As the familiar theme of 20th Century Fox began to play, I had the same tingling sense of anticipation as I did many years ago as a kid when I went to my first Star Wars movie in the theaters, Return of the Jedi. As a kid, I was anticipating seeing something totally wondrous and completely awesome. I was expecting to be swept away to a galaxy far, far away by being immersed in the fantasy universe George Lucas had created. As an adult and a film critic, I found it strange that I was experiencing a similar sensation at the start of Avatar, a film that I didn’t really have any sort of affinity for in the way I did for Star Wars as a kid. However, Avatar was able to recapture some of those feelings I had as a kid as it took me to a new world and on a fun (if familiar) adventure. When I left I may not have felt quite as swept away as I did as kid seeing Star Wars, but I did have fun, I was thrilled, and it was a unique cinematic experience. In short, Avatar is a success and a pretty darn good movie (sorry to those of you hoping that James Cameron would experience an epic fail with this movie; he doesn’t).
Avatar is a very familiar story, but just because a movie covers well-trodden ground doesn’t mean it can’t be good. Despite telling a very familiar tale, Cameron does so with such expertise and confidence that he’s able to hold your interest despite the fact you know exactly what’s going to happen and pretty much when it’s going to happen. This is a good old-fashioned western… with modern, civilized society clashing with the more spiritual, noble, low-tech world of an indigenous people. This is the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, or of Dances With Wolves but with flying dragon-like creatures, space ships, and robotic suits. Avatar hits all the familiar beats of a classic Cowboys and Indians story while putting it in an entirely unique setting. Because the story is so familiar there aren’t really any surprises, but it’s all crafted so well that it’s still a whole lot of fun.
As I was watching Avatar, and perhaps it’s because it was a different setting for this story, a couple of things jumped out at me. One was the fact that people long, indeed are desperate, for spiritual connection. As our hero Jake Sully learns the “backwards” ways of the Na’vi, he discovers a connection to a spiritual world that he never knew he wanted but realized he always desired. He falls in love with the Na’vi’s ability to be in tune with nature and their surroundings and with Eywa, their great deity. It’s been well said that we all have a God-shaped hole in our soul, a deep yearning for spiritual connection. This is an inescapable truth, but one we have trouble fulfilling.
The other thing that jumped out at me was the fact that we’re willing to look for a solution for that desire in just about any place except the one place where we can truly find it. The idea of the noble savage being in tune with nature and spiritual world is nothing new; indeed it’s one more familiar part of a very familiar story in Avatar, and in truth it’s a part of history. However, this concept seems far more acceptable than the idea of finding spiritual fulfillment in Jesus Christ and the God of the Bible. Indeed, the fact that the Na’vi are one with nature and have a connection (a quite literal one, in fact) with their deity Eywa is presented as a very profound element of the movie. It shows the depth and righteousness of the Na’vi and the shallow depravity of the Sky People, the Earthlings. Now I ask you, what would have happened if it had even been suggested that the deity the Na’vi worshiped was the same as the God of the Bible? Instead of profound it would be ridiculous. Instead of spiritual it would have been proselytizing. In short, it would not have been accepted as a “serious” part of the story.
So, Avatar illustrates that we all have a desire for spiritual connectivity, but we also want to be able to define it on our own terms. The spirituality of Avatar is more acceptable because of the mostly tangible nature of it. The Na’vi can physically connect with nature and even their ancestors; but this is all made possible, we learn, because of the fact that Pandora is basically a giant neural net. Throughout the entire planet the roots of the plants are interconnected in complex system of electrical pathways that exchange information or some such pseudo-techno scientific babble. And so, there is a definable, tangible explanation for the spiritual nature of that world, and that makes it comfortable spirituality. The Bible and Christianity offers no such box to put it in. It requires faith, it requires us to believe without seeing, it requires the acceptance of the miraculous, of events that aren’t explainable by science, and so it is not something we can define or even have on our own terms. Therefore, it is rejected as silly superstition, a crutch for the weak, fables for the uneducated, and generally seen as less profound then the type of spirituality that we find in films like Avatar. That’s too bad.
If it’s true that we have a God-shaped hole in our soul, and the very fact that we all desire spiritual connectedness certainly demonstrates that it is, then it would only make sense that the right shape of God would fill that hole. What is the right shape, you ask? How could I be so arrogant as to assume I know the right shape of God? It is not I who says what the right shape of God is, but God himself. It is he who has said there are not other Gods like him. It is he who shaped us and molded us to have a relationship with him. It is he who loved us enough that when sin threatened to destroy us he chose to send his Son to die in our place, to pay the penalty for sin that we could not, to give us new life through his resurrection, and all to demonstrate just how deeply he loves and how he is the only one who can ever fill that desire within us, a desire he placed there when he created us. So do not think it is arrogance when I say that Avatar and films like it identify the problem but can’t identify the solution; I am merely stating what is True based not on my opinion or experience, but on the reality in which we live.
Now, setting aside the familiar story and some wonky, overwrought spirituality, the place where Avatar really shines is the way the story is presented. The technology of Avatar is truly impressive and makes this movie one of those rare cinematic spectacles that has to be seen on the big screen. Not only that, but you should really see it in 3D as well. James Cameron spent the last twelve years developing the technology for the motion capture and the 3D used in this film, and it was time well spent. The 3D technology gives Avatar a depth and dimension that hasn’t been seen in films up to this point. There’s no gimmicky spears jutting out at you, but rather a world that appears so real that you could almost reach out and touch it. The beauty and detail of Pandora truly comes to life in 3D, and like Lucas before him (at least in the original trilogy), the technology is used as a back drop for the story and not just to draw attention to itself.
Then there’s the motion capture. This was the first time I saw a motion-captured film where I was able to set aside the fact I watching CG characters and just enjoy the characters. There are subtlety and nuances in the expressions and movements of the Na’vi that haven’t been seen before, and for the first time, there is a spark of life and emotion in the eyes of these motion-captured creations. In short, these are more fully realized CG characters than anything that’s ever been done before. For the first time, I felt like I could connect and even empathize with a motion-captured character. It’s a tremendous leap forward, and while I don’t think the use of 3D or motion capture in Avatar will “change the way movies are experienced and made” as all the hype claims, I do think it demonstrates that these are very viable and useful technologies that can help movies evolve and move into new territory, again like Star Wars did a generation ago.
Whether you love him or hate him, James Cameron knows how to make a good movie; and even twelve years distant from his last epic, Avatar proves that yet again. Granted they don’t make Westerns like the used to; now they have to be set on a far away planet with crazy creatures, tall blue elves, and robotic suits with big guns, but hey, everyone loves a good Western. Plus, