I'm going to try and do this review without being bias, as Zoe Saldana can't seem to do anything wrong, in my eyes anyway. She is up and coming and very very easy on the eye. As for her acting, I wouldn't say excellent in all honesty, I need to see more of her. I mean more from her. But all in all, she is very good and from starting her acting career in 2000 on screen, going from film to film such as 'Get Over It' with Sisqo, to 'Drumline' with Nick Cannon, then going onto working with Johnny Depp on 'Pirates of the Caribbean', 'The Terminal' with Tom Hanks and then starring as one of the lead stars in 'Avatar' along with Sam Worthington, you cannot say she isn't working Hard. And to now, in her OWN film where the central star is HER, you cannot say she hasn't done well for 11 years on screen.
So after this film, I'm happy to say, I'M A FAN.
This film is from the same person (Luc Besson) who did Taken with Liam Neeson and if you have seen that film and like it (some love it - me included) then this film does not disappoint. For me, it was like watching a Lara Craft (without the exploring - but two guns blazing) mixed with Commando, Taken and a'bad ass' with a gun or two. To put it into perspective, she wasn't f**king around. Don't get on the wrong side of her as she is a trained assassin and like the Tagline for the film, 'Vengeance is Beautiful'.
There is a little romance in the film which doesn't come across as forced. Well, a woman has her needs right? But without spoiling the film's plot as it's very straight forward and simple, she is avenging and it's more about vengeance than the little romance that was there. In addition, the first 15-30 mins will have you hooked. 1) The little girls acting and 2) The Catsuit. Yeah, men will enjoy. Women will enjoy. Men will enjoy more. Go watch it. If your an action type of person, this film had no dull moments from start to finish. Even the child actor was greatness personified. Very Good.
Sorry, but first things first. I like hayden Christensen as an actor. Maybe it's because I'm a Star Wars fan (not THAT much into it like going to conventions, just the story), but his acting in that was excellent. He wasn't seen as young Anakin in this film so I weren't expecting him to draw a Lightsabre or anything. If you seek my older reviews, I did one on Jumper and that was an watchable film that lacked storyline. With that said, it is kind of like this film. And his character kept wear this dodgy hat, ALL THE TIME!
Anyway, this film is about a bunch of, well.....Takers and if you didn't already guess, they TAKE things that don't belong to them. Now we aren't talking about Sweets, CD's, DVD's or Cassettes, we are talking CASH MONEY and a lot of it. In the Millions and Billions. They work as a unit. Smart, effective, quick, precise and they always leave NO evidence or paper-trail. In and Out!
In a heist a few years back, Gordon Cozier (Idris Elba) leads his crew which ends up with Ghost (T.I.) a former member going to jail for 5 years when things go wrong. After getting out early on good behaviour, coincidently the same day the crew do a major heist which leaves Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) and Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez), investigating, Ghost pays John (Paul Walker) a visit, drinks scotch and talks about a new heist that he wants done in no more in what would seem like a few hours of his release. John says he will speak to the crew about it and let him know in the morning. Being the persistant guy that he is, Ghost gate crashes a party and starts giving it the, 'I'm the man you need in your life' to his former girlfriend who is now with one of his crew members, Jake (Michael Ealy). Although he says that he harbours no ill feelings for the crew leaving him to get caught and him serving time and now Jake has his former girlfriend, there is nothing but tension in the air. Ghost lays out his plans and as long as everything seems do-able, the team agree to do the heist make off with the money and give Ghost what he was owed from the heist that sent him to jail plus the accumulated interest. However, the heist goes very wrong and although they make off with the money, Jack spots Jesse (Chris Brown) in the subway which ends up being one of the best chase scenes I've ever seen on camera. They all meet up later on in a hotel after a "successful" heist but then someone has other plans.
