chrisbrad | Avatar

Where do I begin?

How about what I liked about the film...

I enjoyed the artistry of Avatar. The scenery was beautiful and awe-inspiring. It combined what we know about our own surroundings and filled it in with alien flora and fauna. Kudos to the designers of the planet Pandora.

I also enjoyed the tech of the film. While there were many times when the "reality" of the Na'vi was lost on me, there were some moments when the blue people felt real. Looked real. Were real. And that means a lot. Too often, CGI characters feel out of place. But in a film like Avatar where CGI characters are not just in the film but rather the focus of the film, the characters were real enough to not be distracting. Again, kudos to those who developed the tech of the film.

Lastly, and that should let you know where I am going in this review, I enjoyed the use of 3-D. All too often, 3-D is used as a gimmick. But Avatar used 3-D to create a larger world, a Pandora that needs more than the big screen. The images did not just pop, they exploded at moments. Plus, the glasses did not bother me (a guy who already wears glasses).

But that is all the good I can say about Avatar.

The story was radical.

The big, bad, militaristic white man took on the defenseless natives. Boring. Been there, done that. How many more anti-white, anti-man films do I need to sit through. I get it Hollywood! I should be ashamed I am who I am.

Worse, though, was the extreme radical view of environmentalism that the film pushes. The Na'vi aren't just tree-huggers (that would have been a little more tolerable). No, the Na'vi worship nature. Literally. Nature takes on the roles of deity and power. Nature and the environment take on the tones and aspects of religion. And, in today's world where a cadre of scientists, politicians, and the extreme arm of the Left view environmentalism as a psuedo-religion, this radical view was out of place. (Note: This is not a knock on those who do worship nature, rather a knock on the pushy thematic slant of the film.)

But the negatives did not stop there. The story was not original. The whole movie had a deja vu feel.

There was also the issue with the stupidity of the flick.

Unobtanium? Really?
Being able to train the ONE critter on the planet that can save them all? Really?
Having the Na'vi think the limp, un-manned bodies of the avatars were just an inconvenience? Really?
The same ruthless military dude we've seen a million other times? Really?
Hey, let's pick up a pod and go somewhere else without being noticed? Really?

It was all infuriating.

Overall, I give Avatar a 2 out of 10.

Sadly, Avatar is on its way to being the biggest film of all-time. And worse, it may very well be on its way to winning a huge number of Oscars (including Best Pic). Grr,,,

DAMN THE NA'VI.
DAMN AVATAR!