Avatar (2004)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Jian Hong Kuo

Writer (WGA):

Christopher Hatton (written by)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

You don't play the Game, the Game plays you.

Plot:

In the near future in the Asian city-state Sintawan, everyone's identity is recorded in the vast CyberLink...

Plot Keywords:

Subway | City | Computer | Futuristic | Virtuality

Cast

Genevieve O'Reilly	...	Dash MacKenzie
Luoyong Wang	...	Victor Huang
Kay Siu Lim	...	Julius
David Warner	...	Joseph Lau
Joan Chen	...	Madame Ong
Michael De Mesa	...	Davinder Sandhu
Henry O	...	Uncle Hui
Remesh Panicker	...	Player #5
William Sanderson	...	Riley
T. Sasitharan	...	Minister
Kumar	...	Zai
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ferdaus Bin Ahmad	...	Raver #3
Lennard Chan	...	Man in crowd
Gerald Chew	...	Edward Chan
Hwee Chin Chiam	...	Goggles Man
Richard Chua	...	Street Cop 2
Robin Atkin Downes	...	Various
Lay Kuan Goh	...	Auntie Mei
Pierre Goh	...	Raver #5
Adam Golomb	...	Gold Raver
Jerry Hoh	...	Aerodyne Cop 1
Marjorie Ho	...	Mdm Ong's elderly attendent
Sharon Ismail	...	Sylvia
Ray Lee	...	Street Cop 1
Casey Lim	...	Medical Examiner
Lydia Look	...	Girl Raver
Seng Onn Loong	...	Player #3
Kee Hong Low	...	Cyberpriest
Richard Low	...	Uncle Ban
Bonnie Sta Maria	...	Aerodyne Cop 2
Marcus Mok	...	Wanted Man
Kevin Murphy	...	Silver Raver
Swee Lin Neo	...	Puppy seller
Wei Min Ng	...	Hotel Manager
Abdul Rahman	...	Raver #6
Rajan Ramchandani	...	Shopkeeper
Lyle Schwarz	...	Player #4
Dwayne Tan	...	Ah Kun
Fu Kuen Tang	...	Sim Dealer
William Tan	...	Raver #4
Kate Wilson	...	Lieutenant Crowley
Allan Wong	...	Fisherman
Claire Wong	...	Newsanchor
Godfrey Yeo	...	Pavilion announcer

Also Known As:

Avatar Exile (Singapore: English title) (working title)
Cyber Wars (USA) (DVD title)
Matrix Hunter (USA) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, brief nudity and language.

Runtime:

USA:103 min

Country:

Singapore

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Singapore

Company:

Cinemancer Pte Ltd.

Movie Connections:

References The Matrix (1999)

Domino meets The Matrix, in Blade Runner world

Not bad, not bad at all. I gather this is Australian, at least in part, and it seems of a piece with the generally good quality of Australian films, at least those imported to the US compared with the US domestic product.

As my title suggests, it combines general plot elements of Domino, The Matrix, and the general concept of Blade Runner; it doesn't try to outdo any of them, but instead is a somewhat stripped down, sleek SF action film, more in the spirit of Domino than the somewhat ponderous senses of The Matrix and Blade Runner, which had to set up the cyberpunk world that this movie can now take for granted.

What's nice about it is a general lack of crap or cheesiness; actors are all good, including Joan Chen and William Sanderson, apparently a permanent fixture of the cyberpunk world since Blade Runner; dialogue is good; no cheesy effects, performances, dialogue, etc. I find this compares favorably with something like Freejack, which had the faint whiff of fromage floating about it, as well as Mad Max (the original) which was sort of obviously cartoonish.