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Last night, we went to watch James Cameron’s Avatar in 3D. More than a decade after Titanic, Cameron’s long-awaited follow-up is now in theatres.

The hype suggested that it would be a giant leap for film-making (a la Matrix). While I don’t think that this film will revolutionise the art form, it does look great. Cameron’s vision of the world of Pandora is impressive (e.g. the neon plants, the floating islands and the exotic animals), and the 3D is generally used subtly and convincingly. Some 3D movies attempt to exploit the technology by having over-the-top sequences in which things come out of the screen to startle the audience. For the most part, Cameron resists this temptation; instead, the 3D is used to highlight and accentuate the scenes.

The story, on the other hand, is another matter. The film is set on the planet of Pandora sometime in the future. The planet is inhabited by some blue-skinned and tall humanoids called the na’vi, who live a simple hunter-gatherer existence. Their lifestyle, however, is under threat from an occupying human force interested in extracting an important resource with the sarcastic named ‘unobtainium’. The human force is half-corporation and half-military force, but they also run a small scientific project for public relations. In the project, humans go into electronic pods where they can manipulate avatars which look like the na’vi. The project is an attempt to encourage better relations between the two species. The hero, Jake, is a crippled former marine who has been brought into the project to replace his dead twin brother. Jake is drafted by the corporation to spy on the na’vi, whose village is directly above the largest deposit of unobtainium on the planet. However, when Jake encounters the na’vi, he begins to sympathise with their cause and admire their way of life, which emphasize the union of all living things. Sound complicated? It’s not. Think Dances with Wolves in space and you pretty much have the idea.

After the humans destroy the na’vi’s homeland, Jake joins their side to fight the human occupiers. Beyond the easy ecological messages and overt references to the American war on terror, the film also languishes in other cliches. First of all, the portrayal of the na’vi is one which is stereotypical and one-dimensional. They are portrayed as in touch with nature. However, they are still primitive when compared to the ‘civilized’ humans. They are also presented as good stewards of nature, a slightly dated view of native tribes throughout the world. It turns out that humans generally are prone to environmental destruction, despite what some liberal academics have wanted to believe about the non-European inhabitants of the world. Also, the na’vi are ultimately presented as incapable of defending themselves from the superior human attack. Jake, a white man and a disabled one at that, leads their counter attack; the superiority of colonialism is clearly present. While the film criticises the brutality of the military force and the greed of the corporation, the inherit idea that the natives would require external help to save themselves is borderline offensive.

One point that I did admire is a certain thematic consistency that appears throughout the work. This is the idea of interconnectivity. First of all, Jake and the scientists connect with their avatars. Likewise, the na’vi are capable, through threads which emanate from their hair, to connect with elements in nature such as animals and plants. This is part of a larger kind of organic internet which link up all the living beings on the planet. Even the humans, who are presented as completely detached from the interconnectivity of Pandora, also plug into their war machines to become monstrous metallic robots.

Is Avatar worth the money? Yes. Just connect to the beautiful vision without thinking too much about what you are watching. (And the actor (Sam Worthington) who plays Jake is such a hunk; he reminds me of someone I adore.)

Similar post(s) can be found in the category “Films“