Since his Oscar-winning 1997 film "Titanic," James Cameron has done very little in the way of big-screen attractions. Now in 2009 for 20th Century Fox, he returns to writing and directing with the extraordinary science-fiction/fantasy "Avatar." I would assume that since we haven´t seen much from Cameron in the past decade, he would certainly have his work cut out for him. I would also imagine if you found the one-dimensional narrative in "Titanic" entertaining enough, then you would have no problems enjoying "Avatar."
The story itself is one that has been told far too many times in American culture. I couldn´t stop thinking that just about every Western ever made has told the same story. In fact, Disney´s "Pocahontas" is kind of similar, if not a carbon copy, of the story. What we have is a paraplegic soldier, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who has the chance to join a science/military experiment on a distant planet, with a group led by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). The fine doctor needs Jake to interact with a tribe of alien beings known as the Na´vi, but he will have to do this in an avatar body that looks identical to a Na´vi. The attempt is to get the Na´vi to move from one gigantic tree they live in. Of course, this would be because the attractive, blue fantasy creatures live directly above the mother load of a very valuable mineral, a mineral we know very little about other than it´s worthy enough to turn greedy humans into savages.
Leading the pack of people we love to hate is Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi). Parker is leading the pack of workers to mine the alien planet and will stop at nothing, including the use of military force. Parker´s only concerns are money, power, and obsessive greed. Leading that military coalition is Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who is by far the most overacted, one dimensional character in the bunch. Colonel Miles is that one character that should have died eight scenes ago but always manages to narrowly escape peril. It´s like when Austin Powers is falling out that window with Robin Swallows and yelling, "Why won´t you die?"
As the story lugs on, you can almost paint in the outcome by the obvious numbers left on the screen. As Jake spends more time in his avatar body, the more he finds a connection within himself and the Na´vi. Naturally, there´s the subtle love angle with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), but certainly not at the domination level of "Titanic." No, this film throws us a common plot with literally no surprises, and uses some very attractive visuals to make us enjoy the taste of that big spoon in our mouth.
The Good:
Hands down, the best thing about "Avatar" are the visuals alone. It´s certainly going to be the drooling joy of anyone fascinated with visual effects and sound. Yes, it will be part of your Blu-ray "show off" editions. Not that there´s anything too original here, as I would say Cameron is just utilizing the visual arts of science fiction and fantasy that have already been around for decades. What we get here is a simple-enough story to paint up some wonderful visuals to stare at. Oh, and let´s not forget things we get to blow up, too.
The Bad:
The bad here is a narrative that has been overcooked far too long. As I mentioned, it´s quite literally "Pocahontas" on another planet. The other nails on the chalkboard for me were the clichéd narrative of the military. I felt the part of the bad guys was so predictable and one dimensional that it was enough to obstruct my perspective of simply enjoying the film. I mean, as a culture in the far future, we still have not got past excessive greed and have not learned anything about humanity? The scientists talk with reason and common sense while the greedy corporations and the military destroy everything in their path. So, for that far into the future, I´m supposed to assume human culture still has not evolved to something a bit more enlightening? Really? Well, I guess you have to have some action somewhere in the movie, and you can always count on a bit of testosterone to provide it. The problem for me is I just wasn´t buying into it.
Also, what groundbreaking effects was I to notice? If you don´t know the CGI industry that well, then you won´t know what to look for. Therefore, as an audience member, all I can do is point at things and say, "Hey, that looks fake." Yes, I realize I mentioned the visuals are the best thing. Nevertheless, the film is marred by subpar effects, or perhaps my eyes have just grown adjusted to spotting it after so many years. Many of the animal creatures look extremely fake, like a marriage of rubber meets plastic on a computer model that took a nap on rendering details. In the days when we could finally tell some plastic spaceships looked like toy models, I´m beginning to find the same of CGI models. However, what "Avatar" has going for it is the style, design, and art in the effects. Everything certainly looks pretty on a visual level, but the blend makes it difficult to decide whether the film wanted to be an animated CGI extravaganza or one dealing with live action.
The Ugly:
The hype for this film has been quite ugly, and I can´t say I found the outcome lived up to it. I´m really happy I don´t have small children because they´d probably want Na´vi dolls for Christmas. Didn´t we have blue play figures back in the eighties? Weren´t they called "Smurfs"? I guess you could say the Na´vi are the taller, sexier version of Smurfs. I mean, they do live in the woods, surrounded by fantasy creatures of all kinds. Nevertheless, a movie that packs hype also comes with after-marketing and the possibility to develop a never-ending franchise.
Closing:
For something that looks extremely well produced, it´s too bad the narrative is just a mediocre affair. I had higher hopes and was curious to see what Cameron could come up with after many years of absence from the blockbuster machine. The way I see it, when you´re checking your watch and nodding off a couple times in the movie theater, things can´t be too good. --> Read More ...
