A Return Trip to Pandora Continued to Please

So this is less of a review and more of an extended note, with no spoilers, regarding the newly released special edition of James Cameron’s Avatar (maybe some of you have heard of it).  My actual review of the film can be found here:

http://thecodeiszeek.blogspot.com/2010/08/pandora-home-of-avatar.html

And the opinions of my fellow reviewers at Why So Blu can be found here:

http://whysoblu.com/my-heart-will-go-on-with-avatar/

http://whysoblu.com/avatar-in-3d-stunning-but-tedious/

http://whysoblu.com/james-cameron-keeps-his-crown-with-avatar/

In December of 2009, James Cameron released Avatar to the world.  It was of course met with massive amounts of praise both critically and from audiences, and went on to become, financially, the most successful film ever made.  Success for this film would continue as it managed to garner many awards, including a lot of Oscar and Golden Globe recognition, and would later become the biggest selling Blu-Ray of all time.  Now, the film has been re-released on to IMAX screens all over as a special edition, adding nine new minutes of footage.

After having viewed the film again on the giant IMAX (which is truly the best way to see this film), I can safely say that the extended version will be my preferred version to watch.  As with other James Cameron films that have had director’s cut versions or additional footage inserted into the film, the added sequences function to expand on a few story beats in a number of ways.  First off, a new action scene is inserted into the film, which actually aids a sequence that follows it.  We also get to learn more about Pandora, as some new creatures are introduced and we are given an explanation to how it is that the Hallelujah Mountains can float so high in the sky. Most importantly, some additional character development and an expansion of some story aspects occur, which, while slight, benefit the film quite well.

This special edition expands the film to 171 minutes, which is quite long, but as far as I’m concerned, the movie is still very watchable.  The upcoming release of the collector’s edition Blu-Ray for this film will have a version of the film that is even longer, with a total of 16 minutes added to the original running time.  This includes the deleted sequence on earth, which originally opened the film.  I am aware that everyone may not be a fan of the film’s length as it is, but I am certainly looking forward to continue to see how James Cameron can expand his vision of Pandora.