The question that is Avatar

Rating: 3/10 (10 January 2010)

To say that I found Avatar to be a waste of money, talent and time, would be an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I think they did a fantastic job in creating a believable digital planet, that all the artists and special effects people should be prized and respected for the mind blowing cgi. I just wish they had a better story to work with.
First complaint: there's a massive difference between ScienceFiction and ScienceFantasy. The first is based on possibility, the latter on nothing whatsoever. If you're going to tell some important story based on the future of humanity and what we, as a people, will be one day capable of doing, you should get your science straightened out so as not to make it totally ridiculous. When I see rocks that defy the laws of gravity, the link between us and this as our possible future is destroyed. And don't get me started on the biological inconsistencies. Was anyone else bothered by the fact that the Na'vi were biologically designed to mindrape all other fauna of the land?
Then there's the enviromentalistic and liberal attack against present administrations, which is so blatant and unforgiving that it's almost childish and superficially one-dimensional. People say that this film is a revolution, I strongly disagree. Apart from the great visuals, it's a huge leap backwards in the art of storytelling and character development. One of the major reasons film has evolved over the years, apart from the obvious technical advances, is that today we are free to express whatever ideals we wish without as much censorship as there was in the past. This means that we are no longer obligated to turn our movies into propaganda. We are allowed to be objective. Our bad guys may not always be bad and our good guys may not always act so well. Not only does this movie place you in some not too distant future, give you no political or social background of what's going on, and take away all scientific credibility within the first 20 minutes, but we're also supposed to believe that the situation on Pandora is as simple as good vs evil? Nope, I'm not giving in. I think we, as a public, deserve a little better. I don't like being treated like an imbecile by films and I don't care too much for political propaganda.
Let's forget a second about the political and environmental message that lays on the surface of the story. What else does Avatar have to say? It's about a young man, Jake Sully, who has everything against him. He was injured, and despite the fact that he could recover with the proper treatment, social health care is not a human right yet. So he is stuck in a wheelchair. He's a really easy person to empathize with. When he is given the chance to replace his deceased brother on a mission on Pandora, he will be able to walk again, so to speak, while controlling his avatar. What are the humans doing on Pandora? They want unobtainium, of course. And since this mineral is located in the Na'vi village, they need to evacuate them first. Jake is sent to Pandora to guard the science team while they take samples. But he's curious and stupid, and manages to get stuck on the island alone for the night. The Na'vi save him from a pack of hungry beasts. When the humans find about this, they decide to give Jake a few months to get close to these people and convince them to move away. Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. Jake lives with the tall blue aliens, learns about their culture and beliefs, falls in love, has sex and has a grand old time with his new blue family. But wait! He's had plenty of time to tell them about the plan his people have! Why does he wait till the very last moment to warn the Na'vi about their future attack? There are very few possible reasons for this: He forgot, he thought the humans would maybe just forget about their multi billion dollar plan, or he's really not a reliable person. I'm voting for :Jake is a bad hero. Maybe he's likable and just got too into his role as the blue cat girl's blue boyfriend, but this is not a forgivable act. Jake Sully could have prevented countless Na'vi deaths and the whole human population in the area, but he didn't because he was having too much fun. Am I supposed to feel sorry for him now? So at the last moment he decides that he is going to fight with his new alien friends in their war against humanity. You would think that they could maybe resolve their differences without bloodshed, but I guess the Na'vi are no more peaceful than the humans. Is there ever a time when Genocide is justifiable? Why is the ideal outcome of this film the murder of humanity as a whole? I'm not defending the humans, for their behavior is absolutely reprehensible. But without a back story, I really don't know what to think of this confrontation. What I do know is that if Jake had been more responsible, nobody would have died. Don't you think that maybe there was some other possible solution before starting to kill each other? Jake sure doesn't think so. Not only that, but he is willing to kill every last human being in the vicinity for the sake of his new-found friends. Or maybe he's just doing it for the legs.
Conclusion: This is a film about a sad and lonely invalid who is given a chance to prove his worth by becoming the intermediary in a human/alien conflict, ignores his responsibilities and provokes the death of millions and is rewarded with legs, love and happiness. This is what we call correct and just?