Avatar

In the year 2154 a parapalegic Marine named Jake Scully (Sam Worthington) takes a job on Pandora where greedy earthmen are mining a very rare and profitable power source called "unobtainium" and won't let anything, least of all the Na'vi, the indigenous people of the planet to get in their way. His job is to control a big blue Avatar that kinda looks like a young Elvis and infililtrate the local people, find out what motivates them and get them to move so they can continue mining operations. Failing that, he's ordered by Colonel Quadritch ("Crime Story" star Stephen Lang) to study the Ne'vi defenses and help plan an attack. What they don't count on is Jake falling in love with the pretty blue Neytiri (Zoe Saldala, Lt. Uhura from last year's "Star Trek").

Screenplay by James Cameron

Directed by James Cameron

Fortune Made by James Cameron

My first reaction in seeing this film is that the Blue Man Group and the Smurfs definitely have grounds for a lawsuit against Cameron.

I can't imagine what a bore this film would be if not seen in 3D. Without the 3D visuals people might start to wonder a little more about the story like...why would they send Scully out on a recon in the jungle before he knows anything about the native wildlife and how to proceed safely in the jungle? (He's there to protect the survey team but if he doesn't know what to protect them FROM he's useless at best, dangerous at worst) In the beginning we see at least a dozen of other Avatars training, playing basketball, being prepared, but out in the field why don't we see ANY of them other than Dr. Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and his buddy who also just got his avatar body? Have they made no progress in all that time? If so why is the expensive Avatar program being continued? How is it that those islands in the sky can fly? Are the laws of gravity somehow waived on Pandora? Why in fact, use Avatars? Did Columbus dress as natives to communicate with them? Does President Obama wear a burnoose when visiting Arab states? Aren't there any bad Na'vi? Isn't it funny how little in clothes and language appears to have changed in 144 years? The people back in 1866 look a lot different than they do today don't they? Did Cameron really need 163 minutes to retell the "Pocahontas" story?

For those of you freaks interested in alien sex, yes Cameron did shoot a sex scene between Scully and Neytiri. It was cut out but will be put back in for the DVD release of the director's cut.

While I enjoyed parts of "Avatar" and am glad I saw it so I have the cultural reference, I'm glad I saw it at a free screening where the price was right. I also wouldn't care if I never saw it again (though I guess I could just watch "Pocahontas" and save some time).

Though if Jake would have picked up a Ne'vian guitar and started singing "Blue Moon" or "Blue Christmas" or "Birth of the Blues" Cameron might have had something there.