Avatar

Just before Christmas I went to see Avatar (in 3D of course), not because I wanted to - the trailers had little to no effect on me - but because I felt the world was pressuring me into it with all the 'OH MY GOD, IT'S THE TITANIC OF OUR TIME' and the ever present 'HE HAD TO BUILD HIS OWN TECHNOLOGY, IT TOOK HIM THIRTEEN YEARS'... right, and?

Initial expectations were that of a typical other world action movie - lots of alien vs. human action scenes and some jazzy 3D effects thrown in there for good measure. And I suppose it was, to an extent, but to me it wasn't at all like the trailer had portrayed. The whole film was one giant metaphor for globalisation, set in a time where western civilisation is not only trying to establish a standardised international culture, but an interplanetary one as well. The plot was quite deep and provided a direct comparison of the greed fueled military superiors acting on the best interests of corporate society and the Na'vi (the native alien humanoids) who's entire way of life depends on their incomprehensible relationship with nature and a respect for their planet.

Basic story line - Americans move in; Americans want natural resources; natives happen to live on natural resources; Americans try teaching natives to speak English, give them clothes, bribe them out etc; when all else fails, Americans force them out. Pretty standard really, but the depiction of the Na'vi is almost saying 'well if humans were actually more like this we wouldn't have these global conflict problems and our environment might still be intact.'

It got a bit sickly at times and to be honest I still can't work out if I actually like the film or not, which is odd, but I am glad I went to see it - and it does make America look like a bit of an inconsiderate prick.