"Avatar" is bad, bad, bad. 100 times 100 bad.
The plot is trite and cliched. The characters are flat and unoriginal.
And the dialog, especially from that talentless buffoon playing the Jake Sully character, is laughable -- as in I, and those around me (who were, admittedly, my friends) were laughing at each and every "serious"moment.
I was actively cheering for the humans -- America, white people, the Western world -- to commit genocide on the blue people -- Native Americans, minorities, those oppressed worldwide.
That's not to say I am a huge proponent of the American ideology or am proud of the way our ancestors treated Native Americans. Far from it. I simply do not enjoy obvious Hollywood propaganda, specifically created to engender certain opinions and feelings.
I can think for myself, thank you very much.
All I ask, and maybe this is too much, is for some subtlety. Next time reach for the scalpel and leave the big wooden club at home.
To go along with the anti-white, down with American message was one even more obvious: the environmental movement.
Yes, we should be aware of Earth's limited resources. Yes, we only have one planet. Et cetera.
I, however, do not enjoy being reminded to recycle while watching a movie I paid $13.25 to see. I came to be entertained, not preached at.
You're no Robert Heinlein, James Cameron.
Also, while I'm thinking about it, those stupid 3-D glasses be damned. "Avatar's" pitch meeting imagined by me:
"What's a hot-button issue right now?" asks the fat CEO of [large movie company].
"How about AIDS?"
"White people don't care about AIDS," says fat CEO as he dreams about the month he is about to spend in Tijuana with his "personal assistant."
"Something current and polarizing."
"Healthcare?"
"Boring."
Jimmy the Intern, who was pouring fat CEO coffee, reaches deep within himself and finds the courage to speak.
"How about the environment?"
Fat CEO chews on the end of the cigar, pretending to look pensive.
"Well, shoot. White people love to talk about the environment. What's your name boy?"
"Jimmy the Intern."
"Jimmy the Intern, you're a goshdarn genius. Someone call James Cameron and find my oversized checkbook."
And thus, "Avatar" was born.
It's sad that Hollywood can keep producing these stale, worn, tired, and other adjectives meaning overused stories for the lowest common denominator and we Americans keep paying as if there are no other alternatives. Go read a book. Or, better yet, follow the lead of the blue people and go roll around in a field.
At the end of the screening I watched, about 75 percent of the audience actually clapped. Putting aside the inherent ignorance of praising an inanimate object, it was surreal to hear the predominately white audience applaud a movie which basically characterized their (my) race as being
the devil.
Race is a serious and complex issue. Attempting to strip it down to a caricatured version of simplified good vs. evil does a disservice to the issue and intelligent, thinking people everywhere.
Maybe I'm overreacting. I don't know.
I do, however, know "Avatar" made me feel dumb and hopeless. This is not what science fiction should be.
Sure, the movie is visually stunning. But where is the story? Or the interesting plot and compelling characters?
Use your $13.25 to buy a good science fiction book or some organic fruit or maybe some environmentally friendly toilet paper.
Negative 1,000 stars.
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