on a mission from
Goddess

I finally had the pleasure of seeing Avatar in 3D and I was so totally impressed by this movie that I had to write about it.  Not only is the technology woven seamlessly into the film, but the message and what it represents is awesome, too.

Thanks to whatever new technology was created for this movie, I was so engrossed in James Cameron's world of Pandora that I forgot for the most part that I was watching animated characters, not real flesh and blood beings from another planet.

As for the story, I truly was impressed with the depth of the storyline.  Now you know me--I'm a sucker for a female deity, and for tribal leaders, male and female, who each perform their equally important roles for their people.  My sister, who saw the movie before I did, described it as an Intergallactic Dances with Wolves.  I find that description apt, it is also lacking in that DWW didn't delve into the underlying spiritual beliefs of the Native People's in any significant way.  With Avatar, we see a culture that believes in and honors the connectivity of all things.  We see a culture that practices healing, life and death in ways that harken to ways of indigenous people throughout the world. 

Or at least they seem to.  I admit I'm no expert in what Native cultures do or don't do.  To my Western sensibilities, the Na'vi seem more authentic than many other depictions of so-called "primitive" cultures.  And here lies my only problem with Avatar.  Jake Sully is a bit too great-white-hopeish in his role as jarhead turned Omaticaya.  Cameron casts the Na'vi with a real-life multicultural assortment, yet it's the lone white guy who is able to reunite all the tribes and save the planet.  Outsider who rises to prominence as an insider is a familiar character arc in many types of stories, but it's not one of my favorites.


If nothing else, Avatar is notable for it's strong female characters.  Sigourney Weaver has had a lock on the female leadership role since her Alien days.  Michelle Rodriguez got her kick-ass credentials from Shaft and proves why she deserves them here.  CCH Pounder as Mo'at (sound familiar to Ma'at, the goddess of justice and order profiled here last month) and almost every other character she plays proves that wisdom and insight win out over muscle.  And then there is Zoe Saldana who won my heart as Uhura (I even have the dolly).  She was brilliant as Neytira.  If there is Oscar buzz for her performance, it is well deserved.