Post by N3B on Dec 22, 2009 18:48:58 GMT -5
I saw James Cameron's "Avatar: The Last Airbender" last night. As the credits were rolling, my friend, who had already seen the movie, asked me what I thought, and I said "8 out of 10."
As far as actual plot goes, Avatar doesn't do anything that's really new -- it's the same old stories and cliches that you've seen a hundred times mixed together in a brilliant execution that can be absolutely wonderful if you can sit back and pretend you've never heard this story before. Even then, the execution is what makes it a unique and enjoyable movie. Consider, similar things can be said about Star Wars mixing all sorts of mythologies together with archetypal characters and situations, but I don't think anyone complained about it.
However, what gets me about Avatar's plot is how predictable it was. I really with there were a few more twists to the plot and formula (not quite in the vein of "Luke, I am your father," but that's an example of what I mean) to keep me more on edge. The suspense was drawn more from the visual experience of "I wonder exactly how they're going to depict him doing what I know he has to do" instead of the narrative experience of "I wonder what's going to happen next."
Other than that, I didn't like how heavy-handed the politics were. It seemed like the Na'vi of Pandora were depicted as adorable, pure, innocent people, and humanity was depicted as the supreme tyrannical evil. The movie forced me to choose sides and root for the Na'vi, which is generally something that I hate because I dislike being manipulated. I wish that the environmental politics had been a little more "Gray" and that humanity's actions and behavior were more ambiguous. I wanted to be involved in the conflict of not knowing which side to support.
The premise, for anyone who doesn't know, is that humanity wants access to some sort of mineral resource on Pandora, claiming that it's abundant in extreme on Pandora, and that any other source of this mineral is much much further away and of lesser quality and concentration. The movie doesn't do a good job of explaining WHY we need these resources -- it's said in passing that all of Earth's resources are depleted and we need the minerals on Pandora. The story starts out with the military preparing to invade Pandora, and we're told that they've been trying diplomacy to work out a deal with the Na'vi, but we never get to see any of it which makes it entirely too easy to forget about and disregard as ever happening.
If it IS the case that we need resources for simple survival, then humanity isn't depicted as a species with its back against a wall ready to do anything to survive. In fact from appearances, humanity seems pretty well off (in stark contrast to the primitive tribes of Pandora) and they're a little too happy and casual ("business executive") about leveling the surface of an entire planet.
The blend of science fiction, fantasy, and even cyberpunk was a good idea, but the emphasis very quickly shifted to fantasy and the cyber/sci-fi stuff was definitely much less glamorized. I would have liked to see more prominence in the sci-fi area.
Also, I'm annoyed that the language of the Na'vi is so primal because I can't remember any names or words beyond "Eywah" (their uber god, which is sort of an inverse of "Yahweh") and Neytiri (I had absolutely no idea how to spell it). The sounds and structures are just so foreign that my English (and German-trained) ears just hear sounds instead of [that word that describes the roots and building blocks of words and language -- I learned it at some point in a media studies class but it was never important enough to be on a test].
The 3D effects worked extremely well, largely because it's in full 3D with curves, vanishing points, and depth perspectives as opposed to what I call "Bullsh*t 3D" which just works like a pop-up book with different layers in the foreground. I think that the style and setting of this movie was also perfect to introduce this technology, because I just don't think it would work for most romances, comedies, or dramas. Even in 2D, Pandora is such a delightful, imaginative place to see, and having the 3D effects just made it an even more overwhelming sight to take in.
I think that the 3D is truly what pushes this movie beyond decency into excellency. Had I been watching in 2D, I might have judged "a decent escape to the movies, away from reality, but you can do better if you're looking for a meaningful story and plot progression." This opinion still holds true to my impressions of the 3D, but at least the 3D is qualified by many more high points that make it a must-see movie in the theaters. I would definitely like to see it again, hopefully in Imax (I wanted to see Imax but they were sold out, so I downgraded to standard 3D aspect ratio screen) and see if an even bigger and more advanced screen would make it any more of an immersive experience (though we sat in the first row so we were still drowning in screen >.<).
