Avatar review

[_bcspace]

Went on a Thursday night. It's a college town with school out yet the theater was only half full.

Spoilers......

The left took some obvious swings and missed badly in this movie. They short-circuited what they had at the beginning where we learn that it's just a company who's hired some ex-marines exploiting the resources, not humanity in general or the USA. Most of the swings took place near the end so I made it through most of the movie thinking, regarding the political hype, "harmless". Afterwards, I changed it to "mostly harmless".

The jabs at Bush and the war didn't work because they were out of context. They even took a swing at the troops about how they should "wake up" regarding what's going on. Problem is, the troops here on earth generally seem to know and agree that they are doing a good thing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regarding the exploitation of resources, I can only ask, where is the oil we were supposed to be fighting for? All the good contracts went to China.

Some right-wing critics seemed to miss all this and treat the movie as if the swings hit the mark. I thought they over-reacted in this case. Only the most ignorant and asleep of people might be swayed to the left by this movie, that is if they even recognize it.

Pandora itself is imaginative and new. Too bad the story is just a rehash of older movies and books, just as other critics have pointed out. Besides Dances with Wolves and Pocahontas, there are also nods to Aliens and Terminator. However, it doesn't seem to work on a visceral level and has a hard time illiciting emotions or sympathy. The Na'vi act just like you would expect a romanticized ("noble savage") American Indian tribe to act which seems out of place on an alien world.

The battle at the end should have been awesome, but even though the overwhelming might and technology of the humans was beaten, it wasn't in any any sort of imaginative or creative way. Might have been better if human arms had combined with native intangibles, skills, and ingenuity to defeat another more powerful and terrifying alien force.

The CGI is awesome as advertised (I saw it in 3D) and is worth the price of admission.

Five points for the overall "cinemaphotography" and the new world. Minus one for story. Minus one for acting (too much deadpanning etc.). Minus one for the overt attempt at a revisionist political message. Minus one for the fictional "noble savage" aura.

Good movie but not a must see unless you are a sci fi and/or CGI fan.

6 out of 10.

[_Yoda]

Thanks for the review, BC!

Hubby and I are going to see it this afternoon.

I heard that it wasn't really kid friendly, so my daughter is babysitting our 5 year old.

[_bcspace]

I heard that it wasn't really kid friendly, so my daughter is babysitting our 5 year old.

There is a minor PG-13 love scene. The violence, while plentiful, is much less in intensity than say, the PG-13 Lord of the Rings. Minor language problems. Nudity, scantily clad (barely strategic) humanoid aliens, is "National Geographic" style and nonsexual (unless you have a fetish for say, snakes, lizards, and fish). I myself would probably let my teens see it. Might be okay for little kids on the small screen and remote in hand to edit.

[_KimberlyAnn]

I'm off to see Avatar this evening. My oldest two daughters have been anticipating it for months. I'm hoping it's not a let-down for them.

On a barely related note, my girls watched some original episodes of "Land of the Lost" this morning. There was howling laughter all around.

KA

[_Jersey Girl]

I saw the previews for this last time I went to the movies and it looked pretty darned intense. Hope you all enjoy!

[_Yoda]

Hubby and I saw "Avatar" last night.

We were originally going to go in the afternoon, but the next 3D showing was at 7 PM, so we went to that one.

Seeing the movie in 3D is a MUST for this movie!

It is beautifully shot. It makes the "Jurassic Park" and "Star Wars" movies look like mince meat.

I actually enjoyed the storyline. I could see it going into a series. However, with the expense of making the movie, I'm not sure how likely that is.

I will pay a little extra and buy this movie in Blu Ray when it comes out.

There is a minor PG-13 love scene. The violence, while plentiful, is much less in intensity than say, the PG-13 Lord of the Rings. Minor language problems. Nudity, scantily clad (barely strategic) humanoid aliens, is "National Geographic" style and nonsexual (unless you have a fetish for say, snakes, lizards, and fish). I myself would probably let my teens see it. Might be okay for little kids on the small screen and remote in hand to edit.

