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Further loss of faith in humanity
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Rex and I went into the theatre to see "Avatar" with very low expectations. And we weren't disappointed. On the Strange scale (1-9) it rates a 2. Really, don't waste your money. I know some people are coming out of it saying that it's the best movie they've ever seen, but we're not hearing from those who leave lamenting that they'll never get their eight dollars and two and a half hours of their lives back.
The best description we've heard is it is "Dancing with Wolves" with blue people. And "Dancing with Wolves" is a much better movie.
To be fair, we missed the opening but through the grapevine it is told that there is little explanation of the scenario. We don't know how they found this planet, how they discovered the coveted "unobtainium" (which, I mean, really guys. Is this not the stupidest name for an unknown element?)
There is debate on the subject, but Rex and I are convinced that many of the ideas are ripped off directly from "World of Warcraft": the "floating mountains" look exactly like the floating mountains in the zone of Nagrand in WoW, the blue people (who are Night Elves?) ride their flying mounts, there are large mushroom growths very similar to those found in Zangermarsh and everything is phosphorescent just like Zanger.
Plus, add to that that the real focus of the movie is to show off future munitions - as humanity advances we're still dependent on weapons of mass destruction, that public opinion doesn't seem to count for squat and there never was any mention of a government keeping control.
News travelled slowly when the American West was being colonized, so the portrayal of the Native American as savage blight on the land was more believable (in "Dances with Wolves" and in American history) than the people in "Avatar" who, not only have instant communications but, get this: actually infiltrate the natives and have first hand knowledge of them and their ways (and, one would assume, more empathy).
But they're still portrayed as, what did the mad Colonel call them? Cockroaches? Puh-leeze! And speaking of the mad Colonel, you have to have the token asshole military man. Or do you? Nope, the entire ending war sequence was clearly put in to attract the testosterone laden 13 year old male. It was totally unnecessary.
Rex's associate suggested that it is the result of American guilt over the Iraq war and there's probably something to be said for that. But even with our hatred of the decision to go into Iraq, this movie does, in subtle ways, glorify war with the characters that it puts on screen the "awesome" military effects blah blah blah.
And that's how we characterize the movie generally: blah. We know that the critics are raving about the film which is further evidence of why critics should not be listened to, although usually the critics slam movies which Rex and I think do not think deserve the slamming that they get. In this case this film does not warrant the attention that it is getting.
It's crap. Forget it. Rent "Dances with Wolves" and play "World of Warcraft." It will be a much more fulfilling experience. |
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