Unobtainium

There are some things in pop culture that I find difficult to understand. While I can gather why many things are successful, I sometimes struggle with the level of popularity of certain artists, books, or movies. Take Dave Matthews and John Mayer (please). I can understand why people like them, I just don't get why so many people like them so much. I mean, they're affable and inoffensive, but really pretty ordinary. When was the last time either of them did anything surprising? And I have to say, after seeing Avatar in the theater, I feel much the same about it.

As everyone knows, James Cameron's rereleased picture about really tall blue people has become a massive phenomenon. Its extraordinary box office results surpassed Cameron's own Titanic for the mantle of the highest grossing film ever. To top it off, critics are down with it too. Avatar won best picture at the Golden Globes and was nominated for 12 Oscars including best picture (losing mercifully to the infinitely superior, Hurt Locker, directed by Cameron's ex-wife, Katherine Bigelow). However, after leaving the theater, I felt decidedly underwhelmed.

I should first say that I am no hater of James Cameron. I have liked--to one degree or another--everyone of his previous films. From what I consider his high point of Aliens and the first two Terminator pictures, to his relative low point of True Lies, I have enjoyed them all. I am a staunch defender of The Abyss and I even think that Titanic is pretty terrific. So when I walked into the theater, it was with no malice aforethought. I sort of see Cameron as Michael Bay with taste, class, and far more talent. He is the rarest of breeds, a visionary blockbuster filmmaker. But once you get past the visuals, Avatar is pretty average, even generic.

Obviously, for most people the visuals will carry the day. And it has to be said that Cameron's use of CGI and motion capture technology makes for a genuine leap forward in Avatar. The computer generated characters are more expressive and life-like than in any previous effects driven film to date. So, I will certainly give him all of that. Unfortunately, all this technical wizardry serves a lackluster, recycled story that mashes up elements of Star Wars, Dances With Wolves, Jurassic Park, and even Transformers.

As those who have seen it already know, Avatar tells the story of a paraplegic soldier (well played by Sam Worthington), who signs up to be a genetically created avatar to infiltrate the tribe of blue Na'vi natives whose planet contains a precious mineral that holds the key to Earth's survival (not that it's explained very well). The problem the mighty corporate soldiers of Earth face is the Na'vi--quite understandably--don't want their planet destroyed for the sake of the earthlings. So, it's Worthington's job to convince the big blues to move off their holy ground before the military takes it by force. If you haven't seen it, you can probably guess what happens next. As Worthington gets to know the Na'vi, he finds he respects these noble savages and even finds love (surprise, surprise) with the most comely of the big blues played fairly well by Zoe Saldana. All of this leads to a showdown between the Na'vi and the mean, nasty jarheads lead by the laughably militant, and over the top General Quaritch (Steven Lang).

Lang (a fine actor normally), is saddled with horrendously obvious dialogue. He actually uses the phrases "shock and awe" and "We'll fight terror with terror!" Lang's brute force method acting is no help either. He comes on like a man who chews nails and urinates rust. He's so obviously one-note that I'm surprised Cameron didn't just use a computer generated John Wayne for the role. Hell, he should've just walked around in a black hat, smoking a stogie, and an "I'm a right wing racist bastard" t-shirt.

In fact, the politics of Avatar (to my liberally minded surprise) actually turn out to be a big problem in the movie. While the film's heart is (for me anyway) in the right place, it's so patently obvious that the perspective of the villainous earthlings is based on George Bush's administration, that there is no room in the film for nuance. Take the corporate weenie played by Giovanni Ribisi. He clearly is a stand in for every cut throat, pro-business at all costs, corporate bastard that you halfway expect him to start touting tax cuts for the rich and "trickle down" economics. From his weaselly demeanor to his adenoidal voice, he (like Lang) is a complete caricature.

It's not hard to see what Cameron's getting at here, because he beats you over the head with it. Every ham-fisted scene is so "on the nose" that I began to feel belittled if not downright insulted. Invaders: bad, indigenous people: good, corporations: bad, noble savages: good, military might: bad, people with bows and arrows: good, and so on and so on. The irritating part is that on the surface, I actually agree with Cameron's point of view. It's the presentation of these ideas that is lacking. It's sort of like Ed Schultz. If he were to write down on a piece of paper everything he believes in, I would probably be down with 90% of it. However, that doesn't mean I want him as my spokesperson, or even to spend two minutes in a room with him.

Cameron has never been noted for his dialogue (see Titanic: "Jack!" "Rose!" "Jack!" "Rose!"), but did he really have to call the magical, earth saving mineral, "unobtainium?" I mean really, "unobtainium!?" I wonder whatever does he mean (this sentence washed in sarcasm)? And I know that in a movie like this there will be gaps of logic that you are supposed to overlook, but when the military chopper pilot (Michelle Rodriguez) aborts her Na'vi slaying mission (effectively becoming a mutineer), how in the hell does no one notice? It strains the mind that after said attack she is up walking around free and able to rescue the "good" humans and help defend planet Pandora from the Bushies, I mean earthlings, whatever.

Yes, I know I'm supposed to look past all of this and just stare at the screen and say "pretty" in a trance like state, but I just can't do it. After a while I need more than visual stimulation. I need arresting characters, and you know, a compelling story. Well, I didn't find any of that here. In fact, I didn't care about any of the characters onscreen, or who ended up with the unobtainium, or whether Earth would be saved or not. I would even go as far to say that it bothered me more when the dinosaur-like creatures that inhabited Pandora died than it did when any of the oversized smurfs bought it.

As I implied before, I'm not against big blockbusters. I loved The Dark Knight and all three of The Lord Of The Rings flicks. Those movies moved and rattled me. They made me feel something. All Avatar made me feel was a sort of benign boredom. It's silly, hokey, heavy-handed, and way too long.

Of course, I'm keenly aware that I'm in the minority on this one, and that's okay, I've been there before. But ask yourself this, how could a man spend ten years creating an admittedly eye-popping, alien world and have the linch pin of the movie hinge on something called "unobtainium?" Not good enough. Not even close. There was a movie that came out last summer that dealt with many of the same themes. It could be said of both films that the lead character had to become an alien to find his own humanity. That other movie is called District 9. I suggest you seek it out, it is vastly superior.

Sumo-Pop
January 18, 2010