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I finally saw Avatar a few weeks ago...before I say anything else, I would like to channel my AP U.S. teacher...
The Good:
The technological aspects were amazing! The Na'vi were very realistic, the colors were hypnotic, and the special effects were unsurpassed.
Now remember, I said something good first...
The Bad:
The story, though it took place on a distant moon of a distant planet, was essentially Pocahantas on steroids. I was severely disappointed with the predictability and simplicity of the plot.I expected something much better than that.
Actually, I was quite impressed with the film, and not just for the technical aspects. One of the reasons why the plot is rather weak is that it borrows very heavily from well-worn tropes of literary SF. Check out the following review of the film for the literary inspirations:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=10147
Undoubtedly, Cameron is well aware of the stories cited.
What impressed me is the following: AVATAR has fantastic world building qualities; qualities that most cinema SF greatly lacks. Well done literary SF has excellent world building; that is, a very detailed setting, so lushly realized, that you find yourself immersed in that universe. AVATAR is one of the few mainstream SF films to capture that quality. For example, the setting of Pandora's jungle is awesome, but I found myself drawn to the gas giant planetscapes in Pandora's evening sky that were only barely glimpsed in the film. Most viewers will completely miss that, but those of us well read in Space Opera and Hard SF were greatly impressed.
What Cameron has done is not original in terms of plot, but he has captured another essence of well done SF that most films do not.
I completely agree with what you said. I'm just more plot oriented when it comes to watching movies, so I was naturally disappointed when I found the story weak.
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