TOP 7 Problems I Have With James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’
After viewing James Cameron’s Avatar for the first time, (midnight showing in Chicago) I remember thinking in great detail about the planet of Pandora. I’m not sure if I had a dream related to what I had seen in the film, but I did wake up to the thoughts of the different creatures and plants I had been introduced to by Cameron’s film. With no question in mind I knew that Avatar was the most visually stunning movie I had ever seen. However, as the days passed, it began to sink in my stomach how I truly felt about the entire package. As someone else had said about Cameron’s uber-expensive movie, “story must not have been part of the budget.” This person was right. Special effects do not make a movie.
There’s a fifteen hour opera by Wagner, called “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (“The Ring of the Nibelung.”) As gorgeous and accomplished as this work may be, it is not an opera that relies on one aesthetic importance, (in Wagner’s case music, in Cameron’ case visuals), to take its place as a “classic,” nevermind keep his audience entertained. There must be a story, as the visuals or music can only stand up so long before people begin to contemplate what your “work of art” is really about.
I began to think of Wagner’s opera more seriously after a second viewing of Avatar, when I had spent a total of 324 minutes of my life on Pandora. Now, with all of the buzz, hundreds of news articles about Cameron’s film, and suicidal threats by fans with blue face paint, it’s as if I have never left the planet. This is, of course, against my will.
The following is a list of gripes I have with all that is Avatar. It will be free of the phrase “dances with Smurfs” and the word “Pocahontas.”
CLICK HERE to read The Many Questions of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ – which Jeff Bayer wrote a day after seeing the film.
Editor’s Note (1/16/10) – Thanks to everyone for all of the comments. I’m looking forward to the future one which reads, “You don’t like every aspect of something I love. You are mean. So I will now say, you suck. Good day to you sir, I said Good day.” When Allen told me he wanted to write this Top 7, he specifically said he was going to dig deeper than, “The Na’vi are tall and blue, like big Smurfs.” Allen did his job well. I think both of us give the film a 7/10. And MANFID, I could read your broken English all day. Just Brilliant.
7. “I See You” sucks – This is at number seven for a reason, because it seems to be a no-brainer for anyone who sat through 162 minutes of Avatar, only to have their experience summed up by this dud of a theme tune (as sung by Leona Lewis). Not only is it instantly forgettable and dated, but it’s the little tugboat that can’t when compared to Celine Dion’s Titanic song. The repeated line in the film “I see you” is questionable enough, but the musical attempt at giving such a phrase any type of emotional meaning is a whole other planet of cheese. (And while we’re at it, something about the score: What’s with that trumpet trill that sounds every time something bad happens? It sounds like something Ennio Morricone threw in a trash compactor after shaving it off a decent piece of music. It also sounds like something else, but I can’t put my finger on it. Either way, Eywa was not with James Horner this round, that’s for sure.)
6. “AVATAR” – Especially compared to the blue word coloring used in the posters, and in context of the grandiosity that continued for two and a half hours before it, this is one of film’s worst title cards ever. After everything has been said and done, the word AVATAR flies at its audience, (some given a little protection with their 3-D glasses), displeases their eyeballs for about three seconds, and then vanishes. Before you can even comprehend the word “sequel” from the movie’s final shot, these giant, bright green and ugly six letters obliterate our retinas, taking up as much space on the screen as possible, and utilize that ugly “Papyrus” font (more on that below) to the MAX as if it were the punchline to a sick joke.
5. The usage of Papyrus – As some of you might have noticed, King James Cameron put a lot of work into every aesthetic detail related to the planet of Pandora. For one, he hired a professor from USC to create a whole language for the Na’vi. One element that Cameron must have skimmed over however, is the font in which these 1,000 words are subtitled. Borrowing from D-grade history report covers and Egyptian museum exhibit titles, Cameron uses the incredibly bland word font of “Papyrus” to present with the text of Avatar. (Was “Comic Sans” too busy getting made fun of?) Still, considering how much Cameron put into, well, everything about this movie, one would think he’d have the courage to try something other than “Papyrus,” or even make his own font. (Eywa knows he has the capability.) Since Avatar has so many connections to the internet, how do you say “epic fail” in Na’vi?
