Much glitz, Grade-B plot

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2010)

If you go for surface glitz and can accept a hackneyed plot line, you will probably enjoy Avatar. I didn't like it much.
The special effects and video technology and graphic art are outstanding. If this is all it took to make a terrific movie, Avatar would count as one. The flight of the large birds was among the best I've seen in animated films. If you can suspend what you know about biological life forms and physics, then you can easily be absorbed in the movie without noticing the special effects, and accept the events as real. However, like many hero/war movies, any awareness of the limitations of biological beings will completely destroy its credibility. The Pandorans look like modified people of flesh and blood, and in some cases die like they should, e.g., via a knife wound. In other cases, they are portrayed as nearly indestructible, e.g., when they slam into a solid object at high speed. The physics is equally stretched to suit the plot. Don't you think running around on the outside of a metal airplane as if there were lots of traction and no wind is a little sloppy, even for a sci-fi/fantasy film?
I found Avatar lacking in entertainment value. The plot has very little originality. Cavalry vs. Indians. The essential love interest (this aspect was well done). A handicapped person overcoming his limitations (also well done). Natives in tune with nature vs. capitalists that ravage nature for monetary gain. There are several failed aspects of the plot. Ridiculous tactics and strategy in the intrigue and war scenes. Very stereotyped good and bad guys. The dialog was of reasonable, but not outstanding quality.
Moral issues arise for me that are similar to those I found in "Star Wars" and similar films. Many people embrace the concept of peace, but find entertainment through on-screen slaughter. While Avatar minimizes the gore of the slaughter, it is still there, and still a tragedy. I think movies like this over-emphasize the apparent glory of war (heroism, struggle for a "good" cause) and minimize its pain, terror, and futility.
Avatar has a beautiful surface and is a tour de force in the technology of film making. However, I find the heart and soul of the movie to be wanting. I have seen many movies that are less spectacular but more entertaining and/or more meaningful.