Big and Fucking Blue

I'm not talking about some sort of gigantic cookie monster float or anything. I'm talking about Avatar, James Cameron's 37 billion dollar extravaganza complete with 3D glasses and, well, huge blue aliens. Avatar represents the first movie I've ever seen in 3D, so I tried to make sure and not let the visual experience overpower the rest of the film. That said, Cameron himself has gone out of his way to pimp the 3D aspect of Avatar, and he's wise to do so. The visual strengths of the film do exist, so after further consideration, I'm factoring them in.

Avatar (2009)
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi
Rating: 7.0 (out of 10)

While all the hype surrounding Avatar might not be completely accurate, the much-ballyhooed visual effects and 3D wizardry are every bit the spectacle they were promised to be. All the fantastical elements of the film pop with authority in 3D, whether it be an expansive forest that is home to a unique culture, jellyfish-looking beings that float in the sky to signify importance, or even arrows flying through the sky. This movie is certainly a rare example in which all of the money spent to create it shows up in front of the audience. Everything here is just enormous, larger than life.

If only the other aspects of the movie held up quite as well. Avatar, on the surface, is the story of Jake Sully, a marine whose legs have been rendered inoperative after an accident. Following the death of his brother, Jake is given a very unique opportunity, an opportunity that could only occur in the year 2154, which it happens to be. Jake's brother was part of a military program that trained him to live in an avatar resembling the Na'vi, a race of people who inhabit the planet Pandora. Pandora is rich in resources, and of course the good people of Earth have decided it's their right to take them. The avatars are created for deception. Jake's brother was supposed to get to know the Na'vi, earn their trust, and then fuck them over. Jake is recruited to take his brother's place in the aforementioned program due to the similarities in their DNA, and if he succeeds, he is promised an expensive surgery that will allow him to walk again.

Jake's a very gung-ho individual, and it's this enthusiasm that accidentally lands him in harm's way. During his first day on Pandora as an avatar, he winds up having to flee from a giant triceratops-like creature. His escape from one danger leads him to another, as several small predators gang up on Jake, who has no real way to defend himself in an avatar body he isn't familiar with. Fortunately, a Na'vi female named Neytiri rescues him. She quickly figures out that Jake isn't a native, but she senses he is special based on her own intuition and the presence of the floating jellyfish creatures I mentioned earlier. Neytiri introduces Jake to her people, who eventually let him stay in order to learn to become one of them.

Needless to say, the powers that be back on Earth, namely a meathead colonel (Stephen Lang) and a sniveling government asshole (Giovanni Ribisi), are pleased. Now Jake can try to convince the Na'vi to head elsewhere so that the Earth dwellers can nab their bounty of resources. For a while, Jake happily spends his days in Pandora as an avatar, learning everything he can about the Na'vi, and then returns to his human body at night to record video logs and brief everyone on what he has learned. Things get more complicated when Jake begins to fall for Neytiri and the peaceful community she comes from.

The acting in Avatar is fine, but I have to stop there. No one steps up and delivers a memorable performance. Sam Worthington was more impressive in Terminator: Salvation, and it's not like Sigourney Weaver and Giovanni Ribisi haven't done better. The screenplay gets a little annoying at times, as many characters are forced to say things that come across as lazy and/or contrived. None of this is too big a deal, though, as the movie tends to move quickly past its miscues.

Already being hailed by many critics and fans as an overwhelming cinematic achievement, James Cameron's long-awaited followup to Titanic feels more like a good movie disguised as a great one. While the story is solid enough, it's not even close to original. Jake is sent on a mission to infiltrate a foreign culture, he starts to see their side of things, he falls in love with one of their women, and then he is forced to decided which side of the line he stands on. This has been done plenty of times, most recently in The Last Samurai. The allegorical aspects of Avatar are strong as well, obviously referencing the damage that is constantly being done to the environment around us. All of this is good stuff, but is it groundbreaking? No. The visuals and technological advancements are amazing, but that's where the true acclaim has to end. Avatar is certainly enjoyable, and it doesn't honestly feel too long despite its running time (2 hours and 41 minutes), but it isn't 2009's best movie. It's a good pop song featuring a chord progression you've heard before and expert production.

Avatar's ending was something of a problem for me. The inevitable showdown between the evil Earth folks and the Na'vi looks great, but the direction taken is less than inspired. It seems like there was at least one alternate choice here that could've made things more interesting, and going that direction could've left a bigger emotional thumbprint on the viewer. I don't want to downplay Avatar's quality; most directors would have completely messed this up. I just don't think Cameron's latest should be canonized anytime soon.