The film was an enjoyable watch. If your a man looking for action, it has it. If your looking for a lovely female too, Lily (Zoe Saldana) is too hot. She didn't even do or say much in the film but she is sexy enough to just rock a frock and make you forgive the fact that her lines were short. Plus females (as i went with a female), all the men are hot, apparently and with a storyline that isn't too terrible, you won't complain watching this film. The only bit you would complain about would be the scene that has Jesse and Jake in it. I can't think of a word to describe that scene that would be radio friendly. The funniest bit had to be Ghost's commentary during the heist where he depicts everything what is happening through his headset to the rest of the crew. And like I said before, Jesse's chase scene had me on the edge of my seat. For Chris Brown's first film I've seen him in, he weren't a bad actor at all.
Watch this film, I'm sure you will enjoy as it has something for everyone. For me, it was Zoe Saldana.
Do you know who James Cameron is? He's one of those directors who needs as much of an introduction as Steven Spielberg! He is the guy who directed 'Escape from New York', directed and wrote, 'The Terminator' to then do it again and produce, 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day'. He did work with Arnie on a string of films since T2 with, 'Last Action Hero' & 'True Lies' and not only did he do 'Aliens with Sigourney Weaver, 'Titanic' with Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet, he also had some kind of involvement with 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' and 'Terminator Salvation'. This guy is out there with the greats. You should know all of this and if you didn't, well now you know.
The rumour I heard surrounding Avatar was, this film has been 15 years in the making. Avatar had been in development since 1994 and was really meant to come out in 1999 after Titanic. However, he thought that technology needed to catch up with his ideas and so he left it to 2009. In all honesty, I don't blame him and he did the best thing as Avatar is a marvellously beautiful and REAL LOOKING film. I say REAL LOOKING because in reality, I haven't seen 15 foot tall creatures that speak a different language and a little bit of English on the streets of London, however, if one had lived inside a closed box and knew everything about special effects and all that jazz but haven't seen another real person other than themselves and the outside world, watching this film would get this person thinking that the Na'vi are real and other special effect films are just, well, special effects. What I mean is, the effects are so good, you'd be mistaken into thinking that you are watching a documentary of some sort or just real actors. When you see the facial expressions of the Na'vi and how they move so fluidly and how the light bounces off their hair, eyes and skin, you see that a lot of thought has gone into the effects and that it looks so real that, like I said, you'd think you are watching real actors.
The planet of Pandora resembles earth, however Pandora is beautifully abstract and very colourful (from what we have seen thus far). Rich in minerals that are very valuable in which the Humans are trying to cash in on. So, in saying that, that is what the film is about. Humans come from earth to go to Pandora, set up shop and then rape the planet of it's minerals for profit. Unfortunately, where all the most valuable materials are, is underneath the Na'vi village(Hometree) who are described as blue monkeys and savage animals who live in harmony only to be barbarically attacked by the humans for their own selfish money making schemes. Obviously, they put up a fight as the humans basically say, move or be pushed out of the way and that is where a full scale war with the Na'vi against the Humans start.
The war is led by a Human, Jake Scully(Sam Worthington) who has been sent to infiltrate the Omaticaya's village in his Avatar body, to learn their ways and convince them to move. However, as the Omaticaya see him as a deluded member of their own species, they teach him how to do things their way. This leads to falling in love with a native, Ntiri(Zoe Saldaña), who also falls in love, but as time runs out for Jake to get the Omaticaya clan to move, the corporation move in and start destroying the forest. When Jake tries to stop them and destroys the camera on one of their machines, he is disconnected from his avatar and imprisioned. He is then broken out and then heads back into his avatar to try and convince the Omaticaya clan that he meant no harm and he wants to help them win the waging war against the humans.
I saw this in 2D and 3D and all I can say is, it isn't necessary to watch this film in 3D, but it does add to the experience. This film is so good that, running for 3hours, it still manages to keep you entertained and wanting to know what happens next.
Brilliant and Excellent watch. I recommend this as a must watch for 2009 and a must purchase, especially if there are gonna be sequels. Trailer:
