Avatar
So, my thoughts on Avatar haven’t much changed since I wrote my review. On second viewing, the glaring storytelling problems — most specifically, the sheer predictability of the plot and the cardboard cutout natures of every single character on the screen — are just as bad. The visual wonder is just as great. It’s a stunning movie with a plot so poor I’m actually a little surprised that James Cameron wrote it; I mean, I know he’s not William Goldman, but the Terminator movies and True Lies are at least pretty clever.
A couple of extra thoughts:
–Though I never really doubted this movie would make its money back, I did doubt that it would approach the $500 million mark. Those doubts have vanished: With a second weekend drop of less than 2% and a third weekend drop of under 10%, this movie clearly has legs. (As a point of reference, the average big budget blockbuster typically drops 33-50% from first weekend to second weekend, with a similar drop between the second and third weekends.) Add to that the fact that we’re in the January doldrums that offers no real competition at the box office, and “Avatar” will almost certainly be knocking on the door of $550 million by the end of the month. Trust me: This is shocking.
–I wish I had gotten in on the action when Avatar was a 10/1 bet to win best picture over at Bodog. It’s a weak year and the two other front runners have some pretty glaring weaknesses (as I wrote over here). Combine that with the critical corps and Hollywood’s swooning over the political text* of the film, and you’re nearing in on a sure thing. Oscar prognosticator Jeffrey Wells seems to think much the same.
–The two funniest critiques I’ve seen of the film yet:
From JVL over at Galley Slaves: “How noble are these savages? The most noblest savages, ever. They’re all wise and brave and fair-minded. Even their hot-headed warriors aren’t all that mean to Jake Sully. Mind you, even the ewoks had a suspicious, over-protective, vaguely villainous shaman type. Not the Navi.”
From Lauren Bans over at This Recording: “But the more blatant lesson of Avatar is not that American imperialism is bad, but that in fact it’s necessary. Sure there are some bad Americans—the ones with tanks ready to mercilessly kill the Na’vi population, but Jake is set up as the real embodiment of the American spirit. He learns Na’vi fighting tactics better than the Na’vi themselves, he takes the King’s daughter for his own, he becomes the only Na’vi warrior in centuries to tame this wild dragon bird thing. Even in someone else’s society the American is the chosen one. He’s going to come in, lead your army, fuck your princesses, and just generally save the day for you. Got it? This is how we do it.”
*Note: It’s not even subtext, it’s just text. Like I said: There’s no surfeit of subtlety here.