I heard that it wasn't really kid friendly, so my daughter is babysitting our 5 year old.

My college-aged daughter had seen it the night before. She was the one who thought the movie might be a little intense for her 6 year old brother. I think she was probably a tad overprotective, but we left him home with a babysitter, anyway. I really wasn't concerned about the content. He would have been OK with it. The main thing was simply the length of the movie. Three hours is a long time for little one to sit. He gets antsy easily. I have no problem letting him watch it on DVD/Blu Ray when we get it, though.

[_Gadianton]

I saw Avatar, I thought it was great. Given I was consuming about a million dollars a minute in 3D, unlike BCSpace, I didn't contemplate the "message" of the movie while watching it, I knew that any movie with that kind of budget would have to sell to a wide spectrum of viewers in order to make money. No matter what agenda it might explore, it would pretty much have to be superficial.

Having said that, though, someone might have fun trying to redeem the totalitarian planet of Pandora with all its technology metaphors -- or rather its outright technology -- from the problems encountered in The Matrix or the more recent derivative Eden Log.

As for the "noble savage" trope, I don't know how BCSpace can complain given the er, Book of Mormon.

Per the Maxwell Institute:

These revelations reached backward, to explain the Indians' origins, and forward, to foretell their glorious destiny. The noble Indian, forlorn and dispossessed, was already a familiar subject in nineteenth-century poetry,24 and the message of the Book of Mormon correlated beautifully with this popular tradition; now the noble savage had noble ancestors as well.

[_bcspace]

No matter what agenda it might explore, it would pretty much have to be superficial.

Pretty much what I said. The message, while obvious, completely missed the mark.

As for the "noble savage" trope, I don't know how BCSpace can complain given the er, Book of Mormon.

Non sequitur.

[_Gazelam]

I saw this over the Holidays with my brother who was in town while moving to his new post in Yuma. We were both a little taken aback at the $14.00 price tag per ticket.

It was worth it though, the 3d was awesome. I'd say it took about 10 min for my eyes to get used to the glasses, after that it was all eye candy. My wife and I were both awestruck by the planet. Its a fully realized world with its own unique plants and animals. It's very immersive, the only thing missing was the smell.

I've always been a supporter of Manifest Destiny, so I had to tune out the "noble savage" overtones and just enjoy it for what it was. I do the same thing when I watch Dances with Wolves.

I really liked the movie, especially the part where he gets the big red dragon.

[_Seven]

I saw Avatar and had very mixed feelings about the movie. The 3-D was amazing, and made me feel like we were in the movie. Stunning visuals! I loved the world of Pandora, and the beautiful scenery. When Jake Sully was in their world, I didn't want the movie to end.

The length of the movie didn't bother me at all, but the story line/writing could have been so much better.

What I hated about the movie were the horribly written, acted, and directed scenes with the Colonel and greedy corporate guy. The caricatures that James Cameron created in these two were very cliché and not believable. And the cheesy lines during the military and battle scenes really took away from the beautiful side of this movie.
One example that comes to mind is when the Colonel is getting his soldiers all fired up to destroy the Navi people with his preemptive strike rhetoric, and they shout back "yeah!!!" in support like a bunch of brain washed blood thirsty robots. Those scenes almost ruined the movie for me. It was like two different directors had written this movie.

With the exception of the annoying preemptive scene and a few others, the political message Cameron was making on the war in Iraq didn't enter my mind much.

I did mention to my DH on the way out of the theater, that this movie brought to mind my Native American ancestors, and what's become of the land they deeply respected after Europeans came here. They were one with the earth, and used all their resources wisely and with such reverence. Nothing was taken from the earth or wasted if it was not going to be used.
Just one example of many, they used the soft fluffy portion of cattails for diapers, and the stem of the plant for food. Look at what's become of this country now with all it's gluttony and waste, developments plowing down beautiful forests, etc.
I'm not sure if James Cameron had Native American history in his mind for the story, but that was the message that came to my mind more than any other.

Despite my criticisms, I would still highly recommend to see this movie because of the 3D experience. It's worth the money if you can see it in the IMAX theater.