Why didn't they just ask the Na'vi for the unobtainium?

Rating: 5/10 (19 June 2010)

Yes, the film is gorgeous. Yes, the F/X were stunning. OK, the love story was predictable but necessary. But I don't understand: did the humans ever ask the natives for the unobtainium? Also, it doesn't make sense that the humans would set up this years-long scientific process of infiltrating the Na'vi, give Jake three months to do his job, but then at three months and one hour decide they have to drop the whole friendly approach and attack. Wouldn't it have made more sense to infiltrate, find something that the Na'vi wanted, and then trade for the unobtainium? Or explain to the Na'vi that unobtainium was to all intents and purposes the Sky Peoples' god and persuade them to allow some mining? It wouldn't have taken much at all, since a small amount of the mineral was worth a king's ransom. This movie, among other things, makes the case that life unfolds in a purely black and white fashion even on other planets, just like it does here -- you're either Na'vi or the jarhead militarist, Democrat or Republican, with no middle ground, no compromise, no negotiation, no common sense. The appearance of Cameron's world may be breathtakingly advanced, but the politics/social aspects are depressingly neanderthal. To James Cameron: If you're going to spend a $500 million on something, why not make a movie that teaches the difficulty of and necessity for compromise and understanding?