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James Cameron's epic sci-fi fantasy film released in 2009.
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If you've seen Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai, Glory, 10,000 BC or any movie where an indigenous population is roused to rebellion with the help of a sympathetic white defector who might also represent the enemy then you haven't seen Avatar. I say "haven't" because where James Cameron's imagination soars is that he's taken this highly treaded theme and turned it into a work of science-fiction. If it's been done before in this genre, I haven't seen it.
+4
I don't want to get ahead of myself though. To be sure, Hollywood is not capable of making a film about the history of The West's imperial relationship with The Rest without casting one of our own as the center of attention. Avatar is no exception. The historical and political undercurrents of this lush-work are difficult to miss. The design and dress of the Navi evokes the Maasai of Kenya while their customs are strongly reminiscent of the American Indians – or, at least, everything I've been told about American Indians. If you scan Western history books for our imperial antics with West Africa and the America's then you have an idea of where Cameron nobly draws his inspiration. He also draws inspiration from those movies where a good-looking enemy defector discovers the unsung virtues of the aboriginal "savages" who are to be conquered. This, of course, leads to a dramatic change of heart in our protagonist. In the case of Avatar, our turncoat is a disabled jarhead. This alone might be the first uniquely imaginative step made my Cameron: He downgrades what we'd expect from the typical hero for such a story. His second brilliant step is that he's upgraded the visual elements: Avatar is nothing short of stunning to look at.
Most importantly, it can be easily argued that Avatar breathes new life into this old formula. Imperialism is not a thing of the past and we still need good story tellers to keep alive our empathy and convictions about the morality of displacing an entire population for profiteering. I can't say that I was as moved by Avatar as everyone else I've encountered, but I can say that I enjoyed it enough to take my place among all the buzz about this movie. I'd recommend this to just about anyone with three hours to spare.
P.S. Shameless fun fact. Wes Studi plays the voice of the Navi chief. I met Studi roughly ten years ago when doing odd jobs for a film he directed. I made my acting debut in the movie, appearing on the screen for all of a half-second :0
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Adrianna
March 08, 2010
Great points! I agree that imperialism is not a thing of the past. Glad to see someone else highlighting this point.
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Ulalume
January 27, 2010
I agree with your review. I'll admit that my hopes for this film weren't terribly high going in, mostly because of the familiar premise and the fact that people whose tastes in film were different than mine enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised. I think the real genius here is the fact that James Cameron was able to make audiences despise the humans in this film, and root for the non-human side.
sniffcode
January 28, 2010
I just read that there is an Na'vi dictionary floating around somewhere in cyberspace on an Avatar fansite. Krieke! James Cameron has created another cult-mythos to go alongside Star Trek and Star Wars.
Ulalume
January 28, 2010
Wow. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the fanatics became fluent in the language. One day, it may be worth a lot of money though. You never know.
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Sharrie
December 22, 2009
A movie is either to be enjoyed or be moved. I haven't seen it but one thing about reading reviews is that it up one's expectation and to some degree, that's not so good as far as I'm concerned. On another note, I'm sure you'd be a star one fine day, and that's for more than 1/2 a sec! :D Merry Christmas to you, Jordan!
sniffcode
December 22, 2009
Andy Warhol said that we each get 15minutes of fame. So far I've only used a half second of mine! LOL. You enjoy your Christmas too! I'm sure you will.
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Scotman
December 21, 2009
Great review, I agree. Sci Fi imperialism and great specials.
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More Avatar (2009 film) reviews
review by amanbehl.
January 24, 2011
Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good Too good
Comments (2)
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review by plaNetweaver.
December 29, 2009
I bow to our friend, who prefaced his astonished and profound appreciation of the Avatar movie with "It drives me nuts.." (that they have to include the dominator thing.....) "But...." The conversation that ensued resulted in all 8 of us (4 couples) going to IMax for the experience (that one couple's second viewing). We came out of there with 'sea legs' and we're still re-orienting. It's significant in my little Universe … more
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review by Husher315.