4. It’s beating better movies at history’s box office – One can’t exactly defend the legacy of many films at the top of the “All-Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses” list. Movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End can fend for themselves when it comes to maintaining their spots in box office history, because they’re about as enjoyable as Avatar. However, it’s absolutely wrong that a movie like Avatar is outselling films like Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and The Dark Knight. Why? Because The Dark Knight, all three Lord of the Rings movies, (and a lot of others) are better than Cameron’s new film. Thus they are more than deserving of their placements in box office. A key example is Star Wars, which is currently fifteen million away from being dethroned in the domestic box office at spot #3. Remember that movie? It helped advanced filmmaking and the whole concept of going to the movies, and it was also an original screenplay. It’s like Avatar, but a movie that didn’t depend solely on visual effects to create curiosity which then turned into an empire.
3. I have to keep thinking about Avatar – I can’t creep Twitter in peace, nor can I peruse online film sites without seeing those six letters branded somewhere. I’m definitely not safe at IMDb, and the Avatar page itself couldn’t be a bigger hell. Worst of all, it’s impossible to have a conversation with someone about the flicks o’ today without having to mentally revisit my unpopular thoughts about the almighty experience of (cue trumpets) AVATAR. Plus, all of the time I could be spending thinking about, say, Up in the Air or the tentative directors for the Spider-Man reboot, I waste worrying if this humdinger will make its place in all of film history as the highest grossing movie EVER. Eywa-dammit.
2. AVATAR will not be as great on Blu-ray/DVD - If people ever needed a reminder that Avatar is still a MOVIE and not an out-of-this-world or out-of-body experience, the home release of this flick will do just that. Of course Avatar will continue detonating records when it arrives on DVD/Blu-ray, but it will lose a lot of its spark once people are forced to watch it on their thirty inch TVs or even iPods. I can only hope that the Blu-ray and DVDs don’t come with 3-D, because as anyone may figure out, 3-D on DVD is more of a joke than some of Avatar’s dialogue. Such a grandiose movie will not be able to translate to an aspect of film that is becoming as important as seeing it on the big screen – watching it at the home theater (whatever that may be). The graphics will always be fantastic, but the presence of Avatar will not. And those who have really overwhelmed themselves via IMAX or other ways of stadium seating with intense fantasies of Pandora and Cameron’s universe will either come back down to Earth, or will have hopefully offed themselves by then.
1. It’s making people say dumb things – I am talking about, of course, the extremists who look much too far into Avatar from both angles (this does not mean all fans of Avatar). Those literally praising the film for the world it creates (including those who take this post too seriously) or condemning it for some pointless reason are equally idiotic. Recently, hardcore fans have reported becoming depressed when realizing that the lifestyle of the Na’vi and the planet of Pandora is the real element of “unobtainium.” On the other hand, the “critics” are scanning the film with magnifying glasses to point out every cultural significance inside of the film, and then claim that it is “promoting” such activities like smoking, bestiality, racism, etc. It must be because Avatar is standing right in front of us in its giant glory that these bored individuals notice such ”theories,” as thousands of films before and after Avatar will always be open for discussion, and will include smoking, people riding animals, and unfortunate casting, etc. Criticism is always fair game, but perhaps we should spend our time instead thinking about … a lot of other things that work or don’t work in Avatar.
Is The ‘Avatar’ Story Headed Towards Another Planet?
Box Office Review – Jan. 17 – Golden Globe winner & Box Office Champ ‘Avatar’
James Cameron Announces “Avatar Day” on August 21, 2009
Avatar day – August 17 – from Titantic director James Cameron
More questions with James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’
Loading ...
