Not my cup of tea.

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 2011)

So, I'm a big sci-fi and action type of guy with epic exposition in mind. So why did I not take a shining to this film that had all those elements and more? Why did I not warm up to it? What was it that was missing from this piece?
It's kind of the same reason I didn't go see "ID4", and why I thought that concept of a film was pretty bad in the first place. It had no soul.
So it is with Bruce Cameron's "Avatar", a play on the realm of computer games and online interaction, which tells the tale of a man who is likewise relegated to forever living vicariously through his blue skinned alternate persona. A comment on today's youth if I ever saw and heard one before in my life.
"Avatar" hits all the right dramatic cues. It hits all the right emotional chords for drama, plot, character, story, and even has dazzling visuals to accompany the tale of a world fraught with noble savages warring with a corporate army.
I found myself laughing, loving, and even shedding tear or two as I watched this film in a packed movie theatre. And with all of the explosive action, with all of the romance and traditional underdog fighting hightech warrior themes going on, what was it that this film lacked?
For all of the pro-native and pro-life messages going on here, I just found the thing to be fairly plain and unintelligent. The message of the film is sent via a telegram. It's written in big letters and nearly shoved down the throat of the audience with a huge silver spoon. Couple that with the "muster your inner soul" thing, and I had a hard time connecting with this film on a basic level.
Oh sure, I got all the emotional stuff, and agreed with the moments of drama, but it simply was a film made for a five year old teenager. In short, it was unintelligent.
When I think of classic sci-fi that I watched ages ago, I think of films that were made for adults even though they were veiled in high gloss that attracted younger viewers. That, and they had a set of precepts of what was right, and what was wrong. It wasn't a clinical analysis and twisting of basic and fundamental American values, and breakage thereof.
But "Avatar" is made for the young "international" youth audience. It's designed to be a universal message attempting to appeal to everyone and everything. It's like a politician who promises a chicken in every pot, who kisses babies, shakes hands and the like, but winds up being powerless because he's promised too much to everyone, and has lost his own sense of worth.
That sounds very existential, but it's essentially the problem with "Avatar". And it's essentially part of the reason it is not thriving like the other established sci-fi franchises out on the market. "Avatar's" message is that your primal instinct to mate should outweigh your other responsibilities, and that those other values that are wrapped in a colored cloth are mere jingoism and are merely clouding your judgment. The nail in the message's coffin is the corporate army is just that, a business venture run for mass murder, and for the sake of controlling and educating the natives.
It's a trite message for a film that demonstrates equal regard for its target audience. And as for the 3D adding to the film? I saw the same technology demonstrated at Disneyland 25 years before with Captain EO. I can't say much has improved.
Watch at your own risk.