Spoiler alert: I don't do spoiler alerts.
Yes, it's a somewhat tired story and yes, it's puerile in spots, and yes, it's also an amazing, astoundingly gorgeous film with so much visual detail that it made me tired just watching it. Wow and yawn. How does one filmmaker make me do both on such a regular basis?
The 3D? Meh - I can't do 3D properly because of a childhood cataract and lens removal when I was in my 20's - but even so, there were indeed a few floating objects and once I ducked because a flying ember came at me. I can only imagine what it must be like to the "normal-eyed" person.
The aliens were serviceable enough both culturally and story-wise - the female "lead" was terrific and believable - the rest less so. Lots of "types" in this film, character-wise. Stereotypes, unfortunately, not archetypes. The corrupt company man, the corrupt ex-Marine colonel, the hard-bitten scientist with the soft marshmallow interior...just one right after the other peeled off a stack of film types. But perhaps the worst of the lot was the male lead.
Here you had a chance to make a character give us the true experience of what it would be like to be something beside human and...zip. One run, a few leaps and he's back to filtering everything he does in his alien avatar through his human brain. And to that - why he suddenly "turns native" and sides with the indigenous peoples is beyond me. To
mean something, we really need to know why from Jake Sully's background. Cameron never really tells you that. He had a perfect explanation in the damaged legs and perhaps wanting to belong to a "tribe," like the Marines, who then turned their backs on him after he was injured. But they never take any of the narrative that they use in the film as a "videolog" and use it to illuminate him beyond the necessary plot elements.
Everyone has had the experience of going to a foreign country and falling in love with the culture - I became my father when I went to Italy. Suddenly, I was ciaoing this person and buena seraing this person - it's understandable. But let us know that in a better way than they've done here. Where's the excitement of riding a dragon thing? How about the amazing bioluminescent forest or the bizarre and dangerous creatures he encounters? Did nothing make a real impact on this guy besides Neytiri, the hottie female alien? He
gets the use of his legs back through the avatar experience - gotta be a huge thing - but that is quickly invalidated because he is going to get his real legs back anyway. Just a bit more depth, please, and I'll follow your character anywhere. This guy was mundane and very little inside him was revealed effectively. He bascially goes from being white bread to a French roll. A bit more crusty but still beige.
Plus, how many times are these stories going to go the well of the greedy corporation having to have it all without regard to the people they hurt? Slice them just a little finer, won't you? About the only thing missing was the twirling mustache and the black cloak. I don't know - maybe the effects were so consuming that no one felt the story was all that important.
I will say, even with this razor-thin plot there were many effective and moving moments. Cameron, the 10-yr-old who is love with heroes, sappy love stories, and sacrifice, is in full tilt here. The underdog strives and wins and that makes everything feel good. Even dead people aren't really, really dead. How's that for having your cake and eating it too?
It's a bit like the original "Star Wars" in that respect with all the good (and some bad) that that film engenders. Someone told me that Cameron felt he missed the "Star Wars" boat and wanted to make something similar but show off his creativity even more. He does. The story is just as simplistic and effective at times but the effects and vision-thing are truly masterful. Unfortunately, judging "Avatar" against the original "Star Wars" I'd still have to give Lucas high marks for creating a more compelling and understandable central character in Luke Skywalker (forget all the "prequels" - they are narrative garbage.) But did I mention how terrific the female lead was here? She was believable, her story compelling and her mannerism nearly perfect. Truly a great character. Too bad it didn't extend to the others including the male lead.
So instead of a great film, this is merely a good one - groundbreaking but not in a story way. Ceratinly one I'd see again for the effects but not necessarily because I was in love with the characters or the storyline.
Thumbs up - perhaps not "Star Trek Reboot" up - but up nonetheless. Maybe the sequel, and there will be one, will do more with the story since we've already seen all the effects now.
