Avatar

J: “Avatar” (which should also be known as “James Cameron Saves Hollywood”) was so exquisitely beautiful it reduced me to tears for most of the movie. Sure that’s an awful lot of hyperbole, which isn’t like me at all, so let’s temper it a bit. Having said all that, I’m the first to admit the message in the movie, or at least the delivery of said message, is a little heavy-handed. The one thing I think everyone can agree on is that, once again, James Cameron has moved filmmaking to a whole new amazing level – something that only a handful of directors can claim. Yes, it cost several human limbs and maybe a first-born or two, but the beauty of that is once the technology is in place, the rest is gravy. Just ask Peter Jackson and George Lucas. The perfect blending of live actors and stunning animation in 3D is clearly where Hollywood was heading – it’s the best of both worlds.

I’m not going to rehash the plot because if you haven’t seen it yet you probably aren’t going to and if you have, you’re probably on your third or fourth viewing. But I would like to talk about something my PIC said – that Avatar is just “Dances With Wolves” on steroids. It’s a fair comparison but I think that’s just the point. The Earthlings are doing just what Earthlings do best – exploiting natural resources to the point of destruction and seizing whatever they want, whether it’s there for the taking or it belongs to someone else and violently if necessary. Basically, if you are weaker, you’re toast! But the message I really appreciated was the close connection the Na’vi on planet Pandora had to the natural world around them; the importance they gave to the plants, trees and animals – even the ones they killed for food were honored in death and not destroyed wantonly or without respect. A little more of that attitude in this world would be a welcome change.

What made me cry? The sheer beauty of the planet Pandora and the feeling in 3D that it surrounded me; that I felt I was really there was a breathtaking experience. The little bugs that floated around in the air looked so real I was tempted to reach out and touch them. Jungle paths that lighted up when the Na’vi walked on them and then went dark after they passed – what an imagination!

What made me mad? Yes, I now circle back to the heavy-handed delivery of the message. I think the military “bad guys” would have been better served, and would have given critics a bit less ammo, if the reprisals had been toned down a bit. Well, maybe toned down isn’t the right phrase; how about a bit less of it. I didn’t need 45 minutes of nuclear bombing and Marine hoo-ra to “get it”. The other really glaring thing for me was the object of all this greed and avarice – some goofy rock called “unobtanium”. Are you kidding me? What a stupid name! And we never get to know what it was the silly rock did – unless I was swooning and missed it! The other thing I believe is going to bother me after my second or third time seeing Avatar (you bet – I’ll support a genius like Cameron!) is the rather flatness of the characters but I’m sure that will be addressed in the next movie – yes, of course there’ll be another 10 or 15 – this is Hollywood, right? I also would like to have seen a bit more redemption from some of the characters – notably, Giovanni Ribisi’s corporate suck-up administrator, Parker Selfridge, who is this mysterious unobtainium’s biggest fan. It was hinted at for a moment but then he was being packed off back to the dying Earth with the rest of the military grunts. Maybe next time?

I do admire what this movie has done as well as what it tries hard to represent and really do look forward to the next installment, and the next, and the next….. well, you know the drill.