I watched Avatar this evening with my wife. And what can I say… Very very disappointed. Yes, the graphics were amazing and the tall smurfs didn’t bother me too much, but the story sucked. I have heard a lot of people say that it “wasn’t original”, but frankly I thought it was horrible.
Story Issues:
Why would bi-pedal humanoids evolve on a planet where nearly every other creature is six-legged? Once again we have a movie where miraculously very ‘human’ creatures evolve on another planet with some minor characteristic that make them ‘alien’.
Why would a complete alien race have bows and arrows? I can understand a knife – a sharp instrument/tool could develop anywhere, but a bow and arrow is a human weapon. I am not saying the concept of a taut string flinging a object couldn’t happen, but com’on their weapons were instantly identifiable. Speaking of which where did the arrow’s fletching come from – I never saw anything feathered on Pandora.
If the whole operation to mine Pandora was a business enterprise, then is risking billions/trillions of dollars of equipment/trained manpower the best way to go? The Corporate/Military people seems awful willing to throw away everything just to show some ‘savages’ who’s boss. Seeing how corporations run in this day and age, I have a hard time believing that in the future a trillion dollar enterprise will be run by the equivalent of a used car salesman. – i am not saying corporation are not greedy and that they don’t destroy things, just that usually they cover their asses a lot better.
If a unknown group of ‘people’ came to you on the street and explained that they were actually a advanced race of aliens that grew bodies that look just like you but are really controlled by tiny men in a lab somewhere – what would you reaction be? 1. Would you take them seriously? 2. If you did, would you ever give them a chance to become part of you family. 3. Wouldn’t you be seriously creeped out that an alien race was manipulating you by pretending to be a part of your race?
Why was it such a shock when Jake revealed the terrible news to the Na’vi? Earlier in the film we had already heard that there had been altercations between the two groups. So wait the Na’vi are incredibly intelligent (so intelligent that they don’t need technology because they made peace with nature (or the nature ‘network’ mumbo jumbo) yet they are so naive that they don’t see this war coming beforehand. Oh wait they are the innocent savages who the white man… wait the humans take advantage of.
Are the Na’vi culture devoid of deception? The portrayal of their race in this film reminds me of the aliens in Galaxy Quest – they do not know lying or deceit so are confused when someone they trust uses it for good. The Na’vi are obviously stand ins for Native Americans and their portrayal as the noble savage is just as racist as the ‘evil corporate’ characters in the film.
Why can’t they be flawed too? Why are the humans so inherently evil (oh sorry except for a select educated few)? A far more interesting story would have been to have both sides distrustful and deceptive – making the final truce(not victory) much more satisfying. I left the film feeling guilty for something humanity hasn’t even done. And as much as I hated the Stephen Lang’s Military badass, I had to stop and think when he asked Jake “How does it feel to betray your own people” – why am I siding with a human who is actively killing hundreds/thousands of his own kind. Is that the message here – if we see someone doing wrong we should kill and kill and kill until our blood lust is satisfied and there is not enough of them to continue. There is really a mixed message here about killing – when the ‘evil’ corporation kills a tree (or nature network, whatever) that justifies the mass slaughter of hundreds. The ‘good’ humans seem to decide pretty quickly that all other humans’ lives are forfeit.
What is the timeline of the film? Dr. Grace has obviously been on Pandora for a long time and it took Jake 5 years to travel to Pandora and Norm says he trained for three years. But the evil Corporation and their hired Guns are just now getting to the Planet. Logically – geological surveys would have been done first and if the ‘unobtanium’ had been found – Dr. Grace and her science team would have never heard of Pandora. The time line doesn’t add up with the story progression.
I think the film makers assumed that everyone would get so lost in their stunningly realistic world, that no one would pay attention to the terrible story. I wanted to like Avatar – I really did, but when you wipe away the glitter you are left with a poorly put together melodrama. Two films this year have really impressed me – District 9 and Pandorum. Both film were made for less than a quarter of Avatar extravagant budget and were far better films. Avatar was sold to the masses as a product, a easily digestible environmental fable that you could shut off you brain and be overwhelmed by. I just never bought into it – not once during the entire lengthy runtime did I ever lose myself in the story. While the tech was impressive, there was no soul behind it – no art or passion to lift it beyond a tech demo reel.
Maybe someone else will come along and finish what James Cameron started and use this impressive technology to tell a good story with deep characters. The problem at that point will be that everyone will ignore it because it will be a Avatar knock off. I remember when Equlibrium came out – everyone said it was just a Matrix clone. It wasn’t, it was a superior film made with a much smaller budget. I hope that doesn’t happen after Avatar, because it isn’t a great film and should be remembered as one.
I know a lot of you are saying – “It was just a movie.” or “You’re taking it way too seriously.” But that kind of is the point. This movie is on its way to being one of the biggest selling movies ever and when you break it down it just isn’t that good of a movie. The planet and its animals were pretty to look at, but that was it. The story was contrived, a lot of the characters (especially the Humans) were one dimensional. Some of the acting was downright terrible – I don’t get why everyone is praising Stephen Lang – my wife and I were laughing at him. His dialog was so hockey and over the top that I never once took him seriously. I really like Sam Worthington in it, but felt like he and the other good actors in this film were working were doing the best they could with a lousy script.
The biggest disappointment though was the fact that nothing in Avatar surprised me. I guessed nearly every plot turn and character development. The graphics were incredible, but it failed as a entertaining movie. Like so many films in recent years – it had all the money in the world behind it, but none of the heart.
