Avatar: Dances with Wolves in Space

Avatar is an awesome movie with special effects that are way beyond any other movie. The creatures, plants, and visuals are all very imaginative and definitely worth seeing in 3D. It is a movie made for everyone, kids can understand it, adults will enjoy it, its made so that everyone will want to see it.

Now, since it is made for a wide-audience, it can't afford to be too deep, subtle, or have some divisive or controversial political message. There are a lot of groups out there arguing it is a typical liberal movie that is anti-military, pro-environment etc. But I really don't think that was the intent.

In many hollywood movies there are the typical bad guys, the abusive prison warden, ruthless druglord or mob boss, a crazy rogue general, mad scientist, greedy corporate executive, corrupt official, machines, or just humanity as a whole (like in apocalyptic movies). None of them are politically motivated, they are just using stereotypical film characters and storylines. They are unoriginal and generic.

Take Avatar, there are two generic "bad guys". There is the greedy capitalist pig corporate exec and a bloodthirsty ruthless military guy. Both are so stereotypical, it borders on comical. Then there are the good guys. There is Sigourney Weaver, Jacob Sully, and the Navi aliens. All are compassionate, environment-loving, and have strong principles. Also oversimplified.

Want to know the plot? It is Dances with Wolves in space. It is Ferngully. Pocahontas.

It is an unoriginal story, it is irrelevant to modern day events, and it has just enough depth for middle school students.

If it does have a politically-motivated message, it is so juvenile, generic, and transparent it has no real impact at all. There are no more Native Americans for us to abuse or kill, rain forest destruction is not really relevant today, we are a culture that supports the troops and honors them whenever possible, this is not Vietnam where we view them as inhuman baby-killers that deserve to be spat on. In fact, the whole movie is really from another time. And as you know, James Cameron came up with over 15 years ago when...oh yeah! Dances with Wolves, Ferngully, and Pocahontas came out.

So, if you go to see it. See it for what it is, an extremely entertaining special-effects movie with average acting, a generic plot. Nothing wrong with that. But people should stop assigning causes or political agendas to movies like this.

Did Transformers have an agenda? Did 300? Did Die Hard 4? Did Fast and Furious? What about Saw? Showgirls? Superman?