Image taken from Wikipedia
Avatar is an extraordinary work of art that sidesteps the more unpleasant aspects of the uncanny valley via the CG equivalent of sleight-of-hand. To accomplish this, Cameron cleverly employs an introductory sequence that “teaches” the viewer to accept the motions, expressions, and quirks of the Na’Vi race while the disabled Marine learns to manipulate his Na’Vi avatar. Because the creature is an avatar, the audience has no expectations for a “realistic” performance at this early stage in the film. By the time the Marine feels at home in his Na’Vi, the audience feels at home with them, too. It’s brilliant, really. I can’t wait get my hands on the DVD to study the visual artistry and technological innovation behind the film. I’m particularly taken with how Weta and ILM managed to marry Cameron’s affection for the sea to the xenobiology of Pandora. I also want to learn more about Cameron’s approach to performance capture and how he differs from Lucas and Jackson. Cameron seems to be in Peter Jackson’s camp–they both attempt to raise the bar on CG character performance rather than lowering their standards for live actors so that their CG characters are more credible.
A number of reviewers have already excoriated the absolutely awful script, and so I will just briefly mention the three aspects of the screenplay that irritated me the most:
- In-jokey references to unobtanium, a term sometimes used to describe a MacGuffin in works of science fiction, simply draws attention to MacGuffinery. A proper MacGuffin lurks quietly in the background, never drawing attention to itself lest its shallow nature be revealed.
- Why is it that the noble savage must always be saved by the one white man who “understands” the native culture? Why are they never capable of saving themselves more directly? And why are all non-savior white men in these stories one-dimensional caricatures with puerile motivations?
- I get that Cameron is drawing parallels between the villains of Avatar and the actions of the US military under the orders of the Bush administration, but direct reference is a rather artless way to approach such things.