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Denise, Devon, and I went to see James Cameron's Avatar last night, and since I'm still in grading mode, here's the bottom line:
Cinematography: A+
Worldbuilding: B+
Script: C
OVERALL SCORE: B+
You DID see the "Spoilers Ahead" warning, didn't you? If not, turn back now...
The film is gorgeous. Cameron has put together a luscious world full of delightful eye candy. You believe this world, once we get to see it. Little details abound that solidify the perception: tiny insects, floating pollen, the sounds of other creatures trilling and chirping and whirring, the movement and response of the foliage as the characters move and touch it. The bioluminescence of the night world is luscious (and lends an almost undersea feel). This created world feels solid in the way that every good science fictional or fantasy world should feel. Yeah, the floating mountains only get a hand wave of jargonish explanation, but gosh, they're beautiful so we're willing to forgive even that.
In fact, despite the science fictional set-up of the film, this is really not a science fiction film; it's a fantasy with a thin veneer of an urban future -- and that allows the viewer to forgive the occasional excesses and shortfalls of the worldbuilding.
The Na'vi aliens are lovingly rendered and as solid as the rest of the CGI. They even have convenient biological USB ports that allow them to bond with the rest of the life on the planet -- for we rapidly learn that the planet is actually one sentient being linked together. Cameron brought in a linguist to create the Na'vi language, so it has a consistent, believable sound -- in fact, it could have been used more than it was; conveniently, most of the main Na'vi characters speak English. The Na'vi are also obviously analogs for Native Americans, about to be exploited by the evil Corporate Europeans.
There are also echoes of a political axe being ground here. Not only are the Na'vi a stand-in for the Native Americans, Pandora (and even that name has symbolic significance) can be viewed as a stand-in for Iraq or Afghanistan. There is a sense here that Cameron is not only talking about past excesses of Western society, but of present-day ones as well. This is the Cheney/Bush corporate militarism versus what many hoped Obama would represent: the belief that diplomacy, understanding, and compromise were the proper ways to deal with the clashing of cultures and faiths. (In fact, I'm curious as to how those in the armed forces will view this film, since it's rabidly anti-military.)
And that's where the film is weakest. You've already seen this plot too many times -- if you've seen Dances With Wolves, if you've seen the animated film Fern Gully, if you've seen Disney's Pocahantas, if you've seen, well, several other films or read any of couple dozen sf/fantasy or historical fiction books. There's nothing new here, nothing beyond the usual fare or the obvious allegory. The script is riddled with plot devices and tropes that border on cliché because they've been used a thousand times already.
Every beat of the plot is heavily (and sometimes clumsily) foreshadowed. There are no surprises here in the action, none at all. You know what's going to happen long before it actually does. You know the handsome, disabled marine is going to go native; you know that he's going to fall for the native princess and she for him. You know that he's going to tame the Big Bad Dragon and come flying in on it to rally all the tribes. You know that the world itself will come to the Good Guys' rescue during the epic, climatic battle, you know that in the end Our Hero's going to fight the Bad Evil Soldier (and that the princess will ultimately save him). You know that in the end, the world will reward him by turning him fully native, and everyone will live Happily Ever After.
The film is heavily black-and-white in attitude. The Greedy Corporate Military Complex Bad Guys are unrelievedly Capital-E evil. The Na'Vi Native Americans are unrelievedly good. There are no shades of moral gray in this world -- and that's the main fault with the script. What would have been far more subtle (and have made the film --- in my opinion -- far more effective as allegory) is if Cameron had shown us far more gray, if things weren't so ham-handedly set up to make us root for one side over the other, if we saw that sometimes good people do bad things for what they feel is a sufficient reason.
But Cameron is not subtle. We're hit in the face by his moral hammer here. And that's a shame.
I wish Cameron had lavished on Avatar the same care with the script that he lavished on the film's appearance and on building this gorgeous world. The film is well-made, well-acted, and for all its predictability, well worth seeing. So go see it -- if only to view how current CGI can render a fantasy solid and immersive.
