Avatar is a great movie except it isn’t

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis has agreed to use whatever it is you call his writing style to provide some measure of analysis to those folks who still go to a theater to see a movie. Enjoy.

review by Peter Lewis

I must admit that I thought “”Avatar”” looked absolutely ridiculous upon first seeing advertisements. The entire premise seemed so implausible and yet contrived, that I openly scoffed at the film. My initial reactions began to shift one quiet evening around Thanksgiving.

I happened to read two articles about the film and its director in WIRED magazine detailing the nature of the film and how it was supposedly going to change movies forever. While I resolved to see the movie then, my intrigue with the project only gained momentum over the course of weeks as I saw more and more positive press for the film.

Certainly, this praise is well deserved. James Cameron’s breathtaking effects (courtesy of his 3-D fusion camera) are a sight to behold. For almost three hours I sat transfixed before an alternate universe, catching myself from time to time attempting to dodge something on screen that seemed to be coming for me.

If you were unable to gather it from the previews, “Avatar” is a movie of second chances.  Pandora is inhabited by an indigenous population called the Na’vi. A paraplegic former jarhead gets a chance to go to Pandora and inhabit the body of a Na’vi created with his DNA. In essence, his consciousness escapes his body and is manifested in his Na’vi “Avatar.” The holes in this plotline are as numerous as that of a fine swiss cheese, but it is best to leave the pointed questions of “how” or “why” at the door and simply enjoy the marvelous universe that James Cameron has created.

Yet, for all this glorious awesomeness, the film left me deeply dissatisfied. And despite the exhortations of the great André Bazin, the failings of “Avatar” cannot be withheld in the name of constructive criticism.

Much of this dissatisfaction is rooted in abstract ideas and theories about what a film should be. In this particular case, I felt “Avatar” was not compelling, especially when viewed in contrast with the creators perception of the film. They went to great length (and cost) to create a wholly new language, to create treatises on the bio-diversity of Pandora (the world on which the film takes place), and to create the awe inspiring visual effects of the film. And despite all this great and earnest work, the content of the story is nothing more than a rehashed pastiche.

The story was obvious, the vocal work of many of the CG characters was basely melodramatic, and the implications were readily overt. There was no nuance, no subtlety, no surprises. It was, in short, like riding a roller coaster or playing a video game. While the techniques and methods created may well indeed change cinema, I can’t help but hope that this sort of whack-you-over-the-head film making and publicity dies a slow death.

I recognize the inherent naivety and hopelessness in such a statement. Blockbusters are a part of cinema, as deeply embedded in the culture of film as anything else.  And in comparison to most blockbuster films, “Avatar” looms over the competition (much like the slender Na’vi in comparison to humans). So while there were numerous failings, “Avatar” (and James Cameron) succeeds for it has advanced the prospect of possibility within cinema itself.

The drumbeat of time marches forward and “Avatar” has solidified itself has a guiding light to the potentialities of filmdom. Let’s just hope that next time stronger plot material can be created in conjunction with the technical wizardry.

• Avatar is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 12 in Fort Smith, and the Malco Van Buren Cinema. The 3D version is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 12. Link here for time and ticket info.

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