Unseen Movie Review: Avatar
There’s this big hubbub about James Cameron’s Avatar right now. I won’t bother linking, it’s everywhere – even the headline on Drudge.
Let me quickly walk through a review and explain why I don’t care about this movie.
A dozen years later, James Cameron has proven his point: He is king of the world.
James who? Oh, right. The Titanic guy. Sorry …
There is no underlying novel or myth to generate his story. He certainly draws deeply on Westerns, going back to “The Vanishing American” and, in particular, “Dances With Wolves.” And the American tragedy in Vietnam informs much of his story. But then all great stories build on the past
Don’t know The Vanishing American, but here’s a quick run down.
“Dances With Wolves” – Indians good, Americans bad.
Vietnam – Americans are baby killing invaders!!
There ya go … the condensed Hollywood version.
The movie is 161 minutes and flies by in a rush.
There is no such thing as a nearly 3-hour movie that “flies by in a rush”.
The story takes place in 2154, three decades after a multinational corporation has established a mining colony on Pandora, a planet light years from Earth. A toxic environment and hostile natives — one corporate apparatchik calls the locals “blue monkeys”
Uncaring megacorporations? Check. Peaceful natives struggling to survive in the face of invading aggression? Check. Racial slurs? Check.
The protagonist, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is a crippled former Marine who takes his late twin brother’s place in the avatar program, a sort of bone thrown to the scientific community by the corporation in hopes that the study of Pandora and its population might create a more peaceful planet.
Ex-military protagonist who gets a change of heart after immersing himself in the deep culture and spirituality of the misunderstood natives? Check.
a flow of energy ripples through the roots of trees and the spores of the plants, which the Na’vi know how to tap into.
Delicate balance of the planet’s innermost spirit and energy? HURL. Check.
The center of life is a holy tree where tribal memories and the wisdom of their ancestors is theirs for the asking. This is what the humans want to strip mine.
Oh good god. Why not have them BULLDOZE IT AND BUILD A WALMART ALREADY!
Yeah, I think I’m going to pass on this one and just go watch Taken again.