Loading ...Movie Review - Avatar
User Rating:
(6 votes, average: 3 out of 4)
Loading ...
2009 / 162 Minutes / PG-13
Reviewed by Jason Jones
It’s been 12 years since “Titanic” sailed into cinematic history with $1.8 billion in global box office receipts and 11 Oscars in tow. On that fateful night at the Academy Awards, director James Cameron proclaimed himself to be the “King of the World” thanks to his film’s impressive accomplishments. Soon after, he vanished underwater to make a couple of documentaries and left film geeks around the world wondering when he would surface long enough to bring a true narrative to theaters again.
As it turns out, it would seem that we’ve been waiting for one of the most shallow cinematic experiences in recent memory.
A film we’ve been told “will change movies forever” hinging on it’s techonological innovation at the expense of anything resembing an original thought with regards to the story. An effects driven tour de force by a director who is always on the bleeding edge of technology, “Avatar” is a hollow and uninvolving undertaking for the viewer. It wants to envelop us in it’s painstakingly created world of Pandora, but we’re always kept at arm’s distance by the unimaginative story and characters that are painted in such broad strokes that one has to wonder if a child was involved in their creation.
What we got was the well produced cinematic equivalent of a highly polished, empty video game. Make no mistake. The special effects and 3-D found in “Avatar” are second to none. Every dime of the reportedly record breaking production budget can be seen on the screen. The world of Pandora is fully realized, it’s just a shame that the characters weren’t…
The story of “Avatar” is nothing new. Humanity has once again managed to rape the Earth of all it’s resources and has had to strike out into the great unknown in search of materials they can use to sustain their species. They find what they’re looking for, a mineral called Unobtanium on the planet Pandora. Problem is… Wait a minute. Back up there. What was that? Unobtanium?!? Yes, you read right. Unobtanium is the resource humanity is after. The level of thought put into the naming of this film’s MacGuffin (the lamest in film history) is indicative of the effort put into the story as a whole. Anyway. Where was I? Oh yes, Pandora and the search for Unobtanium… So the humans have found a deposit of this material and need to harvest it. There’s just one problem (Wish that’s all the plot had). There is a group of indigenous people called the Na’vi who live there and their sacred grounds rest directly above the Unobtanium (It’s so dumb, I just can’t help repeating it!) deposit.
The Na’vi are a thorn in the side of the military personnel and an opportunity for learning for the civilian research team that has been brought along on the mission. The military naturally would like nothing more than to test out their fancy weapons on the locals, snatch the objective, and leave. The researchers, on the other hand, have developed avatars (think of them as remote control Na’vi) that can be used to explore the world and make contact with the Na’vi. The researchers don’t care about the Unobtanium, they just want to pursue knowledge and discovery. Hmmm… Wasn’t “knowledge” the treasure in one of cinema’s other recent turds… Indy 4?
Through a contrived series of events, a crippled Marine (Sam Worthington) finds his way into his deceased brother’s avatar. The military sees this as an opportunity to have one of their guys gain intel on the enemy using the scientists’ toys. Whereas, the scientists aren’t excited to have him on board, but apparently have no choice other than to accept him into their ranks. After becoming acclimated to his avatr he finds his way out into Pandora and is the one the Na’vi choose to allow into their ranks. What follows is the usual paint-by numbers story of man falling for girl, realizing these other people/creatures really aren’t that different from him, and finally fighting alongside them against his “own kind”. If it sounds like “Dances with Wolves that’s because it is. Watch it instead. You’ll be seeing a far superior film and you’ll still have 15 bucks in your pocket.
I have already brought up some of the problems with the film. Mainly that it’s heart was in the wrong place, but there are a few other “issues” I’d like to point out.
First of all. Back to the Unobtanium. We’re told the humans want it. Why? According to Giovanni Ribisi the stuff is worth $20 million per kilo. Okay, fine. It’s worth a lot of money. Why? What is it used for? Ummm… Sorry I can’t answer that. We’re never let in on that little nugget of information. Knowing it’s purpose would have enhanced the story by making it about more than just money. Oil (which, let’s face it, is what the stuff is supposed to symbolize) is very valuable, but that doesn’t make it interesting. What makes it important is that we need it, because our way of life would not exist without it. How hard would it have been to throw in one or two lines explaining what it is used for? Not very. It could have even been a throwaway line, but give us something at least. Again, this is a lazy effort at storytelling through and through. No amount of 3-D and special effects can cover that up.
Another gripe… The hero character. Why the hell is he on the ship to Pandora in the first place? He claims he is along for the ride in search of adventure. I call bullshit. He is a crippled Marine! He has no purpose in this expedition. He would not be given such a valuable seat on a mission such as this. No, the reason he is there is to be conveniently available when his researcher twin brother (more laziness) dies and they need someone to use his avatar. End of case. This is the height of lazy screenwriting. As far as I could tell there was no really good reason for him to even be crippled. So why bother?