LOL is looks somebody have crush on “something”. “Keep thinking about it”
– just admit avatar is best movie u ever saw – francis ford coppola will not spank you 
Ok, I could look past the whole big green text at the end you were complaining about, obviously you have some problems with giant green text, I don’t know, mabey it scares you or something.
But you complained about the FONT of the subtitles, REALY?. The 3D subtitles were something I’d never seen before, dude. Your beyond belief, if you have to deconstruct a film to the level where you nitpick the style of FONT in the subtitles you need serious help.
I agree with these two reply’s. It’s looks like you liked the movie so much, you went out of your way to ponder reasons not to like it. And for the story line, sometimes simplicity is key. Although, writing up reasons not to like Avatar will get you noticed.
“It’s making people say dumb things”
That is exactly what you are doing in this article….please….
Zing!
Like many people, I saw Avatar in digital 3D, although plot-wise it is an extremely two dimensional film. The characters were barely more than cardboard cutouts, including Sigourney Weaver who I generally adore. The plot seemed to be some kind of mass moral masturbation. It seemed clear to me that this was a re-telling of the story of greed and ignorance which drove Europeans to enslave and commit genocide against the indigenous peoples of the new world. The moral masturbation comes into play when in this film the indigenous people turn the tables on their tormentors and their beautiful culture is saved from the true heathens, the invaders. Everyone can totally get behind that idea because we generally have collective guilt over this inky black stain on our souls created by our greedy, ignorant, murdering ancestors. So this turnabout culminates in the feel-good, warm and fuzzy plot ending, thereby rendering a sort of collective absolution for all of us who root for the Na’vi against the interlopers. It’s as if we can all say, “See, I’m rooting for the good guys and I disown the actions of my forefathers because I’m more enlightened now”.
Having said all that, and laying aside the fact that the plot was mind-numbingly simple, I actually quite liked the film. It was stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful to watch, and when you do see it you can’t help but have a sense that you are witness to groundbreaking techniques which will forever change how big films are made. Further, it was enormously entertaining and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Does it deserve to be what it will probably become, that is to say, the biggest film ever made? Probably not. At least I don’t think so. Does it have enormous replay value? Again, I don’t really think so, at least not in the vein of the LOTR trilogy or Star Wars films. But I do feel entertained and for the first time in quite awhile I left the cinema after watching a big budget movie not feeling ripped off. I felt the ‘magic’ and I was entertained and for those three hours I left my own troubles behind and rooted for good against evil in a land of make believe. If that’s not why we go to the movies then I think we must be going for the wrong reasons. I give Avatar a solid B+. If the plot weren’t so pedestrian it could have easily achieved an A+.
While I did love Avatar I completely agree with # 4. NO movie can ever beat Return of the King… & it is making people say stupid things, like it’s promoting “anti war” ideals. So… you’re telling me you WANT war?
Sorry, these are really dumb complaints.
I watched it on a fuzzy online viewing expecting to hate it to hell, but past the dumb cliche of “Stranger comes to town, town rejects, then loves him, he falls in love with leader’s daughter” — it was actually really entertaining, exciting, and fun. oh yeah–THAT’S WHAT MOVIES SHOULD F’N BE.
8.- Many people is going and see it again.
OK i will say it
if one day i travel back in time, one note i should send me, “dont go to see avatar”
yeah i regret losing my time on that movie, its beyond me why people want to see it more than once
WHY I GO? then you ask…
i wasnt planning it, in fact after all last year marketing, the one thing that sold me the movie was the trailer i see before 2012, if i had not seen that trailer that day, i would not see avatar.
In fact was a pretty good trailer, if i see a good trailer i see the movie, period, sometimes the movie is good, most times its bad, thats the way movies are. no problem.
I see it in 3D with subtitles, yeah i dont speak english, i should see it in NOT 3D and DUBBED, why? its almost a cartoon picture, so even in original audio most is dubbing, the subtitles just keep changing their location the entire movie, sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes up-left, sometimes you were playing “find wally”. as for the 3D i had seen better, in fact many times you get asking yourself “am i seeing a 3D movie?” but the worst of 3D is that put aside that few minutes of true 3D the rest of the movie is bad, you not get even HD, its more like seeing a half century ago movie when just the prime object was in focus and the rest of the picture was blur, i think they were trying to fake the poorly 3D effect they were getting.
