http://www.colesmithey.com/capsules/2009/12/avatar.html
The most expensive film ever made leaves much to be desired. Paralyzed from the waist down, former Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) voices several movies worth of tell-don't-show narration for the benefit of audiences who like being read to when they watch a movie. With no oil resources left on Earth, a battalion of outsourced military bozos have set up camp on the moon "Pandora" with a group of optimistic scientists in order to incite a tribe of native aliens called the Na'vi. They want to drive the Na'vi out of their giant tree home to extract an energy-producing mineral called Unobtainium (yes, really). Jake's lack of scientific training nevertheless allows him to rest in a coffin-like bed from which he projects a walking-talking avatar in the form of a Na'vi creature. Jake's mission is to earn the trust of the blue-skinned Na'vi and report back to the colonizing military forces, who want to dispossess the aliens rather than kill them all outright. The Na'vi are primitive aliens who wear loin cloths, do battle with bows and arrows, and fly around on winged four-eyed creatures with which each Na'vi bonds for life. Naturally, Jake falls for a cute Na'vi named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), who returns his affection. The inevitable David-and-Goliath war that transpires delivers a familiar tale: boy meets alien, boy goes native, boy betrays his past to do what's right. For an ostensibly anti-imperialist war movie written in all caps and splashed with every primary color in the Maxfield Parish color wheel, "Avatar" ends up being a toothless rollercoaster of eye candy that sexes up war, the very thing it professes to detest. "Avatar" is the perfect film to desensitize young audiences before they get the call-up.
This review sucks. Sorry Mr. Smithey, I'll have to read your other reviews for comparison. I watched Avatar 3D for the whole James Cameron experience. I wasn't disappointed and would recommend dishing out the cash if you have some to spare for entertainment. I haven't really seen leftist reviews of this movie and think the one here (if it could be characterized as leftist) skims the surface. And of course this movie is eye candy but I don't think Jay appreciates what went into the CGI with 3D face mounted cameras for capturing the real actors' emotions while they imagined the environments that would be added. I'm kind of a critic of using (too much) CGI and for being half CGI I thought it was tasteful and definitely visually stunning. The critic in the article even called the aliens "primitive," which ironically is what the humans in the film said to try to humanize the slaughter of other humanoids. Moreover, it's the humans who are the aliens, a concept I always wanted to see played out (especially with us being the bad guys instead, unlike in the 50s sci fi I'm used to). Contrary to the reviewer's perception, Neytiri doesn't easily return Jake's affection. Their romance was rocky but ultimately endearing. It's not like "oh, of course he would fall in love with a cute 9 foot tall alien chick." I don't think the critic can appreciate the character development because he is unsympathetic to their emotions. That said, I can understand if people didn't like the story. I respect that opinion. Personally, I liked the story. But either way I'd say this movie raises the bar for big motion pictures. And I think director Jim has been imagining this universe he has created since he was like fourteen. Any politics are part of the story or necessary for context. And it was refreshing to have strong female leading roles. It was also the Avatars fighting back against the exploiters. Not sure it was so pro-earth with the violent action sequences in battle, and it seemed balanced with the story. It wasn't like a B action movie even though there was a lot of action.
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