Directed by: James Cameron
Premise: Set in the distant future, a military
force works with a corporation to displace the indigenous population of a jungle
planet in order to harvest the natural resources located under the native’s
home. A paraplegic Marine uses new technology that allows him to inhabit the
body of a native creature and learn about their culture. In the process he
becomes attached to the alien people and must decide where to place his loyalty.
What Works: Avatar is a spectacular sci-fi
action adventure. The visuals of the film are extraordinary especially in the
realization of the planet, creating a total living, breathing environment. Most
exceptional is the creation of the indigenous people. The level of detail,
especially in their faces, is impressive; what the technicians on this film have
accomplished is to allow the actors expressions and emotions to be captured in
the digital apparatus that this film is attached to, and not sacrifice
performance in the production of the film. Avatar is primarily about
action and excitement and the film is full of dynamic chases through the jungle
and the finale conflict between the native Na’vi people and invading military
force has some great moments. Avatar also smartly incorporates humor into
the story, which does a lot to humanize its characters, and in a small
supporting role Giovanni Ribisi gets a few great lines as the amoral company
man.
What Doesn’t: Although Avatar looks great,
it is also very cliché. The film echoes entrenched science fiction themes that
were done more interestingly in two films released earlier this year: District
9 and Battle for Terra. Avatar suffers from characters who are flat and largely uninteresting; they exist more
as functions of the story than as people acting under their own agency. The
story of Avatar is very superficial and does not seriously engage its
political implications. The indigenous culture of the film is quite clearly a
stand-in for indigenous Americans, but the film’s Na’vi culture is itself a
sort of avatar of portrayals of natives in movies. As a metaphor, Avatar does not represent the natives as people with their own struggles and flaws, and
instead idealizes them in the stereotype of the noble savage. In the film’s
attempt to condemn imperialist behavior it also condenses the conflict to a very
simple good versus evil binary that is not very interesting.
Bottom Line: Avatar is a good film but it is also ultimately an average film. Fans of James Cameron or science fiction adventures should definitely check it out but despite all of the effort put into creating the fantastical world, not enough effort was put into filling that world with characters and stories that are interesting and engaging.