Dances with Wolves in Space

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2009)

Bit of a mixed experience for me, to be honest. As others have remarked, the CGI from WETA is simply the best seen so far with the 3D aspect literally adding another dimension to the whole experience. I found the forest foliage in particular to be lush, beautifully lit and sufficiently different to be other-worldly without seeming unnatural (although I smiled when I saw the New Zealanders had managed to sneak in an emblematic Koru or two).
This is just as well because the story itself is a pretty shallow and occasionally patronising affair, rehashing somewhat clichéd themes of abuse of indigenous people and ecology seen previously in the likes of "On Deadly Ground", "Medicine Man" and "Dances with Wolves". Other key elements of the film seem to have direct parallels in other work such as the Pandoran wildlife scenes (Jurassic Park), riders on winged beasts (Lord of the Rings), sky-diving sans parachute off sundry platforms (Die Hard), Hi-tech army vs Low-tech army (Star Wars), robotic exoskeletons (Aliens), flotillas of attack "helicopters" (Apocalypse Now), floating mountains (Roger Dean's Yes album artwork) etc. Unfortunately, this mish-mash doesn't make for a particularly good Science-Fiction film since fans of the genre tend to be critical thinkers and hence expect originality and plausible scientific (and supporting economic) aspects to a story.
So is "Avatar" reduced to being just another action pot-boiler albeit transposed into an alien setting? If it were judged on the merits of the story alone, then the answer is yes. However, the visuals are so rich and immersive that you can almost smell the forest around you. Because of this, you find that you unconsciously forgive the numerous flaws in the storyline and just revel in the beauty of it. It's ironic though that James Cameron claims to have waited 10 years until technology caught up to bring his story to the screen when it's so clearly the technology that props it all up.