Unoriginal Plot

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2009)

"Gee, I wonder what's going to happen next?" is an expression I rarely find myself thinking with most films nowadays. I knew going into this film that I was going for a VISUAL spectacle, not a compelling story.
I was visually stunned and overwhelmed by the beautiful design of the world of Pandora. The phospholuminescent wildlife created by the special effects team felt real and in its place, it felt believable. Serious thought and care was given to the interactions of the wildlife on the planet; the way different animals behaved and looked was believable.
I also enjoyed the technique used to meld the faces of the actors(Sigourney Weaver in particular) with the fictitious Na'vi. However, I found myself thinking that the special effects were SO good...why didn't they just make the whole film in CG? The Na'vi looked real enough, surely they could do humans that looked just as good.
Mr. Cameron loses points for the unoriginal story. Because this tale has been told before in(you guessed it) Dances with Wolves, Ferngully, and Disney's Pocahontas, I was never on the edge of my seat or surprised about anything in the film. When a film or other form of story is THAT predictable, that's bad. If Mr. Cameron was upfront about the true origin of "his" story, such as putting "Based on the novel "Dances with Wolves" written by Michael Blake" near the beginning of the credits, I would be a bit more forgiving.
James Horner's score felt appropriate most of the time, especially when the children's choir kicked into high gear. There was one point in the film though where Horner re-uses a theme and chord right out of his "Troy" score, and I got displaced for a moment.
All in all, I ENJOYED the film(which is the whole point, right?) but I was not IMPRESSED with it. The story or plot is the main driving force behind a good film; coupled with good acting. And story-wise this film did not disappoint or impress, it was just simply unoriginal and predictable on the count of being unoriginal.
7/10 for IMDb, 3/5 for Academy Star Score.
Even though "District 9" is not as family friendly as this film is, it is still the #1 SciFi film of 2009, followed by "Star Trek". Yes, I said that. At least "Star Trek" kept me wanting more, rather than just waiting to leave the theater.
Those of you who give it a "10" just because you like it, or give it a "1" just because you hate it really need to think and plan out a critique, rather than just dishing out a "perfect" or a "horrible" at a whim.