Avatar

James Cameron is a genius, albeit not a good filmmaker. The dude is a businessman. He took a gamble on making an absurdly expensive ($300 million) film and will probably see enormous returns. If the basic tenets of capitalism prove to be true, this movie should be incredibly good. Yet, it’s not that the movie maintains a good storyline or relates a message to its viewers, something expected from every other notable piece of art. Instead, Cameron employs the complete shock-and-awe technology that takes this film beyond the normal limitations of film to an immersive, enthralling experience for a thrill-hungry audience.

The success of this film is almost a shame and it reveals a lot about the current state of our culture. We are willing to throw down a large sum of cash ($17 ticket wtf) to allow Cameron to transport us to his fantasy world of Pandora. Cameron intended for audiences to see the film in the IMAX medium, the most advanced technology that we have created to accomplish one of the most basic goals of a good story, allowing the viewer to relate with the story's characters. With a 350-ft screen, spanking new 3-D technology complete with goggles and advanced surround sound, it’s difficult to not feel as if you’re sitting in the very wheelchair of the film’s protagonist (don’t get mad at me, disabled readers, I couldn’t help taking that cheap shot).

Since the initial beginnings of film, we have seen technology increase the believability of films. First sound, then color, these additions have made film seem closer and closer to real-life, transporting viewers from their mundane lives into the colorful and adventurous films that have graced the silver screen. Film is my favorite medium for a story because of its combination of sound and visuals, outdoing both audio recordings and written material. Although the technology has made the experience much more realistic to the viewers, the basic plot lines have stayed the same. Shit, I don’t even want to attempt to count the number of similarly imperialist-themed tales that Cameron has ripped off with Avatar (Apocalypse Now, District 9, Heart of Darkness, the arrival of Europeans in America, etc).

In conclusion, Avatar suffers from its predictability, poor acting and recycled plot. I will admit that the technology, when not overdone (ie knife stabbings coming comically close to the viewer in 3-D) is incredibly immersive. However, the film gives me hope that someday, a real artist will combine the technology that Cameron has pioneered with all of the other elements that have traditionally made a film so admirable such as a creative plot and good acting.

Endnote: Just saying, I thought it was pretty lulz that all the actors and actresses who played the indigenous Navi of Pandora were either black or Native-American. And if Cameron had used this song during the initial flyover scenes of lushly detailed Pandora, I probably wouldn’t have complained about anything.