Beneath the glossy surface

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2017)

Cameron really knows his drama. A tear-jerking love story, the heartfelt downfall at its climax: he applies the rules of drama like few others can. That said this reeks of a routine to go for. Despite such skills deserving high praise its repetition can't be said to be the epitome of greatness. On the contrary: besides these qualities we'd like to have some substance. To make things shine is great but a lame standard shining bright is a lame standard still. Nice colours, lots of emotion and baffling CGI: it is almost to be held against a film if all it does is hiding the mediocrity of its plot and its implications ("its meaning" that is). That said Avatar may still be the film that uses 3D technology best. That spells genuine innovation and adds to cinema as a whole. That is a method to be repeated and copied - only that this one is the original and hasn't been copied yet. That's truly commendable and a great feat.
Anyway: I love philosophy, actual meaning in films and something to think about. Even the best and most innovative use of 3D can't cover all that, can it? So yeah... At this point I see a decent film but no more.
There is a lot more to it though. The setting as such betrays a deep insight into the Zeitgeist, into the hidden desires of present time viewers. It is an ode to technology, to the possibility to shape one's self as well as connecting to others. At the same time the demolition of the old and the bringers of this technology are put in a harsh light. Indeed: we do not trust our own progress. We love it and fear it at the same time. We wish for unlimited possibilities, the transcendence of time, space and body, yet we also wish for stability, harmony and peace. It is impossible to fulfill the conflicting desires of our time. Or is it?
Avatar manages to combine the conservative and the progressive and that is not a small feat. Living as an "Avatar", like me being Mario in a Video Game, is where it starts. Right into the promises of the past: actually meaningful human relations, breaking things down to the eternally important parts of life, a harmonious tradition. The clash is quite literal: the colonial high-tech army against the natives of a paradise, living in harmony with themselves and their nature.
However: the Na'Vi do not just work as a safe harbour, a bastion against the flood of progress. They also bring a promise we know as new, as a part of progress in our own world. They can "upload" their experiences, "download" the past and connect to other living beings by "jacking in". That is exactly how they "become one with nature", how their "natural", "traditional" lifestyle works. They manage to unite our conflicting desires and truly appeal to something most people do not even see. It is keen insight that looks immensely deep what is required to create this specific instantiation of a superficially glossy fantasy world. It's the "Internet Indians", the unity of everything, that many oh-so sophisticated viewers overlook when complaining about the flatness of this eye-candy.
Avatar holds a grasp on THE desire of our time. There is substance. Since "Matrix" it is customary to have a film claim depth. Where Matrix actually does hold depth, although not behind every Greek name and wisecrack reference, many others did not. Lots of references, likening one's film to insightful classics: people see depth where it is supposed. This one on the other hand appeals to emotions and thankfully never really pretends to be a piece of philosophy. Only that it is. It truly is a milestone.
If I wouldn't detest the plastic perfection, the glossy finish and the flat plot I'd rate this even higher. Even so I can't help but acknowledge the mastery this film was done with as well as its creators' insights into the big questions of our time. Truly a great film!