Avatar is visually impressive, sometimes even remarkably so, but it’s hardly the stunning game-changer that James Cameron seems to think it is. There’s obviously a great deal of money on screen, and it’s hard to argue that the money for animation wasn’t well spent. Everything feels real and present and often beautiful, even when it’s giant blue aliens attacking helicopters with arrows and dragons. But it’s unlikely that future movies are going to be endowed with such an expansive budget, much less one that’s coupled with as driven a task-master as Cameron at the helm.
And the film falls very flat when it comes to its story; it’s predictable and heavy-handed and riddled with cliche. Even if you agree with Cameron’s politics — and there’s no denying there is a political and ecological point-of-view here — there’s not an ounce of subtlety in how he delivers the message. The whole idea of the noble savage (which is what his alien Na’vi finally are) is…well, I hesitate to call it racist, as some have rushed to do, because I think that’s a pretty heavy charge that the film doesn’t deserve. But it is problematic, and an unfortunate (if often well intentioned) stereotype, one that doesn’t just border on, but actually ventures a good distance into the forests of being offensive. The Na’vi are clearly stand-ins for Native American (and occasionally African) tribes, enjoying a pristine and symbiotic relationship with the land that civilized man lacks and therefore can’t help but want to destroy. The problem is, this simplified depiction doesn’t just paint civilization in a bad light; it also makes the alien more fully other and animalistic — lacking civilization. You can celebrate the nobility in the noble savage all you want, but you’re still calling them a savage.
But I don’t want to read too much into the film, because despite its obvious technical achievements, I think it’s actually rather shallow. It’s entertaining, especially in its climactic and rousing action sequences, and it certainly doesn’t feel like a nearly three-hour movie. But it’s nothing I feel even a little compelled to ever see again. (Except maybe to compare how it looks out of 3-D.) Cameron’s movie is very pretty, and the product of some impressive computer animation, but I really don’t think it’s one for the ages.
That Pirahna remake they showed the trailer for, however…You know, with all these new innovations in 3-D, it’s almost refreshing to see a trailer for a movie that’s content to use the technology for the crappiest and worst-looking scare tactics circa 1983.
(Knight & Day looks surprisingly fun, though.)
