February is a terrible month. It has a few OK holidays, and at least it’s short, but in much of the country, it is cold, dark, and terrible. If you’re looking for something to do on one of those miserable February days, we’ve got a movie that might be perfect.
Even though it and its sequel are two of the highest-grossing films ever made, Avatar doesn’t have a sterling reputation. The film was a groundbreaking theatrical experience, sure, but does the movie really hold up when you’re just watching it on your couch? It absolutely does, and here are three reasons you should make time for it this month:
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The spectacle holds up
Avatar came out in 2009, so it would be understandable, and even forgivable, if much of the CGI didn’t hold up today. Instead, Avatar will leave you wondering why more movies don’t employ CGI to create colorful, vibrant worlds that feel real.
Avatar: The Way of Water definitely has better graphics, but Avatar is a reminder that, when it’s done well, CGI can feel just as vibrant and real as anything else on a movie screen, and just as importantly, that great CGI can stand the test of time. Pandora is just as inviting as ever.
The story is better than you remember
The main knock on Avatar has always been that its story is a little basic. It’s Dances With Wolves or Pocahontas, a tale of a white man “going native” and ultimately battling against the culture he was once a part of.
All of that’s true, but James Cameron can make these familiar narrative beats feel fresh and distinctly emotional. You might have seen the fall of Hometree in half a dozen movies before, but Cameron manages to capture that moment with a sense of scale and raw hurt that are basically unmatched.
Zoe Saldana is incredible in it
The other gaping hole many have highlighted in Avatar is Sam Worthington, the film’s lead. And it’s true, that performance is certainly not the best thing about the film. Sitting right next to Worthington, though, is a truly incredible motion capture performance from Zoe Saldaña, who plays Jake’s romantic interest Neytiri.
Neytiri may start as something of a stereotypical savage warrior princess, but she evolves into something much more ruthless and fascinating as the movie progresses. Saldana understands how the mo-cap is reading her perfectly and knows just how much to emote so that we always know exactly what her character is thinking and how she’s feeling.
Stream Avatar on Disney+.