GENRE: ACTION/DRAMA
RATING: PG-13
STUDIO:
THEATRICAL RELEASE: DECEMBER 18, 2009
DVD RELEASE: APRIL 2010

Okay. The hype machine has done all that it can. The paid critics have done all that they can. Now, James Cameron’s epic sci-fi/drama/romance Avatar must stand on it’s own two feet. Massive crowds have taken in the film, and it is upon their words that friends, co-workers, and family members will now decide for or against spending the money to go see it. So, I write this review not just as a pop culture critic, but also as a fan of movies.

Should you go see Avatar? Absolutely. Is it everything the hype machine has made it out to be? Not exactly.

Here is what I liked about the film.

First, it is as expansive and fully-realized as any great sci-fi film or book I have read, recalling Star Wars or a great Robert Jordan epic. From the very start, the viewer is immersed in this alien world of Pandora with its lush environs, rising peaks, varied animal life, and indigenous people groups. Taking the film in as a 3D experience truly enhances all of these features. It is a proverbial feast for the eyes.

Additionally, the special effects are as good as advertised. The native people, called “Na’vi,” look as real as their human co-stars. There is never a moment in the film that did not feel genuine. This is, quite simply put, the most majestic use of motion capture technology the film industry has ever seen. Before long, actors may become an afterthought for studios attempting to maintain a tight budget. Truth be told, when looking up the actors in the film, a majority of those playing Na’vi, I had never heard of. Third, there is an emotional depth to the Na’vi so emotive, that it translates on a number of levels likely not intended by the director or actor.

So, Avatar is breathtakingly beautiful and a treasure to behold. But, it’s not perfect. Not by a long shot.

For starters, while I spoke highly of the emotive nature of the Na’vi people, the characters are still rather one-dimensional. I suppose most people attending a film like this aren’t looking for depth of character, but still. The good guy follows the standard fare monomyth (i.e. hero’s journey), the bad guy is evil for no apparent reason other than that he enjoys carnage and destruction, and the love affair between the film’s two main characters is taken right out of classic literature (i.e. star-crossed lovers from different worlds who won’t let impropriety keep them apart). In a sense, James Cameron has given us Titanic with giant blue aliens.

Another difficulty with the film is its desire to preach several different messages, which serves to minimize the impact of all of them. It is bad enough that the film preaches environmentalism so strongly as to not flow organically from the story itself—an interesting irony if you think about it—but it seemed to me as if Cameron wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to say. In addition to the environmental message, discerning viewers will hear echoes of September 11th, Blackwater Ops (i.e. soldiers of fortune; mercenaries) in Afghanistan and Iraq, forced displacement, colonialism, and capitalism—the Na’vi serving as substitutes for any number of people who have been mistreated during our planet’s storied history. Heck, if you listen even closer, you can hear echoes of the fall of Jerusalem and the spiritual impact it had upon the Hebrew people. However, each message clanged so loudly in my ears, that I could not make out what was being said, nor could I figure out exactly why Cameron thought I should care. By competing for my attention, no one was heard.

There is also the issue of nature worship. I know. I know. They’re aliens on another world, which calls into question the nature and veracity of the Christian story in the first place. But, as this is the world we have and know, and as the Na’vi serve as substitutes, the colonialists are portrayed as greedy, thoughtless, godless, capitalists while the Na’vi are connected to Eywa, the goddess of Pandora. Everything on Pandora is connected through a massive roots systems, including memories of ancestors long since dead. It’s problematic, given the amount of people who are susceptible to choosing to worship the created rather than the Creator. (I only find this bothersome because of the Na’vi substitution motif and the subtle lie it inserts into the lives of viewers.)

Lastly, I feel as if this story could have been told in a far shorter period of time. Now, lest you think I am one of those people with an attention span shorter than the average sitcom, I assure you, I am not. Certain films take time to tell a good story. I would never seek to shorten films like Braveheart, Gladiator, or even Titanic. But, I think that for many directors “epic” translates as “lengthy,” which shouldn’t be the case. Cameron could have told an equally amazing story in 2 hours, rather than in three. And given that the characters were so one-dimensional, dragging things out over 3 hours only served to annoy me.

All that being said, I still believe Avatar will be successful at the box office. I still think it’s worth seeing. Nevertheless, I think word-of-mouth and multiple reviews will serve to slow down the hype machine, cut a little of the film’s luster, and allow people to approach the film honestly.

Excellent film. Not as excellent as some are making it out to be.