AVATAR Review

If you ask me, I’d say AVATAR is a groundbreaking visual achievement, an original work that will have a following. James Cameron’s new world is lush, dangerous, stunning, I can understand why Dr. Grace (Weaver) wants to take samples of everything because… Cameron has aroused our curiosity and there’s just so much to learn, from the unique language, to the secrets that the trees may hold. At times this movie makes me feel like a kid again, a kid in a candy store. But AVATAR is not perfect because the story is not perfect.

The story’s hero is Jake Sully, a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. Bitter and disillusioned, he’s still a warrior at heart. All Jake ever wanted was something worth fighting for, and he finds it in the place he least expected: on a distant world. Jake has been recruited to join an expedition to the moon Pandora, which corporate interests are strip-mining for a mineral worth $20 million per kilogram on Earth. To facilitate their work, the humans use a link system that projects a person’s consciousness into a hybrid of humans and Pandora’s indigenous humanoids, the Na’vi. This human-Na’vi hybrid – a fully living, breathing body that resembles the Na’vi but possesses the individual human’s thoughts, feelings and personality – is known as an “avatar.”
In his new avatar form, Jake can once again walk. His mission is to interact with and infiltrate the Na’vi with the hope of enlisting their help – or at least their acquiescence – in mining the ore. A beautiful Na’vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake’s life, albeit reluctantly, because even in his avatar body, Jake represents to her the human encroachment on the Na’vi’s unspoiled world.
As Jake’s relationship with Neytiri deepens, along with his respect for the Na’vi, he faces the ultimate test as he leads an epic conflict that will decide nothing less than the fate of an entire world.

Let me just throw in the less than desirable opinions that I have for this movie, the reasons why I don’t quickly jump on the bandwagon of praises that have been surrounding AVATAR from fans and critics alike since its release. James Cameron probably should stick with directing. I’m sorry I’m just going to say it out loud and put it out there in the open. The fact that AVATAR was solely written by Cameron without any other scribe polishing the script makes the movie watching experience a bit painful because the dialogue is simply unbearable. Cameron settles for the word ‘b*tch’ just to get a laugh one too many times and his intention on coming up with memorable, catchy lines and catchphrases or fiery speeches fall short because his choice of words lack maturity, the dialogue is the only part of the movie that hasn’t fully evolved. But like my friend Jeremy said, after hits likeTerminator movies and Titanic all of which Cameron wrote as well and won awards along the way, he kind of deserves to do whatever the hell he wants. Too bad it happens at the cost of us having to sit through the entire 162 minutes.

Every movie comes down to the story. You can throw in great VFX in my face all you want but if the story is not up to par, that whole VFX would become nothing but a spectator on the sideline instead of an active participant on the field. For an original work, the story for AVATAR is just all too familiar, way familiar. You can easily compare it to a few movies in the past that have similar situations, similar characters, similar themes, similar plot from beginning to the end. Some might argue that sci-fi epic like this doesn’t need a strong writing or a compelling story because it’s all about visually captivating the audience and taking their breath away but I beg to differ. And I notice the difference between this and Cameron’s work in the past like Terminator and Titanic, he decides not to get rid of the lead male.

Which brings us to my compliments. I don’t think AVATAR is mind blowing but… Cameron does create nifty concepts thanks to the rich and hypnotic world of Pandora from the plants to the animals which resemble some that we have here on earth but think of it as modified or magnified versions. They got their own monkeys, their own rhinos, their own vegetation, they got their own air, even the indigenous Navi seem like a cross between Native Americans and some tribes in Africa, plus they mate like we do. They just have different characteristics here and there, they’re larger in size, the animals would have more legs, or they breath from their chests. The concept of bonding with nature through the connection of the strains from Navis hair is definitely interesting. It’s as if Cameron’s new world is based off of, inspired by, or is not far different from the world he’s living in. He doesn’t make Pandora too far fetched that the audience won’t be able to relate to any aspect. In the end, the movie is more or less an environmental message. Another attempt by Hollywood to get you to save planet earth.

I can’t say enough to praise Weta wizards and everybody behind the visual department that has helped Cameron realize this dream that he’s had in his mind since he was a teen. If only it wasn’t so blue but… I can tolerate it. The movie is rich in details, great effort in reaching realism. AVATAR is about an experience as Cameron has emphasized so many times in countless interviews and I think it’s done a fine job of obtaining that goal. The 3D aspect helps, although most of the time it’s just depth-of-field, but the problem is.. after 2 hours, those glasses can get uncomfortable.

The machinery and weaponry that the humans use, from the chopper to the AMP suit will satisfy sci-fi geeks everywhere. It’s got ‘cool’ all over it. Obviously Cameron thinks in the future we’ll be able to work the computer in the same manner that Tom Cruise worked his in Minority Report, but slightly more advanced.
As I’ve implied earlier, I still believe the story is average… but I’ll give Cameron props for making the Navi look like major underdogs in the battle scene. I mean, it gets to the point where they literally won’t stand a chance at all. I don’t think they even enter the fight with a solid plan, their help comes creatures of the planet itself. I don’t know if I’d watch AVATAR again anytime soon but if I do, I’d just want to fast forward to the battle scene because that’s probably the only part that goes to show all of that Cameron has created, collide!.. so to see how they’d clash and how it plays out is the highlight of the experience.

I understand that Cameron badly wants to create a pop culture with AVATAR, he wants to start what George Lucas started with Star Wars back in the 70s. Fanboys dressing up as the characters, lining up, camping all night long for the sequels which by the way, has been talked about by Cameron. And I don’t doubt that it will happen and when it does, it will be Cameron’s personal reward, box office profit will just be bonus point. I think AVATAR has plenty of geeky jargons and terms to make that possible. But at this point, I stand by my opinion, it would be more satisfying if AVATAR wasn’t such an ego trip, if Cameron was open to the idea of receiving help from another screenwriter.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film