From the HYPE:
-”you will see visual effects than cant be made before”
i didnt really see any that i could say “WOW” me, not a single scene, when i see matrix i get that “WOW”, even 2012 was a better visual fest.
-”we invented 3D cameras for a real 3D experience”
you waste your money my friends, i see many 3D movies that put you in the movie, thats what 3D is all about.
-”you cant guess if it was real or computer generated shot”
i can see the differences pretty easy, besides the blue=CGI
-”that avatars are like real people”
come on, when cameron say he wait 10 years to the tech catch up, he must spend them in an island, when was released final fantasy? they looked more real than any avatar, i dare anyone they tell me any avatar is more tech and real than gollum.
-”actual and immerse story”
what story? the trailer almost tell you the full story, and it was boring always knowing what would happend in the next 20 minutes, or what, am i the only one that guess the final after the first human/avatar link fail. the movie is full of cliches and incoherences to be conunt. any bad videogame had a better story and had more coherence.
-”music and audio effects are outstanding”
kind of boring, always hearing the same music, feel like a tv/comedy applause backsound, the navy screaming and ritual sounds little annoying.
-”people will see it like it or not”
you got me here, its what hype is only good for, but i still cant believe people go and see again, its titanic all over again, im starting to think cameron put subliminal messages onto his movies, so the weak minds surrender at it and go to see it again and again and again…
All the people who see the movie with me, enjoyed it, i ask some what movie they hate cause apparently they like the 99% of movies they see
But that phrase was to the one that was seeing it for the second time in two days
“IF YOU LIKE IT…
EITHER, ITS YOUR FIRST MOVIE OR YOU HAD VERY LOW EXPECTATIONS”
It appears that smarmy bloggers seem to exist solely to criticize everything so others think they know more than you- all ego and no judgement. If you spend enough time on the web you will find people who would be against a cure for cancer
@William
So your criticism is directed towards people who are being critical? That is brilliant! I love the irony!
If you have something to say then say it (or write it). If people don’t agree then that’s OK. They don’t have to read it. The whole purpose of forums and feedback postings is so that people can weigh in with their opinions. No one if forcing you to read it. At least its topical and relevant rather than some random person making a random dig against people who are posting their comments, which in case you missed it is the whole whole point of these comments sections.
Now settle down and go back to your cave. Thanks.
Its a movie people ( A dam fine one ill admit in its way of furthering the movie BEAST ) But still a movie. Not the meaning of life … Luckily I have a life to enjoy movies as opposed to run them out of town with avengance.. That said we all have opinions
“On the other hand, the ‘critics’ are scanning the film with magnifying glasses to point out every cultural significance inside of the film…”
So….
Whining about something as trivial as the FONT of the SUBTITLES is NOT being over-analytic?
Nope. It’s Papyrus for Eywa’s sake. PAPYRUS! I suppose we should be all grateful he didn’t use Times New Roman. At least Wingdings might have been more different than the font most associated with new-age spas and lame book reports about mummies
Perhaps you didn’t understand the question… so I’ll ask again…
How exactly are you personally NOT being over-analytic by writing about something as trivial as the font of the subtitles?
In other words… why do you care?
I didn’t care for a lot of things in the movie either, but my god… you’ve got to be pretty desperate to criticize the FONT of the SUBTITLES.
You need a hobby other than dissing “Papyrus.”
There were so many other things in this move far MORE deserving of criticism than the 7 things you attempted to point out here.
I think you forget the purpose behind movies, other than making money. Entertainment. Movies are not a one size fits all type of deal. Some like them, some don’t. Move on. We go so we can see something out of the ordinary that never happens in our actual life. Unless it’s one of those movies based on real stories. If the movie was truly undeserving of it’s box office status, it would not have made as much as it has. And really, complaining about a font? About the title screen? Things that do not make the movie? They’re just small details. You really must be desperate to find something to criticize, if that’s how deep you can dig into the movie.