That's the real accomplishment of this film.
Cinematography: A+
Worldbuilding: B+
Script: C
OVERALL SCORE: B+
You DID see the "Spoilers Ahead" warning, didn't you? If not, turn back now...
The film is gorgeous. Cameron has put together a luscious world full of delightful eye candy. You believe this world, once we get to see it. Little details abound that solidify the perception: tiny insects, floating pollen, the sounds of other creatures trilling and chirping and whirring, the movement and response of the foliage as the characters move and touch it. The bioluminescence of the night world is luscious (and lends an almost undersea feel). This created world feels solid in the way that every good science fictional or fantasy world should feel. Yeah, the floating mountains only get a hand wave of jargonish explanation, but gosh, they're beautiful so we're willing to forgive even that.
In fact, despite the science fictional set-up of the film, this is really not a science fiction film; it's a fantasy with a thin veneer of an urban future -- and that allows the viewer to forgive the occasional excesses and shortfalls of the worldbuilding.
The Na'vi aliens are lovingly rendered and as solid as the rest of the CGI. They even have convenient biological USB ports that allow them to bond with the rest of the life on the planet -- for we rapidly learn that the planet is actually one sentient being linked together. Cameron brought in a linguist to create the Na'vi language, so it has a consistent, believable sound -- in fact, it could have been used more than it was; conveniently, most of the main Na'vi characters speak English. The Na'vi are also obviously analogs for Native Americans, about to be exploited by the evil Corporate Europeans.
There are also echoes of a political axe being ground here. Not only are the Na'vi a stand-in for the Native Americans, Pandora (and even that name has symbolic significance) can be viewed as a stand-in for Iraq or Afghanistan. There is a sense here that Cameron is not only talking about past excesses of Western society, but of present-day ones as well. This is the Cheney/Bush corporate militarism versus what many hoped Obama would represent: the belief that diplomacy, understanding, and compromise were the proper ways to deal with the clashing of cultures and faiths. (In fact, I'm curious as to how those in the armed forces will view this film, since it's rabidly anti-military.)
And that's where the film is weakest. You've already seen this plot too many times -- if you've seen Dances With Wolves, if you've seen the animated film Fern Gully, if you've seen Disney's Pocahantas, if you've seen, well, several other films or read any of couple dozen sf/fantasy or historical fiction books. There's nothing new here, nothing beyond the usual fare or the obvious allegory. The script is riddled with plot devices and tropes that border on cliché because they've been used a thousand times already.
Every beat of the plot is heavily (and sometimes clumsily) foreshadowed. There are no surprises here in the action, none at all. You know what's going to happen long before it actually does. You know the handsome, disabled marine is going to go native; you know that he's going to fall for the native princess and she for him. You know that he's going to tame the Big Bad Dragon and come flying in on it to rally all the tribes. You know that the world itself will come to the Good Guys' rescue during the epic, climatic battle, you know that in the end Our Hero's going to fight the Bad Evil Soldier (and that the princess will ultimately save him). You know that in the end, the world will reward him by turning him fully native, and everyone will live Happily Ever After.
The film is heavily black-and-white in attitude. The Greedy Corporate Military Complex Bad Guys are unrelievedly Capital-E evil. The Na'Vi Native Americans are unrelievedly good. There are no shades of moral gray in this world -- and that's the main fault with the script. What would have been far more subtle (and have made the film --- in my opinion -- far more effective as allegory) is if Cameron had shown us far more gray, if things weren't so ham-handedly set up to make us root for one side over the other, if we saw that sometimes good people do bad things for what they feel is a sufficient reason.
But Cameron is not subtle. We're hit in the face by his moral hammer here. And that's a shame.
I wish Cameron had lavished on Avatar the same care with the script that he lavished on the film's appearance and on building this gorgeous world. The film is well-made, well-acted, and for all its predictability, well worth seeing. So go see it -- if only to view how current CGI can render a fantasy solid and immersive.
That's the real accomplishment of this film.