Avatar

It’s 2154 and the RDA Corporation is attempting to colonize the planet Pandora in order to extract a valuable mineral. The humans encounter resistance from the blue-skinned Na’vi natives, which they hope to overcome using avatars – human-Na’vi hybrid bodies under the control of human “drivers.” One such driver is Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a crippled ex-Marine recruited to take his brother’s place. Sent to infiltrate the Na’vi and learn their ways, it isn’t long before his loyalties are tested.




Believe it or not, the last feature film James Cameron directed before Avatar was 1997’s notorious Titanic. Despite the different settings, his latest and his previous effort aren’t too far apart. Both feature impressive production values, but suffer from overlength, sentimentality and poor screenwriting.



Avatar is, without a doubt, a marvel to look at. Cameron uses CGI to craft exciting battle sequences and bring the Amazon-like terra of Pandora to life. Careful attention paid to developing the culture and language of the Na’vi give them some anthropological heft, despite their cartoonlike appearance.



Unfortunately, the other aspects of the film aren’t operating at the same standard. The acting isn’t all-around bad. Worthington brings conviction and grit to the lead role, while Sigourney Weaver is both empathetic and tough as the lead avatar researcher. On the other hand, Joel David Moore is annoyingly ineffectual as her subordinate and Giovanni Ribisi is a bombastic corporate caricature as the RDA boss. Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang bring the toughness as a fighter pilot and a colonel respectively, but the roles are relatively undemanding.



The worst offender is undoubtedly the script, which manages to be heavy-handed, predictable and painfully obvious. Repeated references to the plunder of Earth and “bug-eating savages” place this at the level of environmentalist/anti-imperialist agit-prop and for a film with deep thematic aspirations, there is a surprising lack of engagement or nuance. It’s also highly derivative – anyone who has seen District 9 will recognize the direction Avatar takes, right on down to the appearance of mechanized combat suits.



As an epic, Avatar fails tremendously. Cameron’s treatment of the subject matter is too superficial and cliché-ridden to deliver a lasting impact. But it still works as basic entertainment and those final combat scenes are pure eye candy. For all the film’s flaws, there is something undeniably satisfying about watching tough, determined characters blast the crap out of each other with high-tech weaponry, Aliens-style. It’s a shame Cameron doesn’t realize this is what he does best.



7/10