Avatar (2009) - James Cameron

Avatar (2009)
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel Moore

Well, I finally got around to seeing Avatar (2009), a little late perhaps but there is no way I am seeing a movie this over-hyped during its opening weekend. With big event movies like this I tend to prefer to wait a couple weeks for things to settle down before I venture out to see them. I also like to try and see an afternoon show during the week to minimize the effects of the screaming crowds of fanboys. If what you are taking from this is that event movies usually aren't my cup of tea, well you'd be right.

Avatar wasn't exactly my cup of tea but it wasn't a bad cup of tea either. For the most part I found myself being entertained by the shear spectacle of the film. The CGI is very well executed. The landscapes James Cameron created in the film really look amazing. The Na'vi (the completely CGI created race that inhabits the planet of Pandora) are rendered very well and for the most part you forget that they are CGI characters during the film. They aren't perfect and their a few times during the movie where you can tell they aren't real but they are better than any humanoid CGI characters that have come before them.

The action sequences are well done and pretty exciting. They may have been created in a computer but they are far better looking than any of the computer generated battle sequences from the Star Wars prequels. James Cameron put a lot of effort into creating all these photo realistic landscapes and then animating the battles in them and it shows. The effects sequences are first rate and some of the best I've seen. The 3D in the film is also used perfectly to pull the audience into the battle sequences (and the rest of Pandora for that matter). The 3D wasn't at all intrusive and gimmicky like it can be in other films. It actually did add to the experience of this movie.

Now, I started out with all the good things about the film so I know at this point you must be asking yourself why this wasn't my cup of tea. Well, it comes down to story for me and the story in this one just didn't do much for me. For starters, this story has been told hundreds of times before. Now, I don't think every story out there needs to be one-hundred percent original. There are plenty of ways to use an old story and still make a pretty fresh movie. However, if I know how the movie is going to end less than half way through then there are problems with the story. I don't just mean that I knew the good guys would win and the bad guys would get what they deserved. I mean I had the entire final act mapped out in my head. That is not good story telling and the fact that James Cameron has proven in the past that he can tell a good story just makes that all the more disappointing.

Now another problem I had with the plot isn't just that the story is overused but that this story really needs to stop getting used. Now, I am not one to throw out the racism card but this plot has the white person "going native" and helping the "savage" race defeat the people that he is supposed to be working for. I have yet to figure out exactly how Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) was useful to the Na'vi in helping them defeat the humans though. He didn't seem to tell them any intel that would help them defeat the modern technology. He mostly just said "we need to come up with a plan and unite all the clans." Seriously, the Na'vi couldn't come up with that on their own? It just so happens that this human who has been learning their ways for one month is able to do this one special thing that only five Na'vi have been able to do in the entire history of their people? As Shaw Girl puts it, it is because "White Folk Get Shit Done." I think there may have been a hint of sarcasm in her voice when she said it though.

One other thing I don't get about this film is Sam Worthington. Some how he has become the go to guy for the sci-fi fantasy genre and I just don't get it. He seems to get all this praise for his acting and honestly he didn't really impress me in this or Terminator: Salvation (2009). His performance in this was better than his Terminator performance but I didn't think it was anything special. I will say that I am pretty impressed by Zoe Saldana though. I thought she was great in this and she was great as Uhura in Star Trek (2009). Hell, I even seem to remember enjoying her performance as the Trekkie in The Terminal (2004). Sigourney Weaver did a great job playing Dian Fossey Dr. Grace Augustine, the scientist who wants to learn about the Na'vi by mimicking them to gain their trust.

So on some levels I was able to enjoy the film and I would say that if you do plan of seeing it then you should see it in the theater and in 3D. I didn't see it in IMAX mostly because seeing The Dark Knight in Imax made me dizzy so I am guessing I wouldn't have done well with this one. From what I did see though I can see how IMAX might enhance the experience on this one. This isn't a movie that I really feel the need to see again but if you think it is the type of movie that you will enjoy then don't wait for the DVD. The pure spectacle of the film is worth seeing in the theater even if, like me, you walk away feeling lukewarm about the over all movie.

Rating: 6/10