Tags
Action, Animated, Avatar, Drama, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel Moore, Michell Rodriguez, Movie, Sam Worthington, Science Fiction, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana
and could you not call me Smurfette anymore? thanks...
PG-13
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, Michell Rodriguez
Colonel Quaritch: Shut your pie hole!
Humans have discovered a planet called Pandora, rich with life and resources that they want to use. Unfortunately for them, the indigenous, humanoid life (aka the Na’vi) on Pandora lives right on top of the biggest deposit of the mineral the humans are looking to mine. Paraplegic marine, Jake Sully (Worthington), takes his dead twin brother’s place as an avatar that looks just like one of the Na’vi. He plans to help the military by gathering as much information about the Na’vi from the inside, but soon learns that they might be a people worth saving.
Ah, original thought…as elusive as Robert Denby and as scarce in Hollywood as the Unobtainium (which should have just been called Oilium) that the humans were searching for so desperately in Avatar. It also seems to be a feared concept, this “originality”. It’s scary for studios to try something new when they know that the tried and true plot lines will rake in millions. Though, funnily enough, it wouldn’t have mattered one bit what the plot of this movie was, as the special effects are the only thing attracting crowds.
So why not try something a little different? Why not take the plot in a totally different direction that would leave the audience baffled and unsure of how to view the humans or the Na’vi. Why always make humanity both villain and savior?
I guess I probably don’t need to delve too deeply into this movie, as most people have seen it and heard all the complaints. Paper thin characters, weak acting, and a recycled plot with a message that hits you like a sledgehammer. Speaking of recycled, has James Horner lost all ability to write new music? It seems like most of the score of this movie is lifted directly from earlier efforts of his. I could pick out bits from Aliens, Willow, and Braveheart, but I’m sure there’s more movies from which he’s cannibalized himself.
So anyway, instead of me going on, I thought it might be fun to have people post comments about how they would have changed the story to make it more interesting or original. Like maybe Jake could have lived with the Na’vi for a while, thinking he’s getting info, but really they’re getting info about humans from him, then they kick him out and use the intelligence they’ve gathered to defeat the humans. Or maybe Giovanni Ribisi isn’t so miscast…or the Colonel could say a line of dialogue that wasn’t totally cliche. Ya know, stuff like that. Because as it is, if you were to take away the special effects, you’re basically looking at a Syfy channel original…
When you have all kinds of airships and bombs and missiles that can do the job, don’t send ground troops into a forest filled with deadly creatures and 10 foot tall beings that want to kill you.
10 – 2 for an unoriginal plot – 1.5 for thin characters – .6 for some weak acting = 5.9
The Robot Who Likes Pretty Things 
hehe, i like the idea about the Na’vi using Jake for info
maybe Cameron will have that in the sequel.
i just hope the second film opens with Jake leading a big musical number on what it means to be a blue thingy
‘IN THE NA’VI!!
We can sail the seven seas!
IN THE NA’VI!!
We are gonna save some trees!’
yes! it should’ve been a musical! i’m sure the Na’vi doing big Rockette-style leg kicks would look great in 3-D.
I’ll admit this movie might have suffered from over-hype, but I didn’t think it was as terrible as you did. Then again, I saw it in the theater in 3D. I think being immersed in the movie through the 3D really helps you overlook some of the movies flaws. I do think it suffered from that James Cameron lull in the middle…. the acting won’t win any awards… the plot wasn’t the *most* original…. but Chrystal and I had a good time at the movies when we went and saw it. I don’t feel the need to own the DVD or anything but I’ll probably see it again one day. I think you would have gone up a point or so if you had seen it in 3D. I would have gone to about a 7 or so….
i saw it in the theater in 2-D, and while i’m sure the 3-D would look pretty, i don’t think it would help the movie much in my mind. maybe bump it up from a 5.9 to a 6.0. 🙂
i like this reviewer’s take on it:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/2915/avatar.html
“I’ll try to keep the plot recap short.
In the late 19th Century, a Civil War soldier who’s been injured in battle accepts a posting to a remote outpost in the untamed Western frontier, hoping to “find himself.” He soon meets and becomes ingratiated with a tribe of Native American Indians. He’s so enamored by the natives that he falls in love with one of their women and abandons his military career. He must learn the tribe’s language, must undergo its rituals, and must survive a dangerous test of courage by hunting buffalo. He’s not only accepted into the tribe, but soon proves himself to be its very best warrior. He quickly becomes its leader, and must use his superior white man skills to defend the helpless natives from his former military colleagues, who have gone mad with greed and are trying to drive the natives out of their land.
Oh, wait a minute. I’m sorry, that’s the plot of Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar winner and blockbuster hit ‘Dances with Wolves’. What was I thinking? Let me try this again.
In the distant future, a space marine who’s been injured in battle accepts a posting to a remote outpost on the untamed alien moon of Pandora, hoping to “find himself.” He soon meets and becomes ingratiated with a tribe of blue Thundercats called the Na’vi who look, dress, and act suspiciously just like Native American Indians. He’s so enamored by the natives that he falls in love with one of their women and abandons his military career. He must learn the tribe’s language, must undergo its rituals, and must survive a dangerous test of courage by riding a dragon. He’s not only accepted into the tribe, but soon proves himself to be its very best warrior. He quickly becomes its leader, and must use his superior white man skills to defend the helpless natives from his former military colleagues, who have gone mad with greed and are trying to drive the natives out of their land. “
This whole conversation of how derivative the plot of Avatar was made me think of this Lost ‘vertical’… check it out….
If I could, I’d hug you right now. I really would. And that’s saying something because I have this thing about not hugging people I don’t know very well.
You echoed some of my biggest complaints about “Avatar” — namely, the underdeveloped characters and the done-to-death storyline. I think in my review I even asked the question you did: Cameron went to all the trouble to make the visuals so mind blowing, so is it too much to ask for him to go another mile to give us a new and unique story? I don’t think so.