Yes, repeat after me: the special effects were a work of art, and the plot was ridiculous. What, you expected me to say something new in this review? Sorry, but the rest of the reviewers were right. As a piece of entertainment, Avatar is great. Just sit back, relax, and watch the sweeping landscapes and beautiful outdoor scenes. Most people who see this movie now will probably see it just for that, and you won't be disappointed. For this reason, I recommend watching at least a few scenes from this movie.
The plot and characters, however, should be ignored entirely. The characters are flat: there is no reason for Jake to be the Only Sane Man in a sea of (equally inexplicable) evil bigots, and yet that is exactly what he shows himself to be within minutes, because the plot says so. Quaritch seems to act more For The Evulz than anything else. The Idiot Ball is thrown around liberally. For instance, the film begins with a workable plan to get the Unobtanium from the Na'vi without harming them. It's not exactly morally spotless, but it's certainly not terrible. However, due to the Na'vi being stubborn and the humans being impatient, self-important idiots, this plan is scrapped in favor of the "kill everyone" approach.
However, the film's biggest failing is its sheer predictability. Before the film's main plot has even properly begun, it's easy to tell exactly what is going to happen. By the time the movie begins to show Jake starting to identify with the Na'vi, the viewers have probably already played out the scenes in their heads. Predictability is not inherently bad, but in a movie as long as this, Ending Fatigue begins to set in when you try to follow the story. When you already know where a movie's going to go, you're not going to be willing to give it hours and hours to get there. For this reason, while the movie should certainly be sampled to get a sense of the brilliant special effects, there is no need to see the whole film.
To beat a dead horse...
Yes, repeat after me: the special effects were a work of art, and the plot was ridiculous. What, you expected me to say something new in this review? Sorry, but the rest of the reviewers were right. As a piece of entertainment, Avatar is great. Just sit back, relax, and watch the sweeping landscapes and beautiful outdoor scenes. Most people who see this movie now will probably see it just for that, and you won't be disappointed. For this reason, I recommend watching at least a few scenes from this movie.
The plot and characters, however, should be ignored entirely. The characters are flat: there is no reason for Jake to be the Only Sane Man in a sea of (equally inexplicable) evil bigots, and yet that is exactly what he shows himself to be within minutes, because the plot says so. Quaritch seems to act more For The Evulz than anything else. The Idiot Ball is thrown around liberally. For instance, the film begins with a workable plan to get the Unobtanium from the Na'vi without harming them. It's not exactly morally spotless, but it's certainly not terrible. However, due to the Na'vi being stubborn and the humans being impatient, self-important idiots, this plan is scrapped in favor of the "kill everyone" approach.
However, the film's biggest failing is its sheer predictability. Before the film's main plot has even properly begun, it's easy to tell exactly what is going to happen. By the time the movie begins to show Jake starting to identify with the Na'vi, the viewers have probably already played out the scenes in their heads. Predictability is not inherently bad, but in a movie as long as this, Ending Fatigue begins to set in when you try to follow the story. When you already know where a movie's going to go, you're not going to be willing to give it hours and hours to get there. For this reason, while the movie should certainly be sampled to get a sense of the brilliant special effects, there is no need to see the whole film.