Back in December 2009, my husband and I went out to dinner and then strapped into three hours of 3D mayhem with James Cameron’s overrated Avatar. In no way do I encourage the 3D movie industry that has plagued theaters recently, but I am lucky to be one of those who is not hindered by the 3D experience. Clearly, I see that in 3D films, everything is dimmed and colors are not nearly as bright, but it does not give me headaches or makes me queasy in the slightest. The effects, 3D and otherwise, of Avatar were appreciated. However, the recycled plot really brought me down.
In a way, I have to applaud Cameron’s technique on making a 3D movie not look so dingy. The use of bright colors and contrast went a long way in the theater. It was still saturated, but the contrast makes it more difficult to detect. And with so much action constantly going on, my eyes were glued so well that they vetoed my begging bladder for the last half of the film. Damn that 32 ounce soda.
Oh yeah, there was a plot to Avatar right? Somewhere between all the visuals they snuck in some Dances with Wolves meets FernGully: The Last Rainforest story set on the futuristic planet of Pandora. Don’t open that box, you don’t know the power of unobtanium!
Sorry, let me start at the beginning; seems that military forces from Earth have come to Pandora to learn about its inhabitants, the Navi, and drill its natural resource, unobtanium. On the Earth base, there is a clash between the military personnel, lead by a scar-headed, G.I. Joe action figure model, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), and the “egghead” scientists lead by Grace (Sigourney Weaver). It’s your typical brains vs brawn approach to how to handle this new planet.
Plot structure dictates that the protagonist must be able to have his foot in both courts, so bring in Jake (Sam Worthington), a disabled marine whose recently deceased identical twin brother was a scientist on the Avatar program. How convenient. Rather than toss out the Na’vi body government money has made for his brother, Jake simply replaces him, with no training or scientific knowledge of Pandora or the Na’vi to aid him. Grace isn’t happy about bringing a jar-head in to do her research, and Quaritch is excited to have a man he can trust on the inside. Jake quickly gets a sort of double-agent agenda, do the Avatar program, but report to Quaritch about how to overrule the Na’vi. When Jake gets lost in the jungle and eventually becomes accepted by an entire Na’vi tribe, falling in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the king’s daughter, and learning that unobtanium is the life force of the planet, his agenda changes. He has to help the Na’vi defend their planet.
There is no doubt that all the astounding visuals are huge technological achievements for the film industry. Huge kudos to Mr. Cameron there. But honestly, after that first viewing it becomes a novelty. Once I’m over the pretty colors and flying mountains, I yearned to feel like I have for some real movie moments that were naturally beautiful. There is sense of adventure I always feel watching the helicopter first land in Jurassic Park, with the jungle and waterfall behind it. The buffalo stampede in Dances with Wolves is a heartpounding experience that leaps off the screen without 3D. The sprawling deserts in Lawrence of Arabia have this majestic feeling of vastness and being that I just don’t find in Avatar. Even Peter O’Toole’s camel ranks higher than that neon pterodactyl.
It is not enough for a film to be a wonderful visual overload and leave me hanging for that emotional connection or sense of adventure. I knew the plot structure too well, therefore the only surprises were for my eyes and not my mind or heart. In the climatic battle, I had a moment in the theater where I stepped back from the action and asked when the chick with the helicopter would make a surprise attack for the good guys…and there she was. You’re not supposed to let me be able to step out of the moment and predict that Mr. Cameron. Big no-no.
“I see you.”
The Best Picture Project 
This movie gets way too much crap. Everyone is so eager to point out similarities to Dances With Wolves or Ferngully. The movie shouldn’t have made as much money as it did and it isn’t Best Picture quality, but I still think it’s a solid film. It’s not great, but it’s not really bad either. If it hadn’t been for the awards or massive box office success, this film wouldn’t get dissed nearly as much.
I agree with the cooper comment. Not a bad film; BUT I did like it better when it was called “Dances with Wolves”…heck, I even liked it better when it was called “Pocahontas”. The problem here is that somewhere along the way, Cameron’s ego has inflated to the size of Titanic (another film which I thought was WAAAYY overblown). Sorry, I just don’t think that he’s as good as he thinks he is and he seems to revel in trite used storylines with great Art Direction and Sound and Visual Effects. “Avatar” was not as bad as I had feared; but not nearly at the level of divinity to which many of his fans accorded this effort. I wonder what Cameron would come up with if he had to rely on just a good script and actors, without all the visuals…And his message regarding the “noble savage” smacked of a subtle, but underlying, racism.
Loving these comments today. Cooper, you’re dead on, Avatar isn’t bad, but it is not BP worthy. The fact that it wormed its way into the exclusive areas of Oscar and box office records makes it a real target, and I couldn’t help but take a swing. And Ken, I read this comment from my phone when I was leaving Super8 and was just in stitches. Thank you!
I’m disappointed in you Alison. not for not liking the film, but for not resisting to mention the not-so-original Dances with Wolves comparison which is ridiculously cliche at this point. I’m still looking for a criticism of this film which resists the urge to bring it up, and I was hoping it would be you! Oh well…
As to the film, you do mention some monsters to compare it to: Lawrence of Arabia, Jurassic Park, etc. Its not near those films’ greatness. But at the same time, the movie did give me that true sense of movie wonder which reminded me a lot of Jurassic Park and Star Wars. That’s why I like it so much I think.
I actually think the more straight-forward story is better for a movie like this, which is a movie about exploration when it comes right down to it. However, there is some interesting stuff going on here like the fact that he’s really living in two worlds at once through the Avatar program.
Ian, sorry to disappoint. I wrestled with the notion of bringing that up, but when I wanted to compare it to some great natural movie moments, I couldn’t resist the continuity, no matter how cliche.
Have you read Ebert’s review? He genuinely loved it, four stars, and even thought it could evoke a cult film status: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091211/REVIEWS/912119998
Ebert also gave Salt four stars…
I’m not saying I don’t respect the man, I certainly do, but he’s given outrageous scores before.
“therefore the only surprises were for my eyes and not my mind or heart”… exactly to the point. The film’s problem to me also is not that it draws on many earlier stories from film and literature, but that it does it in a terribly predictable manner. I would watch it again any time, the visuals are stunning and it still is the only film I have seen where the 3D has been done well, true to the colours and brightness. But just like all other Cameron movies since Aliens, it is just not well-written and lives off action-romance particles recycled too often to be of interest. My take: http://thomas4cinema.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/avatar-james-cameron-2009/
See what happens, Alyson, when you don’t worship at the altar of Cameron? and the reaction? Anyway, my teenage nephews and nieces really liked it as well. As for the comparison with Dances with Wolves” being cliched, it may be a cliche because it’s so!. It’s definitely distracting to watch a movie for the first time and sit there wondering where you know the story from….such was the case with “Avatar” until it hit WHY I knew the story. He does know how to do art work and visual effects, though, so I’ll just leave it there.