So I finally went to see Avatar. Why do I have suddenly want to revisit FernGully? Hmm, that’s weird and completely unrelated I’m sure. Anyway, the plot of Avatar is… you know what? Just watch the trailer. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know the entire story, start to finish. Let me emphasize that this isn’t really an action movie. It barely had any action scenes at all. Only at the end of Avatar do you finally get to see any kind of fighting. I guess you could describe it more as a romance and maybe an adventure film. All in all, however, Avatar was a good flick. I enjoyed the film, but it was also completely, 100% predictable, even down to every single last person who bit the dust. There were no surprises, no twists, and not really any dramatic tension or suspense regarding if the Na’vi tribe will survive the whole ordeal. Don’t come into this expecting big surprises around every turn, because there simply aren’t any. Whereas the plots of some movies are like springs, filled with twists and turns, the plot of Avatar is like a stick – it just goes in one straight line.
One thing I did really enjoy was the female characters. Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), a Na’vi native, was a very strong character and was constantly saving Jake or others from danger. Sigourney Weaver was also in this film, and you’ve got to love her. She plays a pretty strong willed character herself. Her first line of the whole film was “Where are my GD cigarettes?” There is also Michelle Rodriguez, who has played her share of badass chicks and is responsible for giving us the Best Line. That line alone lets you know she’s not a weak character. Well done, James Cameron, for creating likable, strong female characters.
All you hear about Avatar is how awesome the visual effects were. Well, that part is true. It was very visually pleasing. The world of Pandora was colorful and unique and very nice to look at, but you have to ask yourself, “Are the visual effects alone enough to make me want to see Avatar?” If the answer is yes, then by all means go see this film. I’m sure you will enjoy it. If the special effects aren’t that important to you, then I really don’t think you will be missing much if you don’t go see it. The plot is so completely predictable that the nearly three-hour length of the film will probably be pretty tiring if you don’t care at all for the special effects.
I happened to see Avatar in 3-D. It happened to not really add anything to the experience of the whole film. Despite the world being in 3-D, it just didn’t feel like this film was made with the whole 3-D experience in mind. So, if you were excited about the film to begin with, then I’m sure you will enjoy it. If you didn’t really care about seeing it or were on the ropes, then you don’t have to feel like you’re missing out on the world’s greatest movie. Of course, if Avatar does well, there is talk of making 2 sequels.
Time Until Action Starts: ~ 29 minutes and that was just a single chase scene.
Baddies: Gosh darn humans of the planet Earth!
Best Line: “You’re not the only one with a gun, bitch!”
Best Kill: I don’t want to ruin the actual best kill so here is the next best kill. The humans open fire on the Na’vi village. The Na’vi come flying out of the sky on their banshees (airborne predators). Up until now, you only see the Na’vi fight with arrows. A Na’vi swoops by a helicopter throwing a spear. It breaks through the windshield and nails the pilot right in the heart. It was a nice, smooth kill. I felt so deprived of action I was just happy to see something other than a foofy-shmoofy love story.
Best Explosion: Spoiler Alert: The baddies (us humans) gather together all of their forces and prepare to hit the Na’vi in their home. Well, the Na’vi don’t really have the power to fight back so they’re just sitting ducks. The humans unleash all of their missiles on the tree that the Na’vi call home. This is a massive tree, the biggest on their land. This tree is big enough to house all of the tribe. Don’t worry, the humans always come prepared. They unleash all of the missiles and there are enough explosions to weaken the base of the tree so that it comes plummeting down.
Action Rating: 1 Tribal Smurf, out of 5.
Illustration by Alex Langley. Rocket Llama World Headquarters.
This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!
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Thanks for the review. I am planning to see Avatar when the crowds die down.
While I am one of those people who generally concedes that there are not many (if any) movies out there telling stories that haven’t been told before, and that most can be boiled down to reveal their Shakespearean ingredients…I just can’t agree that there is nothing much to see in Avatar if special effects don’t matter to the moviegoer.
Cameron even mentioned in a couple interviews that the 3D technology would not be beating you over the head. There we’re no scenes in the movie made to “show off” how cool 3D can look. His example was Monsters vs Aliens, when they start the movie by blowing one of those party noise makers into the camera…as it unrolled toward the audience, everyone let out a collective “Woah!”. The closest equivalent Avatar has is a single droplet of water floating by in zero-g.
3D does something for theaters I never imagined…it makes sitting in the worst seats, almost totally irrelevant. The 1st time I saw the movie I was in the front row on the left side…while i did have to slip down into my chair to get comfy, The 3D had me forgetting that I was at an extreme angle at all. The only thing that was really better about being dead center the 2nd time, was that it was easier on my neck.
You are right that there isn’t a ton of action, if action is defined only by battles and fighting. But I found the the early scenes of piloting the avatar body for the first time to be just as action oriented as was needed at that point in the movie. If anything the action scenes build in intensity slowly, until they crescendo into all out war at the climax of the film. I find constant action to often be more tedious than a film directed by someone who knows how to keenly control the ebb & flow of good pacing…letting up just enough in the right places to develop characters & plot and then bringing us back into the thick of it, to keep us on edge.
Same goes for the dialogue. While it was no masterpiece of drama…none of the words that came out of characters mouths, ever insulted my own ability to figure out what was going on by myself, which many films (particularly action films) do quite a bit. The only exception might be the scene where Parker explains Unobtanium to Dr. grace…it would have made more sense to have that conversation with Jake instead, but it worked in the sense that Parker was being intentionally patronizing.
Avatar, IMHO, is a really great example of balance in all forms of story telling. It had something for everyone.
The movie seems predictable. Nice review though!
I’m going to see Avatar after Christmas, so I’ll hold off judgment until then. Though I’m sure everything you said will be true.
Love the Smurf picture. You know I had to say something about that 😉
It was definitely one of those movies that made me curious – it looked different and unique. Some say watching it in 3D was a gimmick. Though, I think it was one of those movies that I was glad to see it in 3D. Had I not it may have been a different experience for me all together. Nice review, and yes – the Smurf pic is great! 🙂
I want to give my review is that After a second viewing at a better theater, I feel this movie is more fresh than rotten. The stunning visuals are slightly better than the unoriginal plot and horrendous dialogue.
Well said AFC. Well said. Although I really liked the 3D experience, some people really liked the burning embers and whatnot – but, I liked the flying scenes. But, uhm, you can see what I said about it at my site too, pretty much same same, Fern Gully meets Dances with Wolves, meets the Smurfs.
So, it follows that it’s going to be standard Cameron fare, just like Titanic. Would love to see you review that film from your unique POV, AFC 🙂
My father is CONVINCED that he ripped off “fern Gully” been saying it since he saw it and didnt think anyone else had connected the dots!!!!
Ferngully and definitely some Dances With Wolves sprinkled in there too. 🙂
Loved Avatar but can’t deny you’re right about FernGully and the like.
So the only thing it has that’s new is simply the 3D mode, yet they are charging $250, the same exact price as the quad-core PSP Vita? With the OLED screen? and dual analog sticks?