‘Avatar’ is one of the most curious phenomena in the history of cinema: the second highest grossing film in history, the one that everyone has seen (so much so that, from experience, people even get offended when you say you don’t)… And of which there has been no franchise, merchandising or residue in popular culture. Everyone has seen her everyone knows there will be a sequel (and that it will break the billion dollar barrier) and anyone you talk to will tell you that the experience of seeing it in three dimensions is impressive.
But over the years I got the impression that these empty words (“awesome”, “incredible”, “unique”) they could also define an IMAX dolphin documentary. So, trying to avoid the jokes with ‘Pocahontas’ and ‘The Smurfs’ and knowing that I don’t have 3D available with which to maximize the experienceI set out to correct one of the biggest sins of my life as a movie buff: in 2022, for the first time, I saw ‘Avatar’.
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The vast majority of those who saw ‘Avatar’ in the cinema during its premiere highlight the same thing: how awesome was the 3D, the impression of real depth it gave and how it was never matched by the wave of movies that tried to imitate it (rather poorly) flooding our screens for years. ‘Avatar’ modeled entertainment in such a way that even, in the midst of a fever for the format, Nintendo launched a console whose sole reason for being was 3D (without glasses). When the fever passed and, like in the 50s, the three dimensions ceased to be the fashion of the momentthe 3DS was renamed…Nintendo 2DS.
But ‘Avatar’ was anchored as a testimony of an era, a closing of the decade of the 00 that, seen now on a television, has lost half of what made it unique. The collective emotions evaporate and there remains an unsurprising adventure film that stands out for its allegedly ugly creature designs (one of the reasons why there is no possible merchandising for a work like this) and an abysmal lore that is reflected very slightly in the footage. The work of James Cameron, taking away his visual trick, commits the worst sin that a film can commit: cause absolute indifference.
Of course there are still shocking scenes: the flight on Pandora, the races through the trees, the final fight… But the vast majority are a simple imitation of cinematographic topics supported almost exclusively by a CGI that seen now, and sorry for the fans, it is not surprising. I don’t want to take any credit away from Cameron or all the things that his team came up with to make ‘Avatar’ and that really reshaped the industry. But, a decade later, it neither surprises nor excites.
I’m on my way to Pandora, where are you going?
Of course ‘Avatar’ is a key piece of film history from a technical point of view. It’s undeniable. It revolutionized the industry as few films have in recent decades, but unfortunately it is a very nice wrapper for an adventure that only occasionally rises to the occasion. In fact, many things have to be overlooked in order to enjoy it: requires the viewer to let go but does nothing to try to hook him.
‘Avatar’ is the perfect screensavera beautiful world modeled to the millimeter in which nothing matters what happens and in which the main characters are simple caricatures that hardly go beyond “the scientist”, “the good one”, “the girl” and “the bad one”. There are no nuances and the only two trips that we see between immovable personalities are, deep down, the same: they go from thinking one way to doing it another, one out of conviction (Jake) and the other because the script is good for it (Trudy).
Although the planet, its history, the Na’vi clans, fauna and flora are exciting and it shows that the team has been on top of production at all times, the film is a continuous promise, a simple presentation that goes no further. The same concepts are repeated over and over and the sense of wonder is progressively lost, until reaching a final fight that is as spectacular in form as it is empty in content. Okay, yes, Pandora is very pretty, but… Is there something else behind this neat curtain or was this the whole show?
I will fly, oh oh
The hero’s journey is practically telegraphed, almost copied from Campbell’s book, leaving room for surprise only to the most innocent spectators. For example, when the movie repeats three times that there was an ancient mythical warrior who managed to tame a mythical creature called Toruk, you know that Jake will manage to do it sooner or later (in the simplest and dumbest way, too): if the viewer is surprised by the supposed unusual beauty and surprised by the three dimensions, do you also need to do it with the script?
It can be argued that ‘Avatar’ is a movie made to blank your mind and marvel, as if it were a repairing balm, a technical demo or a vacation in the Caribbean, and it is true. It is also noted that Cameron and his team put love, desire, emotion and were aware that they were changing everything. And, despite everything, there is no reason not to ask for more. The adventure is so white and indebted to the most basic topics that there’s no way it’s going to leave any residue (something they’d refute in a fabulous episode of ‘How to with John Wilson,’ by the way).
In the end, ‘Avatar’ is a film daughter of its time, which made sense thirteen years ago but has left more of a legacy in its technical part than in the popular imagination. No matter how hard the film tries to create iconic moments or introduce groundbreaking concepts: the what is always so dependent on the how that it is impossible to create a real emotion in the public beyond the visual section.
Of course, the film is going to be a success again in its revival and ‘Avatar: the sense of water’ will break the box office, but from the trailer it is seen that the story or the characters take a back seat. This sequel is aware that visual sensations are much more important than the film itself, and even more so in a world in which feelings are as important as the truth: no one remembers a single scene from ‘Avatar’, but the feeling of enchantment and continuous daydreaming does. It is not easy to create a film that, more than a tape to refer to, is a collective experience that, if you didn’t live it, has completely left you out. It’s my case and now I know that The big mistake has been trying to recover on television what I couldn’t experience on film. Maybe in the sequel. Who knows.