More and more unimpressed by Avatar

The more I think of it, the more unimpressed I am by the movie, Avatar. It is a technical wonder, a visual tour de force the likes of which have literally never been seen before. The visuals really are incredible; I can't stress that enough. But, as I see it, in movies, special effects serves as a means to an end. The visual aspect of any film is a vehicle with which a story can be told. In Avatar, both the visual effects and heavy-handed political agenda take over completely, so as to forget to tell a story at all. At least, a story with any originality whatsoever. Basically a sci-fi retelling of Pocahontas, the "story" in Avatar failed to impress me in the least.

I honestly wonder if the movie-going public as a whole were infatuated by the incredible visuals, so as to miss the fact that the film was a shameless, two-dimensional, borderline plagiaristic and shallow mess. Critics missed it too. Roger Ebert is a critic that I don't always agree with, but I've always respected him. I still do. But in his review of Avatar, he said that watching the movie felt similar to watching Star Wars for the first time in 1977. Comparing Avatar to Star Wars is grossly inappropriate. Star Wars was revolutionary, not only in its special effects, but in the way it told the story. Star Wars is timeless. Almost thirty years after its release, it is still considered a classic. It always will be. Twenty, thirty years down the road--maybe even ten years from now--I doubt very much that Avatar will be considered a classic. It may always be heralded for taking the next step in motion capture technology, but as far as I'm concerned, that's the most it deserves.

Apart from the visuals, the "story" of Avatar is very timely indeed, with a blatant "green" message attached to it. I'm all for keeping the planet green. I really am. I like it here on Earth! But how many times do we need to be told to wipe our own butts? Enough with this already! It's getting old, and frankly, a little insulting to have to be told the same thing over and over again! I'm disappointed in James Cameron for creating a political vehicle that, in my mind, is less than entertainment instead of a movie with a story worth telling. I miss the old James Cameron. He was the man behind such films as The Terminator 1 and 2, True Lies, Aliens, and his masterpiece, The Abyss. Those were truly great films! The man knows how to tell a story when he wants to. Somewhere along the line, he changed into something less than a storyteller. He made Titanic, which is basically Romeo and Juliet on the sea. Then, he took a break from filmmaking for twelve years, only to make Pocahontas in Space as his next film.

In my review of the movie, I gave it three out of five stars, which isn't necessarily a bad score. And I'm sticking to it. But it's important to know that it earned those three stars for visuals alone. If it were just for the "story," I would have only given it one star. Considering the fact that he took nine years to conceptualize the "story," Avatar ends up being a huge disappointment.

I don't doubt that James Cameron still has talent. I just hope he chooses to use it next time he gets behind the camera, and starts writing again.