Bottom line: if you haven't seen Avatar, this may be one of the few movies to come out in a long time that you absolutely need to see on the big-screen if you ever have any intentions of wanting to see it.
As far as actual plot goes, Avatar doesn't do anything that's really new -- it's the same old stories and cliches that you've seen a hundred times mixed together in a brilliant execution that can be absolutely wonderful if you can sit back and pretend you've never heard this story before. Even then, the execution is what makes it a unique and enjoyable movie. Consider, similar things can be said about Star Wars mixing all sorts of mythologies together with archetypal characters and situations, but I don't think anyone complained about it.
However, what gets me about Avatar's plot is how predictable it was. I really with there were a few more twists to the plot and formula (not quite in the vein of "Luke, I am your father," but that's an example of what I mean) to keep me more on edge. The suspense was drawn more from the visual experience of "I wonder exactly how they're going to depict him doing what I know he has to do" instead of the narrative experience of "I wonder what's going to happen next."
Other than that, I didn't like how heavy-handed the politics were. It seemed like the Na'vi of Pandora were depicted as adorable, pure, innocent people, and humanity was depicted as the supreme tyrannical evil. The movie forced me to choose sides and root for the Na'vi, which is generally something that I hate because I dislike being manipulated. I wish that the environmental politics had been a little more "Gray" and that humanity's actions and behavior were more ambiguous. I wanted to be involved in the conflict of not knowing which side to support.
The premise, for anyone who doesn't know, is that humanity wants access to some sort of mineral resource on Pandora, claiming that it's abundant in extreme on Pandora, and that any other source of this mineral is much much further away and of lesser quality and concentration. The movie doesn't do a good job of explaining WHY we need these resources -- it's said in passing that all of Earth's resources are depleted and we need the minerals on Pandora. The story starts out with the military preparing to invade Pandora, and we're told that they've been trying diplomacy to work out a deal with the Na'vi, but we never get to see any of it which makes it entirely too easy to forget about and disregard as ever happening.
If it IS the case that we need resources for simple survival, then humanity isn't depicted as a species with its back against a wall ready to do anything to survive. In fact from appearances, humanity seems pretty well off (in stark contrast to the primitive tribes of Pandora) and they're a little too happy and casual ("business executive") about leveling the surface of an entire planet.
The blend of science fiction, fantasy, and even cyberpunk was a good idea, but the emphasis very quickly shifted to fantasy and the cyber/sci-fi stuff was definitely much less glamorized. I would have liked to see more prominence in the sci-fi area.
Also, I'm annoyed that the language of the Na'vi is so primal because I can't remember any names or words beyond "Eywah" (their uber god, which is sort of an inverse of "Yahweh") and Neytiri (I had absolutely no idea how to spell it). The sounds and structures are just so foreign that my English (and German-trained) ears just hear sounds instead of [that word that describes the roots and building blocks of words and language -- I learned it at some point in a media studies class but it was never important enough to be on a test].
The 3D effects worked extremely well, largely because it's in full 3D with curves, vanishing points, and depth perspectives as opposed to what I call "Bullsh*t 3D" which just works like a pop-up book with different layers in the foreground. I think that the style and setting of this movie was also perfect to introduce this technology, because I just don't think it would work for most romances, comedies, or dramas. Even in 2D, Pandora is such a delightful, imaginative place to see, and having the 3D effects just made it an even more overwhelming sight to take in.
I think that the 3D is truly what pushes this movie beyond decency into excellency. Had I been watching in 2D, I might have judged "a decent escape to the movies, away from reality, but you can do better if you're looking for a meaningful story and plot progression." This opinion still holds true to my impressions of the 3D, but at least the 3D is qualified by many more high points that make it a must-see movie in the theaters. I would definitely like to see it again, hopefully in Imax (I wanted to see Imax but they were sold out, so I downgraded to standard 3D aspect ratio screen) and see if an even bigger and more advanced screen would make it any more of an immersive experience (though we sat in the first row so we were still drowning in screen >.<).
Bottom line: if you haven't seen Avatar, this may be one of the few movies to come out in a long time that you absolutely need to see on the big-screen if you ever have any intentions of wanting to see it.