Saturday, December 19, 2009

Avatar -- Minor Spoilers

So bright! So rippling! So shiny! So glowing! So... blue!

The thoughts of loveliness only fade when Cameron allows the motion to get too fast in an attempt to make this movie an action flick instead of what it is: a visually stunning sci-fi rendition of the old going-native story. We get Cherokee removal with sympathetic scientists instead of missionaries, unobtainium instead of gold, evil marines and corporations instead of Andrew Jackson and Georgia, and mother tree instead of mother earth. Since this isn't history, the good guys get away with going Zulu. It could have been great, but the relative lack of intelligent reflection leaves this movie about as deep as the recent Star Trek offering. Weepably poor dialogue, decent acting -- especially by the women in the cast -- and so very pretty.

1 comment:

  1. You said it better than I could have, in fewer words. One point left out was the philosophical problem of the film's main premise, simply ignored by Cameron--the projection of consciousness onto the clone itself. It is material best left unexplored because it would muddy the waters of the narrative, but it was pretty glaring to those watching for it.

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