Avatar: Review By renodc

First of all before I get started in order to eliminate any confusion, I loved this film based solely on the scenery. When you read the review you may think I hated it, and in a way I did but that wasn't enough to quell my enjoyment of the most visually stunning film I have seen to date. It was like being on a scenic tour of a breathtaking landscape that is all in James Cameron's incredibly creative and imaginative mind, but unfortunately at the same time, also have to sit and listen to him b*tch about politics and how evil America is, as well as tell me a story that I've already heard.

The story of Avatar takes place on the planet Pandora. A pristeen planet teeming with life & natural resources. One of these resources is a rare mineral that can give boundless energy and, on Earth, fetch quite a hefty fudiciary return per ounce. This makes it a prime target for evil American capitalist space explorers, backed by the merciless and equally evil kill for the highest bidder U.S. military, looking for a little cha-ching. OK, so I don't exactly recall it being stated that it was a U.S. corporation or the U.S. military but the allusion was loud and clear.

Anyway, let's move on with the set up. Humans looking for this rare mineral settle on Pandora and establish outposts with military and science personel tasked with establishing mining operations. Unfortunately, the richest deposits they find are found beneath an enormous tree inhabited by a humanoid race of blue people called the Navi, who are a synergistic species that can link directly to all organic life on the planet via their tails (like an organic USB cord). This is where the story really begins as the scientists try to establish a diplomatic solution through the Avatar program that allows a human to transfer their consciousness into a lab grown body of a Navi-Human hybrid. This allows them to approach the Navi more easily, as well as allow the scientists to move more freely in the environment whose air is toxic to humans. Their purpose is to befriend the Navi and convince them to relocate allowing the company to strip mine the area, but the Navi are distrusting, and progress is slow. This sets up an uneasy tension between the scientists and the corporate entity (Ribisi), who is only concerned about his bottom line, as well as the military entity (Lang), who is itchin' to do some shootin'. Enter Jake Sully (Worthington), a battle hardened marine paralyzed from the waste down and with no health insurance to fix it. This leaves him without purpose, but purpose is found in the unfortunate death of his brother, a scientist on the Avatar project, who is killed in the field. Why is this important? Avatars only work with the human whose DNA they've been spliced with, and because of genetic similarities between siblings Jake can link to his brothers Avatar making him a valuable asset. His further worth is realized when he is lost on an expedition into the forest, and is saved by Neytiri, the daughter of the leader of the Navi tribe. Jake makes quick in roads with the tribe due to his past as a marine that translates well to their warrior code. Due to Jake's positioning, the military sees an opportunity to gain valuable intel on the Navi, and offer Jake a surgical option to restore his legs if he cooperates. As Jake continues to build relationships with tribe, he quickly finds himself in the middle of a conflict that threatens to tear him and an entire world apart.

I almost opted out of seeing Avatar mainly because it had 3 components that I hate in modern films:

1) 3-D. All my past experiences involved a splitting headache afterwards.

2) Real life actors thrown into "total" CGI environments with CGI human or humanoid characters. It's been obvious in past films through actor performance that they can't see the environment they are in, and the CGI characters typically come across as stiff, robotic and lifeless (exceptions being both renderings of the Hulk and Golem from Lord of the Rings) or cartoonish like the CGI characters in the Star Wars prequels.

3) Left wing liberal propaganda. I go to movies to be entertained not to be lectured.

Knowing those aspects were a part of the film, I was extremely wary of going to see it, but with all the talk about the groundbreaking special effects and new 3D technology, my curosity got the better of me. I forked out my $12.50; put on my Roy Orbison 3D shades, and prepared myself to be dazzled, and that's exactly what it was, dazzling. I was completely blown away by the visual spectacle that can't really be described it just has to be seen. I really felt like I had been transported to another world. It was so visually moving that I was able to completely ignore the fact, until afterwards, that Cameron must have just seen "Dances with Wolves" when he came up with this story fifteen years ago because he completely ripped it off. I was also able to ignore the anti-american, anti-capitalist sentiment the film was spouting, although I will say that Cameron was more subtle than most filmmakers and hammered us more with the atrocious way our ancestors dealt with the American Indian, which was deplorable and we should be ashamed of them for their actions. After it was all said and done, I left the theater with a smile on my face completely satisfied by money well spent, and best of all, I left the theater without a headache. Thank you Mr. Cameron for the experience just next time stay off the soapbox.