Avatar
“In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.
When his brother is killed in battle, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity.
While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.”- The Massie Twins
I found Avatar to be a fascinating film. I saw this film in 2D, not 3D. It was filled with the right amount of romance and comedy that wouldn’t overshadow all of the action. While watching this movie I noticed some things. I noticed that the Na’vi people reminded me a lot of many African tribes I am familiar with, coming from an African household. With the arranged marriages, mating, using the nature around them but not destroying it. I feel as though the Na’vi were a cross between Native Americans and Africans in the way they dress, barely wearing clothes, the way they honor and feel about nature and the life around them. Even the Na’vi language sounded to me like some type of African language, like the language my parents speak. And coincidentally the actors and actresses who played the Na’vi were played by African American and Hispanic actors.
The fast movements of the camera did not bring me any motion sickness but it did to some other viewers, perhaps that is something the director should think of before shooting the movie. If people are getting sick while watching your movie, they won’t be able to enjoy it and wont like it. The music used fit well with the film. I recognized that the suspense music played at multiple times sounded a lot like music I had heard in the movie Troy, turns out both movies had the same music director, James Horner. Although I’m sure it is a hard job to come up with original scores, using the same music made me think of Troy every time I heard it, instead of watching the movie I came to see.
I see the story of the Na’vi vs. the Army, and the love story between Marine Jake Sully and Neytiri paralleled the story of Pocahontas. An outsider gets close to the natives, John Smith/Jack Sully. That outsider builds the natives trust and falls in love with the chiefs daughter, Pocahontas/Neytiri. The outsiders greedy leader wants to take over the natives land to get some thing they found is very valuable, Governor Ratcliff/Parker Selfridge. Need I go on?
This film is very original in many ways but also very similar on others. Over all, I enjoyed the film very much, perhaps the familiar plot of star-crossed lovers filled with war is the kind movie most people enjoy and that is why you see so many parallels. I give the movie an A and defiantly recommend it to others.
Sources
Movie Summary: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/plotsummary
I think you took the article down an interesting path when you decided to add a lot of your personal history to the piece. I wonder though how you feel as an African American about the Na'vi characters, especially someone who lives with people who speak a language similar to the Na'vi. Did that add to your experience in some way? I also think that you brought up a good point about how the familiarity of the plot makes the film good, as it is enjoyable for people to watch over and over, but I would have liked to have read more about your thoughts on this aspect of the film as opposed to the brief statement in this article. I think you brought up an interesting point about the music, but seeing that you also gave this film an "A", was this such a huge issue for you? Overall, great job though. You write very well, and don't seem to be afraid to throw your own history into your writing.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you brought your own personal experience into the review because you offered a perspective that I would not have otherwise been able to relate to on a personal level. I also liked how you noticed that all of the Na’vi characters were played by African American actors as that is not something I thought of when I watched it but I think it is an important and valuable consistency in the film now that you mentioned it. In addition to what you said, I also noticed that the music sounded a little familiar during the action scenes and I think it is a good point to bring up as that made the movie a little less authentic for me as well. You give a very good description of the movie—but maybe a little less description and a little more interpretation might have made this review stronger. For example, I was hoping to read more about the cinematography of the film, as that is a large part of Avatar in particular. Otherwise, it was a very good review!
ReplyDeleteHi Johanna,
ReplyDeleteI was a little thrown by the giant quote starting off your review, but once you got into your writing, I was engaged. I agree with you completely about the cliché plot line feeling like Pocahontas. Your ability to find a connection between your life and the characters in a sci fi thriller is a really interesting slant on the review. I would be careful with a couple generalizations about huge groups of people. Actually I was so interested in your connection to the film that I'd have liked to see specifics as opposed to broader statements. Nice writing and cool angle!
-Elaine
I was a little confused by your comment claiming the film was original because (as you yourself pointed out) it was a recycled story line.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the soundtrack, it seems Horner has been reusing (or at least not branching out) music.
Because you did focus on the fact that the Na'vi were (stereotypical) indigenous people I had hoped to hear about your take on colonization of Pandora.
I really enjoyed that you put in some of your family history to this article. I felt that made it more personal. I also found the variety of points in the film that you discuss (cinematography, music, parallels, plot, etc.) made the review interesting and presented a lot of ideas that not everyone would initially think of. In some of those area's though I felt like you just touched upon the surface of how you really felt and I would have loved to hear in more detail the meaning it had. You made a lot of really strong points and your perspective is fresh given that you tied your personal history into it. I really enjoyed your review!
ReplyDelete