Like a DreamWalker - a great body with no soul.

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2010)

Avatar. I have to admit, I was excited to watch it what with it being a James Cameron production and the acclaim that its had world-wide.
I can admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the Titanic when I watched it all those years ago, and even cried at the end. I found the story real and compelling, and the hint of a twist at the end a charming way to end a well-executed romantic tale - and all of this is coming from a cynic.
So I had high hopes when I went to watch Avatar. I won't say that I was disappointed - I found the movie engaging enough, and the special effects were pretty damn amazing.
But I'm a story person, and I found the story entirely too predictable and methodological. Perhaps I had set high expectations for the movie - I expected to be leaving the cinema perhaps contemplating life and humanity and marveling at the creative genius of the screenplay, but instead I left feeling like I'd watched 2 hours of a Disney movie on steroids.
Don't get me wrong - I love Disney movies and own many of them, but a Disney formula was the last thing I was expecting when I went to watch Avatar. Yes, it had strong messages about humanity and nature, but for me, they weren't necessary inspiring messages. I found the characters had no depth, and the storyline was entirely predictable and left no room for imagination or surprise - there was no magic. I found Jake Scully's character unspectacular, particularly when compared to the recent Disctrict 9 which dealt with similar themes. With Wikus, I could relate - there's something to be said when a hero emerges from an ordinary man. In contrast, Jake Scully was like fluff. I felt that I could even compare this protagnoist with Neo in The Matrix - when he emerged a hero it was a turning point in the movie as the Matrix revealed it self to him. When Jake Scully did, it was expected - we all knew he was going to ride Toruk because it had been nicely set up with the legend of Toruk Makto, in the same way that we knew that he would end up living as a Na'vi because that too was nicely foreshadowed by Grace's death.
I guess the story of a paraplegic marine officer who gets a second chance at life with a woman he loves in a world where everything is the right way is the very notion of textbook romantic, and I can see how the movie would appeal. But to me, it felt like a potentially good story line had been compromised for the use of amazing special effects. Eventually, the wow of the effects fade, and it is the story you remember. For me, that will not be the case with Avatar.