Towering SFX, Towering Soundtrack, but Recycled Storyline...

Rating: 7/10 (25 August 2010)

A great spectacle, we all had our popcorn ready, we sat, we saw....
The results:
Without a doubt the most impressive SPX in cinematic history.
But is that all?
In terms of originality, YES.
Don't get me wrong, James Cameron has done some amazing work in the past.
Although Titanic was a cheese, and partially exploited a tragic "british" event, in order to tell a 19th century shakespearian love story. It had extremely redeemable qualities, the sets, the lighting, the Score, even the acting on many occasions. The structure of the film and how it plays out towards the tragedy was epic.
But it's these predictable love stories, like Titanic, that followed through onto the Avatar Screenplay in many senses. A typical love movie love story - They meet - there's tension - they get to know each other - they grow together - fall in love - their love is tested - one of them dies, or both ride of into the sunset - the end.
Avatar was very predictable, i even remember sitting in the cinema with another movie buff friend and predicting the next part of the storyline. And most of the time i was right! However its heart is in the right place. It does level miles above garbage like "Iron Man". Brainless popcorn movies with a near transparent storyline.
They release this garbage because they know you will watch it. Summer blockbusters used to be marketed for their box office revenue in many senses, thats what producers are for. But a handful of these blockbusters has real HEART and PASSION. It's as if a seven year old has been writing the current movie scripts that are being tossed into cinema screens today.
They are laughably "1-Dimensional".
And here is the reason why, if you have ever asked yourself in recent years "Why are movies getting worse?" In certain bad economic climates, like the one the western world is experiencing at the moment. Every industry suffers. But on top of that, there is competition for the Cinema industry from Online and DVD pirates, Onlines Cinemas, and even Television, whose T.V Action movies are getting more like Blockbuster movies in their own right. They are seeing the profit decrease in certain areas over the last decade.
And so, in their desperate attempts for more Cinema goers, they attempt to write scripts that can appeal to a wider audience. And in doing so, they kill many "western jokes, western humour" in fear other cultures won't be able to relate to it. And in turn, just replace everything with blinding, hypnotic Visual Effects. As those are something anyone with a brain cell can watch and understand. But it's clearly impossible to please everyone. It just can't happen. The East have their humour, and the West have our humour.
Their is common grounds to be found, and here it was what works best. No matter what language your film is in, no matter what culture, of century. We can all relate to the concept of family and friendships.
It's a subconscious, internal need that drives within us, that has evolved over the dawn of man. We all know about family, the troubles, the dramas and the heartbreaks. And we have all found and lost friends in many cases.
Its the strongest ingrediant a Movie can have, and its why the godfather worked so well. It has nothing to do with the mafia. It was the epic dramas of a broken family, their rise and fall.That is what we loved about it subconciosuly, because we could all relate to the story about a family.
But movies are losing this precious quality these days, even with such family dramas, comedies that are coming out. They are being structured and projected the wrong way. SFX are taking over, and killing any relatability we used to have with the classics like the godfather.We can't relate to SFX, they are a mere temporary adrenaline rush for the brain, and once they come on screen and go off, they are discarded as anything emotional inside us.
They don't teach us anything, tell us about the world we live in, and sooner or later, Films will evolve again. And they are going to have to evolve the right way, to bring back the old Hollywood magic..
Or they are going to die.