One more… The military guy. I don’t know who the actor is, but he was way over the top and borderline ridiculous in his portrayal of the character. I’m not laying it all his feet, because he was given nothing more than a one-dimensional character to work with. Still, the whole time I watched the movie I kept thinking “Why isn’t Michael Biehn playing this role?” I typically don’t question casting choices a lot, but this one I do. Biehn would have been such a natural fit and I’m sure he would have found a way to invest some humanity in the guy. He has worked with Cameron in the past and was great in “Planet Terror”. Perhaps, he read the script and chose to do nothing instead of be involved. I guess I wouldn’t really be able to fault him for that.
One bright spot in the film, beyond the effects, was seeing Michelle Rodriguez show up as the conflicted fighter pilot. There’s always a character like this in these movies, but she managed to add a couple of layers to the part that I doubt could be found in the script. She played her usual cocky swagger off against a quiet vulnerability that she has down pat by now. Here, like many times before, it works for the most part. The movie was the better for her involvement, but she wasn’t in it enough to really make a difference.
I wasn’t really surprised by what I saw from “Avatar”, but nevertheless still found myself disappointed. I’ve had my doubts about this movie for a long time and, as a result, had very low expectations. Deep down inside though, there was a little piece of me that thought maybe… Just maybe. Cameron could pull it off. That he could deliver on the enormous expectations that followed the success of “Titanic” and his own boasts about revolutionizing cinema with 3-D.
As it turns out he wasn’t up to the task. He may have raised the bar as far as 3-D and motion capture are concerned, but he lowered it significantly for the true reason that films exist… To tell interesting stories.
If this is the future of film, I’m not interested.
PS - If somebody reads this review years from now and the release of “Avatar” truly did announce a seismic change in the film industry please do the following:
1. Invent time travel
2. Take a page from the “Terminator” playbook and travel back to a time prior to the release date (12/18/2009) of “Avatar”.
3. Stop James Cameron from producing and releasing “Avatar”.
Thanks.
- Jones
December 20th, 2009 at 2:30 am
Wow. Hard to say I’m surprised, but what a shame. Movies like this (coupled of course with hot air ballooning prices) are why I don’t go to the theater anymore, and simply settle to watch them in my home theater, on my 46 inch high definition television (less talking, and fresher popcorn).
I agree whole wholeheartedly with you about how terrible the trailer looked, but still holding out some hope, because… hey… this IS James FREAKING Cameron we’re talking about. I generally agree with your evaluations of movies, and while I still plan on seeing it on disk… I’m beyond being in any sort of hurry.
Shame. I wanted to like this one.
Thanks for the review Jones. Keep rocking on with your bad self.
Hossrex
December 20th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I would say that if you have any interest in seeing the movie at all, that you should see it in 3-D at the theater. I say this, simply because the 3-D is as good as advertised and the only effective way to experience it properly is at the theater.
Maybe catch it at an early matinee. Some theaters have much cheaper pricing if you go before noon for example.
I think I may have enjoyed the movie to some extent had I not already seen it when it was called “Dances with Wolves”.
FYI - Dale and I have been discussing a podcast, so hopefully we’ll have something up soon. As always, don’t hold your breath though.
Merry Christmas!
- Jones
December 20th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
*starts holding breath*
You should make the next Fistful podcast some 26 mile, 4 hour marathon podcast.
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Hi Jones, a fan of the Benheck podcast here! I must say I don’t agree with your review. I truly enjoyed every minute of the movie, perhaps because I never saw Dances with Wolves and never will as I don’t like Westerns. Weta’s 3D work was flawless… Sigourney’s Avatar was lovely, and Zoe’s Avatar was HOT.
Hey Hossrex, go watch the F-in movie! (In 3D of course.) Don’t just rely on Jones’ review! Go watch it and then give us your thoughts.
December 24th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Hey Santiago, welcome to the site!
You’re certainly not alone in disagreeing with me. It would seem that most people liked it, although I have talked to people who had similar opinions to mine as well. Seems like a love it or hate it movie. For me it was an impressive tech demo, but the movie left me bored because there were no surprises to be found amidst all the shiny things on the screen.
If it had at least made some changes to the plot of “Dances With Wolves” beyond setting it on a different world I may have been able to stay interested. Instead it was nearly a carbon copy and ended up being incredibly predictable as a result.
As it was, I found myself thinking about other things during the movie (never a good thing). It is rare for me to actually get bored at the theater (although I almost fell asleep during a matinee showing of “Monsters Inc.”), so I knew “Avatar” was in trouble at that point.
