Avatar: Special Edition (****)
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoey Saldanha, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen
Lang, Michelle Rodrigues, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore
Seen: September 3rd 2010
**** Out of ****
As I’ve already reviewed Avatar, this
will act as a discussion of the additional scenes included for this theatrical
re-release. It is well worth mentioning that Avatar still remains an incredible
big-screen experience. Seeing it in 3D on a big-screen is infinitely better
than 2D on even an HD-TV. The special effects are fantastic, and the 3D is
light years ahead of everything else you’ll see for some time (barring Pixar’s
films). Just for the experience of seeing Avatar on the big-screen once more, I
highly recommend you take the time to catch this last chance to see the movie
as it was meant to be seen.
Now to the additional material added:
The first time Grace (Weaver), Norm (Moore) and Jake
(Worthington) venture onto Pandora, they visit an abandoned Na’vi school and
Grace and Norm cleans up while Jake wanders around, noticing some bullet holes
in the wall – the humans were here, and their intentions were not pure.
You might remember Jake Sully at one stage calling himself a
stone cold hunter, just before the Toruk (the giant red and yellow banshee)
attacks him and Neytiri (Saldanha). Now we are treated to a tribal hunt leading
into that, and it makes much more sense. The hunt is an exhilarating scene and definitely
adds to Avatar’s entertainment value.
The aftermath of a Na’vi attack on the bulldozers that destroyed
the sacred trees, presented as a report-back to Parker Selfridge (Ribisi) is
included. This shows the viewer that the Na’vi will not let their world be
walked over, they will rain down hard retribution if the occasion calls for it.
Jake and Neytiri’s sex scene is longer, and it’s level of
awkward is just about increased by the same percentage. We are “treated” to Na’vi
arousal expressions – unnecessary as the original movie alluded to what was
going on strongly enough without the need for it being forced.
The last of the significant additions would be the death of Tsu’tey.
In the original we saw him jumping from his banshee onto the loading bay of the
Valkyrie as it’s on the way to destroying the tree of souls. He throws a few
soldiers out of the plane, is shot by one of them, and falls toward the forest.
Now he is shown to have survived the fall, and Jake and Neytiri find him after
their battle with Quaritch (Lang). They have a rather meaningful discussion around
the future of the tribe before Tsu’tey dies. This scene also definitely makes
the movie that little bit better.
If you’re an Avatar fan, use the chance, if not, I don’t see
this changing your view. I don’t see why, in a movie that was already of
mammoth running time, they couldn’t have included these scenes from the start,
but for what it’s worth, I believe that apart from the sex scene, they do add
to the experience.
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