Sorry, but those are really stupid complaints. Just enjoy the movie and don’t analyze it so much. I loved it, by the way, and think that it’s brilliant.
“unobtanium”
They hired a PhD to create a language, and the best word they could come up with for holy grail that drives this entire film is a play on the word unobtainable?
We used to use this word when we were kids to describe what anything we couldn’t afford was made out of. This is an Epictanium Fail.
Unobtanium is a real term used for a materails that have impossible properites. Its used in sceince a it a joke term “you will need unobtanium for that to work”
Having seen Avatar 8 times now I notice something different each time I view it. Now that I have seen every detail I can go & enjoy the 3D presentation even more. This article is interesting to see someone else’s opinion even though I don’t agree with all the points mentioned. What is interesting is what is happening in China. Chinese journalists are raising questions about the parallels between Avatar and current social issues related to Chinese developers and urban renewal projects.
The plot certainly has no depth and I really appreciate the guy saying “seems plot was not part of the budget”.. phrases and words like ‘i see you’, ‘unobtanium’ really suck.. na’vi and Ewya sound great though! unobtanium really sounds like any 7th standard kid may come up with that word (Which standard they teach PT??) Though I have seen the movie only once, i’m sure there are better points to criticize it.. The font was not appealing to me as well, but then I don’t care about it.. Cameron was over cautious about the visual details and to my mind that compormised every other aspect of the Avatar.. So I’d say movie is certainly not to expectations but a must watch for sure.. much better than most of the movies you waste your money on.. It certainly is not what you expect from a genius like Cameron..
I know all about the movie i have seen it twice and i sssssooooooo disagree with your comment it was the best movie ever nothing wrong with it at all
IM POSSITIVE
Avatar for Best Picture? Are you serious?! When you get past the bombarding imagery and sound that made me think Michael Bay must have a directing credit, Avatar is not even in the top seven for best picture. Film making is much more than computer graphics. It is about the story. To think some people feel that this is the best screenplay, is laughable. I can think of at least two movies that would be “Up” for this award. The script of Avatar is certainly not original. It is a story told many times just not on another planet. How can a script be taken seriously when the “prize” that must be had is named “unobtainium”? Grace dies and her body becomes part of the Tree of Life…sorry wrong movie; Tree of Souls) only to communicate back to assist in the final battle (Helloo Yoda). The Colonel should get an award for overacting with a character that is cartoonish in its believability. It would not be complete without the mousey diminutive Boss man who starts to have a conscience only when it is too late.
This may be a commercial success because of the 3D IMAX platform. But I will state here and now that this movie will not have the staying power or influence in movie making history as the Star Wars series for example. Kids will not be playing with their Avatar creature action figures with the two, no four, no six legs (did they just throw the dice on that one?) twenty years from now. It is clear that King James did not attend the workshop given by George Lucus on how to create a “Lite Brite” planet.
The story and the characters are the essence of a movie. A year from now this will be as forgettable a story as the team that won the super bowl two years ago.
Something wrong with whomever thought this wasn’t a good movie! I thought it genius. What a story line and imagination and then to try to put it to film, WOW is the least I can say. 10 all the way across the board for me. Pretty much everyone else thought the same, we were ready for a film like this. Now give us one good Louis L’Amour Western with Sam Eliott and Tom Sellick, YEAH!
I was disappointed with the wardrobe effects dept. I was expecting advances in clothing military style uniforms within the next 150 years. (I mean, look where Star Wars took it!) The vietnam-era aviator glasses, the ill-fitting button down shirts with the spandex slacks. Granted, men’s fashion hasn’t changed much in the last five decades, but one can certainly hope for the future. (I did really like the movie, but I also want to ad that I don’t care how big you are, you aren’t going to send an arrow through military grade bullet proof glass on a chopper)