Avatar

It did not take long for a general opinion to form stating that the script to Avatar (for lack of a more common term) "sucks." It became a cliche for most cinephiles when discussing the film. Phrases resembling "if only he had paid more attention to the story" were heard throughout America during discussions amongst students in the classroom, employees at the water cooler, and fanboys on blogs. It was held against Cameron that he "stole" his story from Pocahantas (a rather lame accusation). I'm going to venture to say that Avatar, while lacking in total originality, is nevertheless an authentic experience that does not sell itself short.

Technically, the film is astounding. It's solid in every aspect of production and post-production. There is little one can say to refute that. Most importantly, everything comes together to create the needed emotion to make it all work. From the destruction of the massive "hometree" to the moments when Jake is gasping desperately for oxygen, I cared about these characters and what happened to them. No matter how stock they might be, they were well portrayed by the actors and the film did everything to earn the amount of care I had. Zoe Saldana in particular beautifully portrays her character through her grace and athleticism.

This is an outstanding film and there is no such thing as an outstanding film with a bad story. Everything about it is its story, from the way its shot and edited to the way its acted and scored. For every piece of dialogue that might be considered a bit stale I can point out a narrative-driven, lush visual that nullifies it. The use of avatars by the characters underlines a very human desire to reside within a body greater than that in which we do. It is an allegory for the idea that we are not at home as humans and that there is something beyond these physcical bodies we reside in. The world of Pandora is untainted and in wonderful harmony. A beautiful note is that it is a place without religion in the sense that we think of it. All of its creations are unified in recognizing a single omniscient deity.

It truly speaks volumes for Cameron's directorial abilities when complaints about the script run are as wild as they are. I must state that I believe the story to be good, even if it is older and used. I can point out several films from 2009 whose scripts truly left me shaking my head. Some of which I saw and others I did not even need to (unfair, but generally true). But Avatar is a film with a story that works well enough to support a fascinatingly original world with very spiritual themes.

I usually avoid dating my reviews and prefer to express opinions that could apply to any point in time relative to a release, but given how exceptional this film is and how exceptional it's been deemed by the worldwide Box Office intake, I thought for the sake of discussion it was worth noting the the opinions that have developed.