My Rant after seeing Avatar
I won't claim this is a review, just some feelings I had to get out of my system. Mostly spoiler-free, because, well, come'n, what's there to spoil in the plot? It was spectacle, and it was pretty. But, mostly, I was annoyed. It brought nothing new to the genre, other than more expensive production.
Nothing about the plot was at all unexpected or challenging--which, OK, I expected no more, it is just a silly action flick. But . . . obviously, you have a director, etc., with huge power and resources to bring to bear, and this the "film" he decides to make?
The aliens were blue humans with tails, pointed ears and sharp canines. The anatomy of the hands, teeth, toes, etc., were identical to human. There is suspension of disbelief, sure, but you can't ask the audience to do all the work. It was repeatedly, constantly, having your face rubbed in the fact that these are not aliens. They are humans, dressed-up in costume. The actually tried with the wildlife of the planet, but the Na'vi's "alien" anatomy don't match the six-legged, 4-eyed, extra-breathing holes anatomy of every other fauna we saw on the planet. They are CGing them anyhow! OK, because we need a plot with humanoid aliens for the sake of being interesting, go ahead and make them, well, humanoid. But at least give them the extra pair of arms, breathing holes, eyes, different dental structure, different hand and foot anatomy, etc. At least try to convince us, like you did with all the other animals.
And then, maybe try to give them a sincere culture. What we got instead was a caricature of the cliche portrayals of aboriginal human cultures, all blended together. Not only was it not a convincing alien culture, it would have been a cheesy portrayal of a human culture.
Put Avatar next to District 9, and District 9 kicks its butt all over the place: socially significant and interesting plot, interesting aliens that are, well, alien, etc . Admittedly, not as visually stunning, but District 9's gritty look was far more convincing the lost-in-a-80s blacklight poster look of Avatar.
-B.
Nothing about the plot was at all unexpected or challenging--which, OK, I expected no more, it is just a silly action flick. But . . . obviously, you have a director, etc., with huge power and resources to bring to bear, and this the "film" he decides to make?
The aliens were blue humans with tails, pointed ears and sharp canines. The anatomy of the hands, teeth, toes, etc., were identical to human. There is suspension of disbelief, sure, but you can't ask the audience to do all the work. It was repeatedly, constantly, having your face rubbed in the fact that these are not aliens. They are humans, dressed-up in costume. The actually tried with the wildlife of the planet, but the Na'vi's "alien" anatomy don't match the six-legged, 4-eyed, extra-breathing holes anatomy of every other fauna we saw on the planet. They are CGing them anyhow! OK, because we need a plot with humanoid aliens for the sake of being interesting, go ahead and make them, well, humanoid. But at least give them the extra pair of arms, breathing holes, eyes, different dental structure, different hand and foot anatomy, etc. At least try to convince us, like you did with all the other animals.
And then, maybe try to give them a sincere culture. What we got instead was a caricature of the cliche portrayals of aboriginal human cultures, all blended together. Not only was it not a convincing alien culture, it would have been a cheesy portrayal of a human culture.
Put Avatar next to District 9, and District 9 kicks its butt all over the place: socially significant and interesting plot, interesting aliens that are, well, alien, etc . Admittedly, not as visually stunning, but District 9's gritty look was far more convincing the lost-in-a-80s blacklight poster look of Avatar.
-B.