Pandora: The Last Rainforest

I just came back from watching an awesome movie on Thursday night called Avatar. It was about this ex-soldier named Zak who goes to a distant planet named Pandora, and is accidentally shrunk by fairy magic and meets the fairy Crysta who shows him—

No, wait. That’s not right. Lemme start over.

This worker named Jake Sully takes command of a remote controlled body to learn the ways of the Na’vi people so he can unite them in a battle against Hexxus—

No. That’s not right, either.

You know, perhaps the reason I’m getting the plots of FernGully and Avatar confused is because they are exactly the same.

No, really. They’re practically identical. Sorry to spoil it for you, folks. It’s a well-worn romantic storyline that’s heavily rooted in environmentalism and anthropological humanism. But Avatar’s elements of fantastic realism make it a version of FernGully for adults.

That being said, the plot is, in my opinion, the movie’s only flaw. I enjoyed every bit of it. I was by no means dismayed by this enormously predictable storyline only because James Cameron executed the film brilliantly. The 3-D cinematography and CGI were not done simply for show; they were ingeniously used to weave a very emotional story with a magical setting, which made for a higher-caliber film instead of a cheap show.

Sadly, I did not find James Horner’s score particularly exceptional in this movie. He chose to make it more tribal, fitting in with the whole “primitive indigenous peoples” theme, while inserting emotional moments here and there. It was appropriate for the setting (which is certainly something), but it didn’t really flesh out to be something as overly spectacular as one might expect for a film of this magnitude. So while it was inspiring at times, it certainly wouldn’t rival something like his Titanic score. Of course, that could be just my preference—the tribal thing doesn’t sit well with me, but others may enjoy it. I did love how the music turned enchanting at times to reflect the fantastic nature of the alien world we were being introduced to.

In all, I would highly recommend this movie. It’s a very enjoyable watch. It’s a beautifully romantic fantasy, an exciting little story, and it showcases a talented cast. My dorky glasses and I were glued to the screen the entire time.

And sure, the take-home message may be a little heavy-handed. You may feel like you need to take a shower afterward because you’re supposed to feel guilty about how you’ve treated X ethnic/plant/insect population. But that’s nothing… You should see FernGully. And Dances with Wolves. And Pocahontas. And The Last Samurai. And…oh, I give up.