Beautiful, Leonine, and ultimately, simplistic, and foolish

Rating: Null/10 (7 November 2010)

I don't know how anyone can criticize this movie in terms of technology, let's give credit where credit is merited. Much detail is given thought in forests and creatures and the alien world and such. Though, really not that much in an original way, not really. More just a click and another click on a computer. And ripping off old movies about the west from the late 60's through the 90's.
Absent the technology (which will fade in it's impressiveness in time), the question is what quality of movie is it?
It's stupid.
In fact it's idiotic. Beyond so. Without question.
E.g. When has an arrow been able to penetrate a bullet proof vest? Not that I know of in the twenty first century, who knows about the other side of the planet, but, really? Or why does an ostensibly ruthless colonizing people (horrible humans) been unable to destroy a primitive culture for profit reason (one plot line in the movie). Reeks of Ewoks.
It's basically an old style American Indian movie. Very much the same as "Dances with Wolves" with Kevin Costner. An Army guy (here being a Marine) meets natives and finds them to be one with nature and all that stuff. It's just dressed up here with cool special effects and very interesting conceptual context.
The context has mostly been done before. Flying lizard type things that are ridden like horses or birds for that matter.
The native folks who are seemingly at one with the earth -- see any movie about American Indians, obnoxious corporate guy in search of minerals... the list goes on and on.
The "Dances with Wolves" similarity is striking: Except the American Indians are blue, very tall, not very smart, look very much like cats; otherwise very similar in speak, attitude, and weird. Very little clothing, but also very little in way of understanding their culture. Much like modern American movies of the same sort (including, oddly, "Dances with Wolves).
Upon reviewing, there are elements of other American movies, with American troops overseas (on Earth that is), as in Vietnam -- the war machines of the obviously American colonizers (or miners, or exploiters, or whatever particular one fancies in some political fantasy) are extremely similar, a century in the future or more, as they are in the 1960's in Vietnam, or the 1990's and 2000's in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There is a reminiscence of Apocalypse Now, but not the brilliance of that film, but in the end, (Spoiler -- spoiler -- this is not a PLOT spoiler but a CONCEPT spoiler) ...
... enjoying the defeat of American Marines is hard to understand by an alien species, especially in the first part of the 21st Century of this world.
The seemingly American military (in all but name) has technology of the future that isn't even close to the technology of today, and one might suspect if there is technology to move to another planet, it might improve or at least stay the same. Not so here. The battle between the "people" of the indigenous planet and the military of the "Sky People") is laughable.
The movie is a simple one, not really much original.
I won't give away spoilers, except to say, "you've got to be kidding" me moments." So ridiculous as to merit not just an eye roll but a wretch.