’s Ghibli films. If you’re not a big fan of the “white savior” trope, then this probably still isn’t the movie for you.

Clumsy dialogue and clunky exposition aside, Cameron has never really been one for nuance. These are Grand Gestures, in keeping with the project he did before this (a lil’ thing called “Titanic”), with important themes and much significance. It’s certainly a better, more earnest plea for saving the environment than “Don’t Look Up.” There is real joy and sincerity in the montage where Sully actually acclimates to Na’vi living and his cold soldier heart melts when he realizes the almost religious grace of communing with nature. Of course, there is also a grandiosity to the action and violence, where he first made a name for himself.

With “The Way of Water” arriving in two months, it’s a good idea to return to Pandora, not only to refamiliarize ourselves with the world and its inhabitants, but to have a frame of reference when the first (of three!) sequels arrive, and how Cameron’s sensibilities may have evolved in the intervening 13 years. For first-time viewers, they have a treat in store for them.