Avatar Movie Review
January 28, 2010 | 10:57 amSo I saw Avatar last night. First, I highly recommend 3D. There is so much thought given and work put into the visuals, that you’re doing yourself a favor by seeing it in IMAX, it’s what it was designed for. You will be in awe.
Story / Character Development
The story was fine, better than what I had heard. OK, there was nothing “new”, but then, as I talk about below, it’s rather descriptive of our own history, isn’t it? We’re constantly making the same mistakes, believing we can go conquer a world without the help of the natives.
Character development was decent given the scope of this movie (usually epic movies are all about the graphics and the scale, but about the characters, so this one was superior for that). I enjoyed the female leadership. I will fault these movies in 1 way though: it’s always an outsider that has to come and be “the good guy”, and be the one who’s creative enough to save the underdogs. But, having said that, in this movie, without the help of the natives, and more importantly, the entire fauna… oh and the fact that Michelle Rodriguez was in the movie. UGH. She bugs me. She bugged me in The Fast and the Furious, and she bugged me in Lost too. Don’t like her, she’s only got 1 range of emotions.
The Visual Experience
The visuals were unbelievable. The world Cameron dreamed up, OMG. Amazing. Especially in 3D, i was so taken and immersed by the grandeur of this world, it was so thought out and planned, like for example the effects of a lesser gravity on the size of everything from the people to the trees and the floating mountains, as well as their ability to move in such an agile way. I loved the line about trusting your body to know what to do.
I also loved the underlying message of “we’re all connected, respect your environment”, even thanking the individual animal after a kill, returning it to the general consciousness. This is different from thanking our deity for the food. Here, the characters thanks the individual dead animal, with the understanding that this was for the balance of the world (just like their deity not answering prayers by taking sides, but only intervening to maintain balance).
A Note About the Villains
Someone I went with told me that they thought the villains were too exaggerated, but I don’t agree. Think about the colonization of any country. We start by trying to respect the needs of the native people, but when it no longer fits in what we want, then we ignore their needs and destroy the world and the balance the natives had created for very good reasons, without understanding WHAT we’re destroying.
Isn’t it a fact that everytime the white man arrived in a new environment, 1/2 of them would die because of the new conditions, not understanding the environment, not respecting the natives, using the available medicine and asking for help? Aren’t we doing the same in Afghanistan (although I hate making that connection), being arrogant enough to think that we can win a war in the world’s most arduous terrain were locals have lived for centuries? I mean, it’s only been 9 years that we’ve been looking for that bearded man with a head-scarf hiding in the mountains….
In fact the ENTIRE reason for humans, in this movie, to be on Pandora, is because they destroyed their own “green” on Earth, but now, obsessed with the one mineral they need, they are willing to destroy it all over again in someone else’s back yard?
Conclusion
Will this movie leave the lasting impression that Titanic did on me? I don’t think so. There was more story to Titanic, and I think THAT’S what will make its legacy (well, given it was based on actual events, that helps). But I will remember this movie for its messages, and, just like with Titanic too, for its intricacy: the work that went into it, the planning, the thought, the details, the logic… and finally for the sheer grandeur of the project.
The “connectivity” message is part of my current thought process right now, which is why this post is also part of the “In a New York state of mind” and “The ‘isms I believe in” categories.
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