Even though it’s smaller and not in 3D, “Avatar” (Fox, $39.99) looks better on Blu-ray in at least one important respect: it’s brighter and therefore more vivid and visually dynamic. Which is to say, “Avatar” on Blu-ray is simply stunning.
Before you even push “play,” the 60-second highlight promo loop on the opening menu screen will knock your socks off. A fun new branding logo after the closing credits of the movie assures us that the Blu-ray transfer won the important THX seal of quality approval. (A seemingly inadvertent disclaimer for audio commentaries and interviews that follows the THX logo suggests those may be elements on a special edition that producer Jon Landau says is coming in November).
This edition is as stripped down as you can get — a menu for scenes is all you get; not even a trailer or promo of any kind.
But for many of the fans that helped the movie become the top-grossing film of all-time, the movie will be plenty, especially when it looks this good. The inherent brightness of your video display counters the image seen in theaters through dark polarized glasses. It’s particularly dazzling in the luminescent flora of the Pandora planet of blue people called Na’vi, as well as the flights atop the giant flying creatures.
And while you may miss the extra depth provided by the 3D in a few scenes, for the most part the lack of 3D is not noticeable since the 3D effect in the movie was kept to such a minimum that it was often not even perceptible.
Also improving on the theatrical presentation in many theaters, the Blu-ray is presented in a 1.78:1 (16×9) aspect ratio, which adds more height to the 2.35:1 image seen in most theaters other than IMAX. This also really adds more impact to the flying scenes, especially when they fly vertically down the mountains, and is the screen size dimension that Cameron said he came to love in IMAX and on Blu-ray.
I didn’t love “Avatar” in terms of story and especially in terms of the characters — even in a 3D movie these are as one-dimensional as you can get — neither did I dislike it as much as others. I was disappointed in the subtlety of the 3D and bored with the half-hour final battle that seemed as though it came to an ending about three times before finally wrapping up after 2-hours and 40-minutes.
Having said that, I was blown away by the seamless blend of CGI, motion-capture and live-action like never before. Unlike almost every other movie where I am immediately taken out of the film as soon as there is a CGI character or effect that is obviously CGI, this was the first movie — a milestone in filmmaking — where I felt like the CGI/Mo-cap characters felt as real as the live-action characters.
Because of the unprecedented visuals (discounting the 3D) and the impeccable transfer in this full 1080p Blu-ray version that uses the top quality AVC MPEG-4 codec on the maximum 50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc, this “Avatar” edition has instantly become my new demonstration disc to show off Hi-Def Blu-ray to visitors.
— By Scott Hettrick