Some Avatar Thoughts

Priest gave a review of Avatar opening weekend and I was warned of its shortcomings (bad dialogue is always unsettling to me). I gave it the best chance possible (IMAX 3D) but the story was too familiar and the characters were barely present - only there for Jim Cameron to go nuts with CGI. I recognized the similarity to Dances with Wolves immediately. Then I started thinking about everything that DWW got right and everything that Avatar got wrong . . .

In Dances with Wolves, Lt. John Dunbar is about to have foot amputated at a Civil War field hospital when he decides to go on a suicide mission. He inadvertently becomes a hero and chooses to be stationed in South Dakota to see the frontier. He meets some members of the Sioux tribe, most notably a white woman who was adopted by the tribe as a child. Her husband is recently deceased and they slowly fall in love. He becomes integrated into the tribe when he helps them find a buffalo herd. He eventually makes it back to his post, but is presumed to be a traitor since he has adopted the Native American clothing and language. He helps the Sioux tribe kill Union soldiers when they come to rescue him. The film ends with Dunbar leaving the tribe to talk to American authorities about a truce.

In Avatar, Cpl. Jake Scully has recently become paraplegic (though we're told, not shown, this). His twin brother is recently murdered (again told, not shown) and this allows Jake to become an avatar (human DNA mixed with Na'vi DNA). Jake's brother was a scientist, but Jake is only a "grunt" and considered stupid by everyone in the film. The Na'vi are the indigenous humanoid creatures on the alien moon Pandora in the year 2154. Jake's avatar is able to integrate into the Na'vi tribe because some magical weeping willow insects land on him, perceived as a sign from the local deity. He meets a female Na'vi and falls in love. She has no backstory which keeps her character distant. Jake has nothing to offer the tribe and somehow he becomes a better "native" in less than 3 months than everyone else. (This reminded me of the first Dances with Wolves remake - The Last Samurai - when Tom Cruise became the best samurai in Japan in just a few short months.) Jake is able to lead an attack on the earthlings and become a member of the tribe through a bunch of New Age mumbo jumbo crap.

So Jake's stupid and should have great difficulty walking in his avatar, but is able to tame a dragon that few ever have? A hardcore Colonel almost gets scratched to death within minutes of being on Pandora, but the paraplegic (!) Jake is basically invincible. Michelle Rodriguez disobeys orders but is allowed to rescue Jake (who is only being guarded by one - ! - soldier). Why wasn't anyone guarding the avatar transport stations? Didn't anyone notice Rodriguez war-painting her helicopter?

John Dunbar was never a great Indian - he just had guns. Dances with Wolves has several three dimensional characters (Dunbar, Stands with a Fist, Wind in his Hair, Kicking Bird). Even Kicking Bird's wife, Cisco the horse, and Two Socks the wolf are great characterizations. Despite a 3D IMAX presentation, every character in Avatar was one-dimensional. Kevin Costner captures honest moments of humor throughout Dances with Wolves, but every attempt at humor is Avatar is forced, an obvious attempt at a catch-phrase. Dances with Wolves ends on a perfect bittersweet note while Avatar ends on a predictable and sour one. It feels like a set up for a sequel. Would the humans really give up the valuable mineral that easily? Doubtful. Why wouldn't the humans have tactical nuclear weapons to destroy the Na'vi? They did in Aliens. Jim Cameron must think Aliens is his best film since he's copying it so shamelessly. But the exact same left-wing message in Aliens was handled delicately and subtly - not pulverized into the viewer's brain as in Avatar.

Some other random thoughts:

1) Would a biologist really be smoking in a high-oxygen environment? How much did Nick Naylor negotiate for that?

2) The tail-to-tail connection with the animals creeped me out as only bestiality can.

3) The rituals were embarrassing. Left wingers deny Jesus ever walked on earth but then come up with this nonsense?

4) The music in Avatar by James Horner is a retread of his Glory main theme with hints of Titanic thrown in. The ending song by Leona Lewis ("I see you") is truly horrible, a shameless attempt to recreate Celine Dion's Titanic success (financial, not artistic). John Barry's DWW soundtrack is one of the best and memorable of the past 30 years with separate beautiful melodies for specific characters.

5) Were the footstep light-ups a tribute to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" video?

6) So you mourn killing dogs but are OK killing people you don't agree with politically? Reminds me of people who insist on abortion on demand who pick up pitchforks for Michael Vick.

7) There was zero-tension in Avatar. I knew how and when every character was going to die. The plot points (specifically Sigourney's last scene) were clumsy at best and pandering at worst.

8) At least we still have Aliens, which is the exact opposite of Avatar. Aliens is tough, tense, credible, unpredictable, and has a hero that actually goes on a journey (discovering motherhood).

Aliens: A
Dances with Wolves: A
Avatar: C+
Thank You For Smoking: B+