Most critics said, and I don't disagree, that with such emphasis on 3D visuals, you can't really expect the characters to be three dimensional as well. That aside, apparently the struggle of the Na'vi has been compared to a dizzying number of other causes and trends.
Palestinian protesters in the town of Bilin dressed up as Na'avi recently to protest the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales has praised Avatar as a "profound show of resistance to capitalism and the struggle for the defense of nature."
Chinese bloggers have compared the film's story to the exploitation of Chinese citizens by government-backed real estate developers -- a factor that may have contributed to the film being pulled from Chinese theaters.
Activists ran ads in the Hollywood newspaper Variety comparing the Na'avi to India's forest-dwelling indigenous tribe, the Dongria, whose territory is now threatened by a planned bauxite mine.
Environmentalists Lori Pottinger compared the story of Avatar to the Brazilian government's plans to build dams in the Amazon Basin.
Russian Communists described the film as an attempt to justify Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.
New York Times columinist Ross Douthat called the movie "an apolologia for pantheism."
David Boaz of the libertarian Cato Institute says the movie is about "defending property rights".
Last but not least, Cameron himself says the movie is an allegory about the U.S. war on terror.
I really wanted to like this movie. It was visually stunning. But to echo the words of a movie critic I saw on CNN, "The farther I get from having seen Avatar, the less I like it." Literally, one of the most straightforward movies ever made - you can guess the ENTIRE movie by watching the first 10 minutes. My friend (who I saw this movie with) and I have a running email list of dumb / ridiculous / technically absurd things about this movie. Not to bore you but how about just one: what group of idiots who can fly across space need to create (they don't already have them?) "bombs" on pallets in the back of a cargo ship and push them out the back of a plane? You don't have something as simple as a missile? Let alone some laser you can fire from orbit? And then you have to fly all your ships at 5 miles per hour packed together so you can't maneuver?
ReplyDeleteAnd unfortunately the story itself was as lame as lame can be. Run you over with a bus, back up, run over you again, then repeat 10 more times with the environmental message. Does anyone just make a good old SciFi STORY anymore? Please check out this link which I believe completely sums up the movie. Basically it is a 1-page plot summary of the Disney movie Pocahantas. Some guy changes the names of the characters, places, and minor details (such as swapping the words "gold" and "unobtainium" - which in and of itself is another example of lameness) - that's all it takes and you have the movie Avatar.
http://failblog.org/2010/01/10/avatar-plot-fail/
Lastly, the myth of the noble savage is nothing but that - a myth. Normally, with a movie that is just a story you can overlook things like this. But Avatar hits you over the head with symbolism and therefore begs to be analyzed as the quotes here attest.
Great visuals but without the visuals this movie is laughable. For good story line in a newer SciFi movie (and tie ins to modern political causes etc if you need that in a SciFi movie) I suggest District9 instead. I understand how people could really like this movie. But I feel the visual facade overshadows what is otherwise a weak and predictable script.
IMHO
Sven