December 24th, 2009 at 2:39 am
Out of all the people I know who saw Avatar… without exception, I could have guessed what their opinion would be before they even saw it.
Person A who liked Avatar: Likes fun movies. Doesn’t really care about story, character/plot development, just wants the visceral reaction to excitement.
Person B who didn’t like Avatar: Wants something that makes them think. Not necessarily adverse to the popcorn movie, but really prefers something with substance, and although they may enjoy cheap explosions and half naked women, quickly forgets any movie that doesn’t stimulate their mind.
There’s nothing wrong with either… but seldom does a movie come along that so evenly divides the two groups.
I personally don’t enjoy the movie theater experience anymore. Whether it’s the time I went last year where a man was receiving text messages every five minutes (and lighting the entire theater with his cellphones bright blue screen each time), or the time a person spent the entire time on the phone literally telling the person on the other end what was happening the whole time (complained to management, and after they warned him three times, I got tired of missing the movie to keep getting out of the theater to complain). Couple that with outrageous prices, filthy theaters, and useless employees… and I really just can’t stand the experience anymore.
If you live somewhere this doesn’t happen, enjoy it while you can. It didn’t used to happen where I lived either.
December 24th, 2009 at 8:36 am
I think the problem with “Avatar” is that it sold itself as Person B’s type of film, but ended up being the sort of movie Person A would be looking for. If they would have just said that it was a big dumb summer spectacle movie like “Transformers 2″ I may have been able to enjoy it on some level. Instead, they sold it as the film that would change everything and when you sell something that way it should excel in all areas.
I have to kind of agree on the theater experience not being all it is cracked up to be. It isn’t as bad around here as what hossrex has had to experience, but it is definitely going that direction. I go to less movies these days than I used to and also try not to go on the opening weekend if I can help it just to avoid packed theaters.
My #1 complaint is the jerk behind me who kicks my chair all the time. I should just start sitting in the last row in the theater to avoid that, but I don’t like sitting that far away.
Still the filmgoing experience is quite enjoyable when it isn’t tainted by inconsiderate people. I went to a sneak preview of “It’s Complicated” on Monday night and the audience had a blast. Lots of big laugh moments throughout the film. I hadn’t been to a movie in a loooooooonnnng time where the audience laughed as often or as hard as was the case with this movie. Pretty cool.
December 24th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
My girlfriend and I went to see the 9:30 show of Where the Wild Things Are, after like three weeks of it being in theaters. We were literally the only people in the theater, and it was one of the greatest movie-going experiences of my life. I loved the movie, the theater was silent, and we could sit wherever we wanted.
I can’t wait to see Avatar win Best Picture.
December 25th, 2009 at 1:00 am
I’ve had the “theater to myself” experience a couple times and loved it as well.
I distinctly remember seeing “The World is Not Enough” the day the new Star Cinema opened in Fitchburg and no one else was in the theater. Every 10 or 15 minutes I’d move to a different part of the theater to check out viewing angles and what not. Those were good times!
January 5th, 2010 at 6:28 am
[…] additional fun, here’s a link to Jones’ review of “Avatar” on his website. VN:F [1.6.8_931]please wait…Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)VN:F […]
January 7th, 2010 at 6:05 am
I saw Avatar in 3D tonight…
I like it. I sort of liked it a lot.
I feel bad.
There was an old guy kicking my seat the whole time though.
January 10th, 2010 at 2:16 am
Oh noes! Well, at least you saw it for yourself and made your own judgment. I didn’t care for it, but realize I’m in the minority on this.
I had some shmuck kicking my seat occasionally when I saw it as well. Inconsiderate people suck!
January 10th, 2010 at 3:54 am
Maybe it was the charm of being the first 3D movie (that didn’t involve red/blue glasses) I’ve ever seen?
I understand all the criticisms you guys have. I AGREE with all the criticisms you have. I still can’t get past unobtainium. But… I enjoyed the hell out of myself for almost 3 hours.
No way in hell it deserves best picture (without saying I support this movie for best picture, and simply to illustrate my opinion, I would firmly put Where the Wild Things Are ahead of Avatar), but I enjoyed it.
Still love the site Jones, you and Dale rock.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Hey guys, over from Benheck.com. Get ready for some hilariousness:
http://failblog.org/2010/01/10/avatar-plot-fail/
January 12th, 2010 at 12:26 am
Nice find Rich! Would be even funnier if it weren’t for the fact that it’s so true. Perhaps creativity has finally died in Hollywood after all.
March 17th, 2010 at 9:54 am
I thought the Unobtanium bit was blazingly obvious: it’s a room-temperature superconductor. There was even a little lump floating in a magnetic field for crying out loud! My main gripe was the decision to go on a perilous makeshift bombing run, instead of directing the main drive laser from their enormous orbiting spaceship onto the target and turning it on for a second.