Avatar

Posted Wed Jan 20, 2010 in TV/Movies

A few weeks ago, Young Son, Wife, and I went to an afternoon matinee to see Avatar on the big screen. There was so much hype and the money shot¹ was so good that we were all excited.

The movie is best seen in 3D. It will be good on the regular screen too, but it is absolutely wonderful in 3D. I was enthralled by the movie, so much so that I told Wife on the way out “That one belongs in our collection of Blu-Ray discs.”

By any measure the film is a commercial success. It also is an artistic success for its use of technology if for no other reason.

Spoiler Alert: Don’t read past here if you don’t want to know more about the story and haven’t seen the movie yet.

All that said, I have some thoughts that have been stewing for awhile now. I’ve thought about the movie several times over the last few weeks. Right after seeing the movie, Young Son and I were talking about how the story was “just OK.” He called it a move of tropes). In retrospect, I have to agree.

And here is where my opinion of the movie changes, at least to some extent. The evil corporation is evident as the prime mover in the film. This is a story line used previously by Cameron (think the Alien franchise). The “noble savage” story line is also an old theme. “The Savior” is yet another trope that is used and reused. The Gaia theme is another — that everything and everyone is connected. The Pochahontas story was evident as well. The conflict between the alien and the local lead warrior was there.

I also thought the characters were one-dimensional. The security chief was too single-minded for any human being. The lead warrior of the Na’vi was as well. The old shaman and tribal chief were not very deep characters as well.

I thought a lot of the actors have great talent. Stephen Lane is talented, as is Sigourney Weaver. They have tremendous presence on the screen. The supporting staff also has significant capability. My opinion is that they were underused. There was so much more that could be done with the characters.

I guess in the final measure, at least for me, I was left feeling like I was being preached at once again. Instead of there being a great story, there was just the same old cliches that seem to come from Hollywood over and over again. The oppression of native peoples, the environmental disaster message, the evil corporation, the malevolent security chief who takes things way-too-personally, the inept corporate guy, the blind scientist(s) — these were all just elements all seen before in so many different ways and I’m just tired of them.

There was so much potential for an interesting story and interesting characters. I think it was wasted.

So, although I loved the movie and found it entertaining (and will watch it again on the small screen), I am disappointed that the story wasn’t as strong as the technology. It was a story of tropes and canned characters without significant dimension. The lack of good story and character development seems like a shame.

¹ AKA a movie trailer.

1. I liked the film, but I didn’t care much about the story as such. For me, it was the sort of movie you have got to watch in a theater (having a home theater doesn’t compare) for all the special effects. ‘Avatar’ was ordinary content packaged in sleek form.

   I think, movies of this type come with a compromise as regards strong story and characters, hence the attempt at a “ message”. LOTR was better than this and I loved it. But all said, the movie and the book was for me just another “adventure” tale. Other than the classic good vs. evil motif (many say the ring was a metaphor for the bomb), it did not relate much to reality (at least for me it did not).

   — Ajay    22 January 2010, 19:32    #