Blue

Avatar (2009)

This film mega killed at the box office but has left me some what confused. Even though I did not see a 3D version Avatar still has some amazing visuals which are achieved via really good CGI (as opposed to some of the lazy and weak CGI floating around some block busters). Motion capture technology has also been pushed to new levels as well as presumably the 3D technology but is there more to the film than pushing technological boundaries?

The plot is problematic. From the very start it is hard to take seriously a story featuring a MacGuffin call Unobtainium. It would have been really interesting to see some further exploration of the idea of people using avatars and the merging or loss of identity from this but that is pretty much ignored. There are also some weak characters such as the Colonel who wants to be evil and blow stuff up with out any real explanation or motivation. As the plot progresses you realise what you have here is processed cheese, entirely predictable and lacking any depth of flavour. If at any point you can not work out what is going to happen next you have probably never read a book or seen a film before. Now if the film had ended with the destruction of the natives homes it would have been really awesome in an Empire Strikes Back dark ending kind of a way.

From the weak plot it does get worse, there seems to be some latent racism sneaking through which includes the stereotypical natives and the fact that only the white man can save them. Then we have the major problem of the film's message. Billed as the most technologically advanced film of all time we get the paradox of being smashed over the head with luddite views while watching it. Why not spend the best part of $250million on computers, machinery, flying people around the world and a whole bunch of other stuff to tell us that it is all bad and we should go live in the trees?

It really is hard to score this movie because despite all it's many and varied flaws it is not as bad as it should be. There is just enough there in the stunning visuals and predictability to keep it a watch-able 3/5 but I am really not sure how.