It's not often that I review a movie, much less a DVD, but this time I can't resist! This one actually came out waaay back on November 16, but since it was gift wrapped and under the Christmas tree, I had to wait for it...
It's the Avatar Extended Collector's edition -- 20 minutes longer than the 3D version we saw about a year ago. Verdict?
Whooooooo! Words fail me. In places, it's like you're seeing the movie for the first time. It must have broken the hearts of James Cameron and company, having to trim the movie to the theatrical release version. Especially as you'll find, on the disks, that even after 20 was put back in to create the 3-hour version seen here, there's still another 45 minutes of deleted scenes!
Meaning, one day (next Christmas?) They might field the 4-hour version, in ultra-widescreen, not to mention 3D, for those people who have the occasional five grand to invest in the tv set to play it. I'm not investing in 3D tellies for a while. The first ones to go on sale just months ago are already being called obsolete, so I'm waiting a few years till the technology is passe, it's good enough to a) be worth the asking price, b) be stable enough for the hardware not to go obsolete while cringe over your credit card balance. And also, there needs to be a lot more 3D movies to feed it, to make it worth the hammering the Visa card is going to take!
But this version...
...is magnificent. There's no other word for it. If you've seen Avatar before, but haven't seen this version -- well, it only costs $19.99 in a sale, and if you can use it to invite yourself over to a mate's place, because you've got the DVD and they've got the bigscreen TV, so much the better. Have a look at this:If you like your movies epic, as I do, and you like your SF breathtaking, just bite the bullet and buy it again!
One other thing: keep a box of kleenex handy, because the additional material puts a heavy kick into situations and scenes that were already highly-charged.
