Escape to Pandora

Rating: 9/10 (21 March 2014)

Avatar has been carved into history as one of the most spectacular cinema achievements ever presented. This record-breaking film brought to us the enchanting beauty of an exotic world and gave us the magic of a Disney classic. Avatar made us dream in a way that very few pictures have ever been able to accomplish. It connected with us as an international community in a unique way, and dominated national media conversation for months surrounding its release. The 2.7 billion dollar box-office pull was the biggest in history and a statistical affirmation of the magnitude which was the 2009 Avatar phenomenon.
Keeping in mind these overarching positives, I will do my best to abstain from knocking the film too hard on technicalities. Many reviewers whined that the movie gave us nothing but unoriginality and primitive 3D technology. They claimed that its box-office success was mostly the result of an overly- funded marketing campaign. Although these critiques carry truth, I believe that visually dependent films like Avatar shouldn't necessarily be studied analytically, but rather experienced. That is why we go to the movies right, to feel things? The true charm of the film wasn't in its brilliant screen writing or original concepts, but rather it is was in the wonderful sensations it evoked in us. It is a poor testament to our desensitized culture that many of us cannot enjoy a remarkable piece of art such as Avatar without an objective eye.
The script followed the same predictable and cookie-cutter plot lines used in Pocahontas, Dancing With Wolves, as well too many others. None of the characters said anything unexpected or profound and in some instance appeared one-dimension. The cookie-cutter plot gave us the same old mediocre cookie we have now gotten fat off of. You know; white guy protagonist goes to live with the natives for whatever reason, gets accepted into their clan, finds an indigenous girlfriend, then finally fights back against his old white friends. The difference here however is that this cookie was covered in enough icing and drowned in enough sprinkles that it masked the familiar flavors we apparently all hate. Pardon my contradiction to popular hipster opinion, but I would say this recipe always tasted pretty good.
It is certainly noteworthy that the underlying left-wing environmental messages were overpowering throughout the entirety of the movie. Seriously though did Al Gore co-write this thing or what? The message was over-simplified to the point where any preteen loser could warm up to it. It made feel like I was sitting through a middle-school science lesson again. Durrr. The negative portrayal of big business was so aggressive and anti-capitalist that it probably gave Bill O'Reilly a hernia. Nothing new for Hollywood though.
The acting was good but not brilliant. One of the only stand-out performances in my opinion was by Michelle Rodriguez. Although only casted in a minor role as the tough yet compassionate helicopter pilot named Trudy Chacon, she was a compelling character. She owned the dialogue. Her confident "don't mess with me" attitude transitioned to a softer demeanour about half way through when she begins to empathize with the natives. Her subordination from her military duties embodied some of the major themes mentioned above. She eventually burns in a fiery helicopter wreck, but hey at least she fought for what she believed in and died for what was right... Ya ya we get it.
Here are my final statements Whatever your opinions are related to this film and its enormous box-office success, it can confidently be said that Avatar fulfilled the fundamental purpose of cinema; it entertained us. I will go further and argue that it accomplished this in a timeless and spectacular manner, but of course that is for you to decide. Please do yourselves a favour and re-watch this classic, perhaps without a critical eye this time. We all need to feel like a kid every once in a while so do your best in putting your paganism an hold and enjoy one of the best escapes cinema has ever given us. Escape to Pandora.