Dez Reviews Avatar, 2009

I'm a little late in my review, I know. But I just got around to seeing this last night. Word of advice: see it in 3-D, preferably on the IMAX. It makes all the difference. So, do you want the good or the bad first? Let's start with the good.

This is the most visually stunning film I've ever seen. Whereas George Lucas' alien worlds looked exactly like what they were: cold, computer-animation creations, James Cameron has created a beautiful, exciting and exhilerating alien world. From floating "islands" in the sky to fearsome, pteradactyl-like creatures who rule the sky, Cameron has created an unforgettable sci-fi landscape.

And the 3-D? Wow. We've come a long way since the last theatrical 3-D film I saw, Jaws 3-D. The 3-D effects are seemless, and really put you in this world. Things aren't simply thrown from the screen at you because the movie is in 3-D. Instead, the effects are used with purpose to enhance your overall experience of the moon.

Also, some of the performances are good. Sam Worthington, in the lead as the disabled marine hero, Jake Scully, plays his part well. The story is fairly stock sci-fi: we have discovered an alien moon brimming with life. A valuable mineral is discovered on the moon. The big, bad Corporation wants the mineral. An indigenous people who are as one with the natural world will either need to be relocated or destroyed to get to the mineral, humorously named unobtanium. All kinds of deadly creatures roam the moon, so we have cleverly created avatars. In essence, you are put to sleep in a chamber, and with your mind you control an alter-ego who is made to look like one of the indigenous peoples, the Na'vi. We get a classic battle between the scientists (led by a saucy Sigourney Weaver), who want to study the planet and make peace with the Na'vi; and the military types who want to kick Na'vi ass. Jake is stuck in the middle. Much of the film entails Jake, through his avatar, becoming a part of the Na'vi tribe. At first to infiltrate, but he of course genuinely become one of them and decides to help them defend their homeland. It is the long sequence where Jake learns about the tribe and explores the planet that is really the heart of the film and also features the most stunning visuals.


ABOVE: Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) teaches Jake's avatar (Sam Worthington) the ways of the Na'vi

Which leads us to the downside of this $250-300 million dollar epic, the most expensive film ever made. The story is so predictable. We've seen this many times, it is Dances With Wolves in space. A native-American revenge fantasy. Heavy handed environmental and anti-war (read: Iraq and Afghanistan) messages pummel us over the head throughout the film. White Man is sent to infiltrate the natives. He learns their ways and feels more connected to them than his own people. Female lead is annoyed by him but forced to train him in native ways. Fall in love. Bad White Men come. Natives feel betrayed by Dances With...I mean Jake. But only with Jake's help do they succeed. (Mildly insulting, by the way, that only with a rogue White Man's help could they hope to succeed against other invading White Men. I say White Man of course, because the Na'vi are so clearly supposed to be Native Americans.)

By the way, I feel no guilt with "spoiling" the plot for you. You know how this is going to end 15 minutes into the film. If you don't, you have not seen many movies or you're an idiot. In fact, as I sat watching during the first third, I mapped out the entire plot in my head and went down my mental checklist as each thing happened as I knew it would. And being James Cameron, he even borrowed from his own movies. Brightly colored, glowing, benign, mysterious, floating alien things that somehow contain the wisdom of the ages? Saw that in his The Abyss. Finale with a huge battle and a human is in an enhanced robotic skeleton giving him superhuman strength so he can fight an alien? Yep. Saw that in Aliens. Bloodthirsty military controlled by a greedy Corporation trying to exploit an alien race, but there are some soldiers with hearts of gold who foil the plans? Also saw that in Aliens. (although, in Aliens, the aliens were pretty evil too.)

So, we are left with a stunning visual triumph that could change how movies are made and a fairly pedestrian, recycled story. Still see it, though. But make sure it is 3-D and on the IMAX.

Visually: ***** out of *****
Story: **1/2 out of *****
Overall: **** out of *****