Green politics against a green screen

Rating: 6/10 (19 June 2010)

With "Avatar" James Cameron practically bludgeons us with his own brand of "green" political correctness. Let's see ... An advanced race of people invade a serene wilderness in order to subjugate the peaceful natives. No, that doesn't sound anything like the leftist drivel passing for American history today, does it? Politics aside, the movie is breathtaking in its scope, with special effects that are nothing short of miraculous. Viewers are certainly drawn into the world of Pandora. Watching the movie, with its green-screen wonderment, provides a welcome escape from our everyday lives. Unfortunately, this movie fails us in other ways. While I certainly don't share the tree-hugging politics of Cameron and his ilk, I could have appreciated the movie more if he would have at least inserted some nuance into the characters. Instead, we have the stereotypical colonel trampling the forest and mowing down the peaceful aliens while spouting B-movie lines. Oh well, guess you can't have everything, even for $250 million.