Avatar is an impressive technical achievement in service of lazy storytelling. Set in the year 2154, Avatar's story centers on the RDA Corporation's efforts of mine unobtanium, an incredibly valuable mineral unique to the planet Pandora. The jungle planet is also inhabited by a race of ten-foot-tall humanoids called the Na'vi, whose home settlement, Hometree, happens to sit atop the planet's largest deposit of unobtanium.
In an effort to relocate the Na'vi from Hometree, RDA develops a two-pronged approach; one involving a private security force, Sec-Ops, and another involving the Avatar program, a research project involving Na'vi-human hybrids and a special mental link with genetically matched humans. The Sec-Ops method, advocated by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), involves forced removal while Avatar's, headed by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), requires learning their culture and convincing them to move peacefully.
Enter Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), the pawn stuck between the two opposing methods. Jake, a paraplegic former Marine, is sent to Pandora to replace his twin brother, an Avatar candidate who was murdered in a botched robbery. Augustine rejects the idea of a soldier entering the program, but accepts Jake because of his genetic makeup. Meanwhile, Quaritch sees an opportunity and enlists Jake to help him gain intelligence on the Na'vi in exchange for paraplegia treatment.
During his first excursion with the other Avatars, Jake runs afoul of some of the planet's native predators, leading to an encounter with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess who eventually introduces Jake to the Na'vi and their culture.
Although Avatar's initial setup is compelling and leads to a fun, time-proven tale, it never follows through on some of the larger ideas presented. The overall story is a familiar one, earning Avatar nicknames like "Ferngully: The Next Generation" or "Dances with Smurfs." Though I enjoy original stories, most end up telling the same one anyway. Give me twenty minutes and I can show you how Up and Serenity are basically the same movie. Originality comes from finding new ways to connect ideas and develop characters.
Avatar introduces a number of ideas. Life, death, environmentalism, imperialism... you name it. Avatar succeeds at communicating ideas without smothering the audience, but never attempts to go beyond them either. Timeworn concepts are used to the point of obviousness. The minute an element is introduced, the end game is obvious. Tossing in too many unfamiliar twists would, understandably, alienate the audience; not tossing one or two in leads to predictability. Worse, a few unique ideas are introduced and even hinted at, yet there's a hesitation to pull the trigger on any of them. The end result is a couple of interesting plotlines are dropped, suggesting the technical stuff took precedence over the story.
Discussing Avatar and not bringing up its technical feats would be akin to mentioning Gary Coleman and not cracking a short joke or uttering the word, "Willis." The visual effects are astounding; even if you don't find the story appealing, Avatar is still worth seeing just to marvel at digital effects wizardry Cameron and company were able to toss at the film. The motion capture performances are the best since Andy Serkis wailed for "My Precious" and, despite storytelling miscues, provide the film's emotional core. Saldana's performance is amazing, and the motion capture tech only pushes it further, placing Neytiri in the same class as Sarah Connor and other Cameron heroines.
The captured performances are so compelling they manage to hurdle over the Uncanny Valley. It's sometimes hard to distinguish where the polygons end and reality begins. The films emotional center lies between Jake and Neytiri's relationship. Without it, the film collapses. It's amazing how much of both Worthington and Saldana's performances bleed through into their digital counterparts. Again, even if the story holds no appeal, Avatar is worth seeing just to appreciate the technology.
Avatar is, without question, one of the best-looking Blu-rays in my collection and is something you'll want to use while trying to convince someone to either buy a Blu-ray player or at least step up to an HD set. It's also one of the more disappointing due to the lack of any special features. The official story is special features were nixed in favor of extra space for sound/ video compression, but why not include a second disc? I can only assume extras are being held back for a special re-release down the line. Hopefully that isn't the case since it would only come off as a cheap shot to consumers.
Granted, Avatar comes at a slight discount compared to most Blu-rays, but there is so much to say about the film and its production it is an absolute crime to not include any of it. True, you also get the SD DVD version, but I would have preferred a DVD full of extra content to an inferior version of the film. At the very least, a digital download would have been a preferable option.
Although the storytelling leaves something to be desired, Avatar is one of those films that deserves a spot in your film collection. If you want to hold out for the possibility of an "Ultimate Edition," by all means do so. If extras aren't a concern, the Blu-ray version is the version to buy.
