December 21, 2009

I See You

My father and I saw Avatar on Saturday. It was, in a word, beautiful. It will get some criticism for seeming cliche. It is, but that is only because it's a story we've heard a dozen times before. It is history repeating itself, with flavours of Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves, Wounded Knee, The Battle of the Little Big Horn, Zulu and a dozen other stories both fictional and historical. They are lessons we should have learned long ago, which in Jame's Cameron's hands become a warning. What if we haven't learned those lessons?

The effects are unmatched, wonderful in every sense of the world. They serve the story, to reinforce, advance, and depict without distracting. The characters are good, if predictable. The plot is almost too well known, well-articulated, and even though we can see where this is going (we've been there before, after all) it doesn't detract from the excitement. It's not Terminator, Aliens, or The Abyss, but it's definately Cameron. It's not Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, but I think it will stand the test of time.

"I see you," is the Na'vi greeting. Maybe this will help us see ourselves.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful was the only word I could think of as my wife and I left the theatre.
I hope that people can see past the CGI and grasp the lesson of the movie.
I see you.