Avatar (2009)
Avatar(USA) Directed by James Cameron Written by James Cameron Starring Sam Worthington; Zoe Saldana; Sigourney Weaver; Michelle Rodriguez; Giovanni Ribisi; Stephen Lang; Joel Moore; Laz Alonso; Wes Studi; CC Pounder
From a visual standpoint, Avatar is everything it’s cracked up to be. The 3-D, particularly in an IMAX theater, outdoes ones average trip to the local multiplex by a longshot, with the ability to turn even certain small moments fascinating - particularly in the live action scenes, where it adds pristine detail, imbuing the film with an aesthetic that seems to push the visceral experience closer to some kind of magical live stage spectacular. No doubt, the epic scope of the entire world of this $275 million film is impressive, and writer/ director James Cameron’s obsessive approach to advancing technology has led to steady improvements in 3-D/CGI, re-imagining what is possible for the form.
Fans of big adventure escapism like The Lord of The Rings and the Harry Potter series will likely have little issue with the myth-making going on here, but others may balk at the rather basic plotting, lack of character development (or, for that matter, credible character), and simplistic, speech laden dialogue filled with lines that too often come off like those uttered in an overwrought War of The Worlds-esque radio play. Further, as visually stimulating as the film might be, it’s still too long by at least a half hour.
The attractive leads - Aussie Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine, and Zoe Saldana (okay, so we don’t actually see in her human form, but we know what she looks like, right?) as Na’vi princess Neytiri are fine (if a bit bland), and admittedly it’s kind of fun to see the embodiment of Cameron’s Alienlead Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) playing scientist Dr. Grace Augustine. Villains Parker Sefridge (Giovanni Ribisi) and (especially) Colonel Mills (Stephen Lang), however, are absurdly over the top, comic book creations without the slightest nuance offered to balance the scales. Cameron’s anti-war/pro-environmental message, as right-minded as it might be, is ham-handedly delivered through the mouths of these stock evil-doer constructs, and they spew a steady stream of jingoistic inanities as they express their desire to conquer, rape, and pillage the imaginary forest land (Pandora) of the giant, blue, indigenous tree people. At least the bad guys are Americans, though, and so the disparaged party is not some vaguely identified third world country as is the normal course in big budget action/war flicks.
As gloriously constructed as some of the action sequences may be, there is more than a little repetition as the film proceeds. The 3-D is fun, and Pandora is interesting to look at for a spell, but at its heart this is not much more than your average animated fantasy epic, a little too in love with the cleverness of its invention, and nowhere near groundbreaking when it comes to story. Jim Cameron has been quoted saying that what we see represents the future of film, and that we will henceforth need to reconsider how we view acting performances. His overall point involves the premise that this technical process is somehow beneficial to actors because it utilizes their movements and facial expressions to help create the animated images. It seems like a convoluted perspective at best, one unimstakedly emanating from a filmmaker who considers actors mere window dressing, present mostly to serve the cinematography, the CGI, and the many gadgets and post production tricks available in this very rich man’s arsenal. The obvious implication in what he is really saying, of course, is that they’re lucky we’re using them at all since we can do it all ourselves if we choose to.
Avatar is worthy of some of the hype, at least in regards to the magnificence of the technology, but take away the glam and glitter and there remains a semi-hollow, paint-by-numbers kids fable that ultimately adds up to little more than an overextended allegory. Of course, the same might be said of Star Wars, or the previously mentioned epics of recent years, and all of these franchises certainly put a lot of rear ends in the seats and move a lot of DVD units and ancillary merchandise, and that, of course, is the whole idea. While Avatar is undoubtedly a relatively fun couple of hours, one wonders if Cameron’s latest love child is closer to an amusement park ride or video game than a work of cinema, and the implications of what it all means for the art form are potentially fairly dire, the director’s hubris notwithstanding.