Avatar: The Last Airbender

Am I the only one who got confused when the previews for the movies "Avatar" and "The Last Airbender" started coming out last year? It took me a good 3 months to figure out that they were actually separate movies. It didn't help anything that they are both colorful, imaginitive fantasy lands full of creatures that would make the Labyrinth jealous.

So I finally got around to seeing "Avatar". I know, only 6 months after everyone else this time, I'm getting better! What was the fuss about this movie? I mean sure, it was pretty. But so is a painting in a museum, and I ain't payin' no 9 bucks to see that either. Luckily I only had to pay 1 buck to redbox.

Maybe it's elitist of me, but I spent a long time thinking that redbox was "Netflix: The Trailer Trash Edition". Okay, that's not really a maybe. It's very elitist of me. Their case wasn't helped by the sort of people I saw congregating around their numerous orifices as I made a late night McDonald's run. I certainly get now why there seemed to be more activity just as I was getting out of school arond 8:50 every night.

But I'm a convert. Redbox is definitely for me. Now does that elevate them, or denigrate me? Either way, I'm here to talk about Avatar. As previously asked, what was the big deal? I'm no movie expert, but I predicted 90% of this movie about 20 minutes in. Pretty much everything about Sigorney Weaver's character was bad. And that stinks, cuz I like her. But her scientist routine was cliché, except when it needed to be more visible (like when she found out the marine guy was going behind her back) and who didn't see one of those two dying? Oh, oops, I forgot to say spoiler alert. Somebody dies. I mean, every aspect of that movie was telegraphed. There's only been five guys ever to ride this one kind of flying dinosaur, so guess what the main character is going to do.

And what was with the heavy-handed native american influence? I mean, smacking him as he walked into camp? Been done people. Check out The Last Mohicans, or Dances With Wolves, or any of a dozen other Indian movies. I mean, they whooped and hollered like them, they communed with nature kinda like them, they used bows, arrows, horses (i know we gave them horses, no history lessons please), and used stealth just the same. Is it really so hard to invent a society that you have to just photocopy the nearest indigenous population being pushed out by marauding white people (how many people of color did you count? I counted 3. Not counting the aliens)? Not to say this is a racist film, but that didn't help anything either.

I probably should have researched this topic, because I have no doubt that a million other blogs have said all of the things I just said, but this was my take on it, without any outside influence. I'm glad I saw it, but once was enough. Oh, and it reminded me of a blue version of that movie Fern Gully with Robin Williams. It even had the big bad construction machine that the natives tried to wreck, and a huge tree that they all lived in. Awfully coincidental, wouldn't you say? Oh, you already did say? Well, whatever.