December 18, 2009
James Cameron has outdone himself! He may have actually outdone the whole entire film industry. Never in my life have I seen a film so brilliant and beautiful that it made me rethink the whole way in which I look at film. Avatar is what movies are all about; transporting you into the film and making you feel as if you're really there. Mr. Cameron has accomplished that with they way in which he has revolutionized the 3D genre of filmmaking. Avatar isn't just another … more
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review by jbeswick.
December 19, 2009
Watching Avatar is in every way as impressive as when you first saw the dirty spaceships in Star Wars or - I would imagine - seeing color or hearing sound on celluloid for the first time. It's not so much that you haven't see 3D before - previously, it's always felt like its purpose is to continually poke you in the eye with objects - but this time, it immerses the viewer in a way that breaks down the barrier between where the edges of the film stop and the audience sits. … more
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review by elissawilliams.
January 23, 2010
First of all, it is stunningly beautiful. The computer genius it took to produce will being helping everyday technology along for years to come. My daughter the biology major and I both were awed and intrigued by the detail of the plant life. The face painter in me saw some beautiful paintwork in the detailing of the avatar that can be traced back to early 2000’s and the rise of some awesome body and face painting artists in Europe. Looking at the faces of of the Na’Vi tribe … more
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Compliments (83)
Is “Not Bad” good enough? That’s really the question when it comes to assessing the quality of Avatar, James Cameron’s first film in over a decade. His first major theatrical release since Titanic, it has been obvious for a long time that Cameron and the studios had every intention of making Avatar as much of a blockbuster epic as its Oscar-winning Leonardo DiCaprio-starring predecessor. After two successful … more
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review by Ed_1962.
January 05, 2010
Okay, I know I'm going to get a lot of opposing opinions but this is my opinion of Avatar. I don't normally do movie reviews but felt compelled to do so in the case of the new movie "Avatar" which my wife and I recently drove twenty miles from our home to watch. Some theaters around the country show the movie in 3D (with the glasses) but that isn't available in our area. First, let me clarify that this movie was created by the very talented and successful producer/director … more
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review by JDunn187.
January 04, 2010
Simply put James Cameron's "Avatar" is terrible. The story is one cliche after another, with plot elements that all worked better in previous movies. Basically this film is "Dances With Wolves" with substantially better graphics but with a story that is a mere shadow of Kevin Costner's touching and powerful Academy Award winning film. Everything is telegraphed well in advance, from the total lack of subtelty in the foreshadowing of the Toruk to … more
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review by Rodericke.
December 21, 2009
The late 2009 big buzz in movies is a scifi action film called AVATAR. The plot is the classic big guy against the little guy, underdog theme. It is reminiscent of how Native Americans are portrayed as being victims of European expansionism. An "avatar" is a character controlled by another person, much like any video game you might play -- the character you control is an avatar. It follows your commands, but when you stop telling it what to do, it does nothing. … more
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The long awaited James Cameron film Avatar hit theaters this past weekend. While opening weekend raked in an estimated $77 million in domestic ticket sales and an additional $159 million in ticket sales in 106 countries overseas -- excluding Japan and China who are still to come. This weekend Avatar did reach the #9 spot for All Time Worldwide Opening Records and the #2 spot for Top December Opening Weekend Records. However, some reports have come in saying that the blizzard that hit the east coast … more
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About the reviewer
Jordan (sniffcode)
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About this movie
Avatar is a 2009 American science fiction epic film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang. The film is set in the year 2154, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a lush moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi—a sentient humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The film's title refers to the genetically engineered Na'vi and human hybrid bodies used by several human characters to interact with the natives of Pandora.
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Development on Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page scriptment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999, but according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. Work on the language for the film's extraterrestrial beings began in summer 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006.
Avatar was officially budgeted at US$237 million. Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production, and at $150 million for promotion. The film was released for traditional two-dimensional projectors, as well as in 3-D, using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D and IMAX 3D formats, and also in ...
Director:
James Cameron
Genre:
Action,
Adventure,
Drama,
Fantasy,
Sci-Fi
Release Date:
December 18, 2009
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Screen Writer:
James Cameron
Runtime:
162 minutes
Studio:
20th Century Fox
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