Avatar

Avatar is a difficult film. At times it seems humble and simplistic, and at others it feels pretentious. I suppose the most problematic thing about Avatar is that it pretty much took the story of Pocahontas and then replaced it with aliens. It's obvious what the film is trying to say, and how it compares the two situations. But, the film is so hateful towards humans regarding something we haven't done except in the fantasy world of James Cameron! This bothered me during the first hour of the film, but admittedly, some of the ideas that were brought up in the film were interesting. The idea that a soldier becomes part of the alien tribe and then fights back was appealing to me despite my reservations. The power of the imagery is overwhelming. It's done so well, it creates a world. It reminded me of Star Wars in its epic scale. Every inch of the screen is filled with wonder, the flying scenes, the end result is great. The last scene where the world fights back was appealing. It was well done. And yet...there's a scene in the film where one of the supposedly evil soldiers says something I found true. "You throw a rock in this place and you'll hit some holy fern". Yes! Exactly! That's bullshit! And then, the film goes on to explain the biological interconnectedness of the alien world. But that's bullshit!! That creates a fantasy argument for indigenous peoples, rather than dealing with the issues in a more realistic way. There's also a lot of hippie-scientists who try to be one with the tribe. That's also bullshit. And yet...it's done so well and it's so appealing. Oh Avatar, what to do with you? Perhaps I'm looking at the film too cynically, too literally. Therefore:
Avatar: ★★1/2
(Avatar is a groundbreaking film and one-of-a-kind. It deserves recognition for that but it should be viewed fairly for what it is).