I was surprised to still see a line 3o minutes before the movie was even starting! This movie is making a bundle!!!
First review of the movie is a resounding - OK.
Despite the innovative and visually pleasing special effects the storyline itself was thin. Perhaps money would have better been spent making some changes to the script. My humble suggestions:
We ARE human, just so everyone remembers, and as a human I wanted to know just exactly what happened to planet Earth. A short flashback in any one of the key characters could have provided a glimpse into our home that we had to leave behind. This element would have helped me relate to the need to harvest some random black and silver material.
Let's touch on that mysterious rock, unobtanium. We were never told how or why this item was so important. We were told it was worth a lot of money - but without explanation. What made it worth so much? What did it do?
I felt like the references made to medical advances was trite and not important. It was as if we were being pacified. We destroyed the earth but made significant medical advances.... are we to believe the smarter we get the more wasteful we become?
Let's talk about our human infiltration into the tribe. Great - wonderful story line and the part I enjoyed the most. However, tell me then why it was so complicated to go ahead and just ASK them if we could mine the land below them for the element? I mean, they spoke English so where was the barrier there? And continuing on with that line of thinking.... with all of our obvious technical and mechanical advances then why did we have to destroy the tree? What would have been so hard to have tunneled in? Hello - we have been mining here on Earth for years.....oh and doing it without destroying trees.
Politically and artistically I believe a writer can do or say whatever they want. It is their story and I applaud an author that uses their gift to send a message. Whether I agree with that view or not is irrelevant. I'm the one that chooses what book I read and what movie I see, as do all of you. So attacking that part of the movie is not my style.
With regards to the Pope telling people not to go to this movie... that is not his place. He can suggest, he can encourage but ultimately just as God created us with free will it is our choice. If you are catholic and respect the man then your choice is simple. If you are catholic and choose to see the film is it a sin? No. The Pope is NOT the voice of God though God may use him, God also uses people all around in everyday walks of life - the smallest of us sometimes have the most providential words.
My recommendation to those who walk in Christian faith of any kind is to pray about it and decide for yourself. Go into it knowing that it is meant to entertain and with the expectation that there are some Eastern religious ideas flowing throughout. Take it as FICTION.
I should not even open my mouth about the movie's aftermath as it irritates me so.... but I will briefly throw out my opinion. Here is the article link:
www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html
What a travesty. What ignorance. I love that fiction can take us places beyond our wildest imagination but that is all it is. I take offense when they talk about how beautiful their planet was. I think Earth IS beautiful. It doesn't even make any sense to talk about dying to get to their planet unless of course you believe in re-incarnation because the story takes place many many years in the future - not after death. I am saddened by this whole reaction. As I mentioned in a previous blog, we are seekers. These people are seeking and we need to give them the tools to help them see this is a journey to a destination, not the end.
And so, my main complaint are the holes I mentioned above plus a few more. I have skimmed the "book" or rather "survival guide" online and found some but not all the answers that help satisfy my questions.
Will I rent the movie on video? Yes. I want to see it again without the 3-D.
In my humble opinion - this is simply a case of an entertainment movie being elevated beyond its proper place.
I'll shut up now, thanks...
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