EMH with an overdue review: AVATAR

I don't know if you have heard of this little indie film called Avatar, but I thought you might enjoy my take on it anyhow.

All kidding aside, I am one of the few major movie fans that had not yet seen the spectacle that is Avatar. Don't ask why? I have no good excuse. However, the last couple of weeks I was not worried about going so much because of some of the horrible things James Cameron has been saying lately. Admittedly, I am one of the people Cameron would like to 'shoot it out' with on the streets. You know, one of those people who believe global warming is completely untrue (I love how global warming supporters say that all this snow in our country helps prove there is global warming, but when there is not as much snow, they say that ALSO proves it). Sorry, I should move on. I will keep this brief because I know most anyone who reads this will have already seen it.

With Avatar, I felt like I was watching the film on two different planes. The first was the artistic masterpiece Cameron spent so many years creating.

I know we tend to overestimate a movie immediately following our initial viewing. That being said, Avatar is just about the most visually stunning film I have ever seen. I was blown away by Cameron's vision and how he brought it to life on the screen. Titanic was impressive because of how Cameron recreated the massive ship in such detail, but to know Avatar came solely from him was mind boggling.

As for the second plane, I felt like the story was nothing original at all. I understood why The Hurt Locker beat it for best picture. These people were being driven from their homeland because outside prospectors knew the land would be valuable to them. Is it me or was this not the exact plot of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo?

My biggest complaint about the movie? Could they have made Colonel Quaritch more unbelievably evil? It was over the top.

My favorite aspect of the movie? The stunning visual effects and the detail Cameron showed.

The most under appreciated aspect of the movie? Would someone please admit that Giovanni Ribisi is a very impressive actor? I know Avatar wasn't about him, but Cameron had a great opportunity to show the struggle this character was going through. Even in his greed, you could see he was not fully sold on the idea of using force to drive the Na'vi from their land. Cameron missed an opportunity to give this character (and probably his best actor) more script time, which might have earned him a best supporting actor nomination. Perhaps Mr. Cameron was not interested in giving audiences the chance to empathize with anyone of the evil villains. They were all bad. They deserved no understanding. However, he knows more about film making than I ever will, so maybe he had great reasons for not going that route. What do I know? 

You see, even though Cameron wouldn't mind seeing me dead, I still thoroughly enjoyed his visual masterpiece. It wasn't an incredible overall movie, but I will be eager to own the blu-ray as soon as it is released.

Thanks for reading.