Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:01:30 -0600 (CST)
From: Charles Taylor <cecetaylor-AT-verizon.net>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] Avatar
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from Charles (Tinker) Taylor):
Gosh, golly, and gee whiz, I really enjoyed seeing Avatar.
Not often do I go to the movie theater. The sound is so loud, my eardrums hurt. The kid in back of me kicking my seat is distracting. The people eating popcorn and tearing the candy wrappers while talking is very disconcerting. I find that I prefer to sit on my own cozy couch and watch Netflix movies on my big screen. Then, if I fall asleep, only my wife is annoyed with my snoring.
I don=E2=80=99t care for most action movies so I generally miss the Swarzenegger Action movies. But then I don=E2=80=99t care for slasher movies either. Perhaps time is passing me by. But somehow I was intrigued in going out to see the 3D version of Avatar. Perhaps my nostalgia was rearing up for having seen Creature from the Black Lagoon in the fifties when I was a teenager. I knew I would not likely see the 3D version of Avatar at home.
Boy, was I glad I went. I got the connection between the different races of Earthlings with the aliens comparing them to our Native Americans culture. The multinational corporation calling the natives =E2=80=9CBlue monkey=E2=80=9D made the prejudice clear and obvious which didn=E2=80=99t strain my understanding of how the script developed. They were there for a =E2=80=9Cvaluable=E2=80=9D mineral that was compared to oil as the reason for the military=E2=80=99s presence on =E2=80=9Cforeign=E2=80=9D soil which led to Colonel Miles Quaritch=E2=80=99s mission to conquer and destroy. That colonel was certainly a very strong villain. It certainly reaffirms a liberal=E2=80=99s progressive=E2=80=99s paranoia of the military complex.
But what moved me the most was how I did suspend disbelief and accepted these computer created Na=E2=80=99vi characters as real. I felt empathy for them and never lost interest in their plight. The quasi science that Sigourney Weaver explained about the connections between all the living things on the planet was also believable. That too is a very animistic belief and one easy to accept. I suppose one could say the large moral of the story is =E2=80=9CDon=E2=80=99t destroy the environment because of all the interconnections that we may not understand=E2=80=9D.
So much happened at the end of the movie that tied in earlier scenes that I had nearly forgotten. I can=E2=80=99t mention them without running the ending for those who haven=E2=80=99t seen it yet. But to me it was thoroughly satisfying and thrilling. I wouldn=E2=80=99t cut a scene . . . well, maybe the fight scene could be shortened for my sensibilities. But I react that way to most ending fight scenes that go on and on in my opinion.
Oh, I had another thought; If you delved into characters motivations or how they overcame this or became that, the plot line would have become so complex that the audience might become confused with the basic story. It would have made the story into another Dickens tale that would go on for ten hours. I like the concept that the artist, director must pick and choose what he is willing to explore. Also, I liked the flight scenes with the dragons. It explained later how the Na=E2=80=99vis managed to overcome with the help of some surprises that underscored how everyone was CONNECTED! LITERALLY!
I would recommend this movie. Perhaps I enjoyed Avatar more thoroughly because I had no yard stick to compare it to other films. I took it just for what it was. It was entertaining, believable and I definitely had a catharsis at the end since I cared for the Ne=E2=80=99vi characters. In this case it could be said that =E2=80=9CIgnorance was bliss!=E2=80=9D
On the way home, my youngest daughter explained the meaning of Avatar to me. Boy, was I blissful!
If anyone is interested in seeing a synopsis review go to: