Avatar was destined to be one of those movies that was 'too big to fail,' but, unlike Wall Street banks, it didn't actually fail. All in all, this movie was a really spectacular occurrence and will turn out to be the jewel in James Cameron's directorial/writing crown, truly his best accomplishment yet.
Yes, there was a mountain's worth of hype building up to its release, but I think it made the movie all the better. Sometimes lots of publicity is only a feeble attempt to glaze over a flimsy movie product, but this wasn't the case here. Well, on the contrary, most of the time, I like seeing movies that I've been excited about seeing for a long time. I've heard people compare Avatar to Star Wars and other life-changing, industry-revolutionizing film experiences that had similar hype; they are worth all of the buzz because they were so well made. Actually, I can't remember the last time I've been to a theater that was so packed. It was really an event.
The CGI/special effects were simply amazing. How does a director make a movie this stunning and beautiful? It was impossible to tell where the live action started and the computers took over, seriously. Pandora and everything on it was so real and awesome that it was sometimes hard to remember it was all fiction. The nature (both the plants and animals) was really neat and the Na'vi themselves were cool. Describing it like this doesn't do it credit, I don't think, but I'm no English major.
I couldn't help reading the larger message of the film that humans can be bad if they're driven only by profits and are too careless to see the good in nature. It was sad that Cameron's future Earth doesn't have any green, yet it was interesting that there's going to be a war with Venezuela and Nigeria.
The Na'vi seemed to be based off of a mix of Native American and African tribal culture. I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with the theory that humanoids from another planet would evolve culturally so similarly to humans. But, it also makes them recognizable and easier to swallow story-wise while at the same time parallelling the tragic history of human nature (i.e. the European destruction of indigenous populations in America and Africa).
Come to think of it, why do the Na'vi have fingernails? Are we supposed to buy that they evolved physically in the same way as humans too? What are the odds that foreign evolution would be so similar and would happen at the same time? I need commentary from a scientist. Also, I'm doubtful that humans will be so advanced (space flight to foreign planets, cryo freezing, curing spinal paralysis etc) in only 130 years yet the same clothing styles are still being worn. Other than these nit picky details, Cameron's Pandora and future were both very creative and I give him major props for thinking up such an awesome setting for this story.
I sort of lament the action/fighting third act. Ebert commented on it too (here), but felt that it was better than some. I mean it was such a cliche way to end it, but I suppose it had to happen. Why take a risk on making the third act unexpected with so much money at stake? I mean, I'll admit that I'd be upset if things didn't turn out in the romantic way (i.e. bad guys beaten, guy gets girl, good lessons learned etc etc). I guess I'm at peace with the ending, but definitely preferred the introduction when we are experiencing the new world from the eyes of our protagonist.
As with any major creative feat, there were many nods to other important films; the not-so subtle hints were fun to pick up on. The gung-ho colonel drinking a mug of coffee as he approaches the attack point in his bomber certainly reminded me of a similar scene in Apocalypse Now (which certainly exposed the many attrocities committed against native populations in the Vietnam War). Sigourney Weaver is an icon and reminds us of the sci-fi revolution that was Alien (and of her voice cameo role 30 years later in Pixar's Wall-E). The main character's adventure reminded me of a young Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves. The list goes on...
All in all, Avatar was really cool, lots of fun, and exciting with a positive message and I'll leave it at that.
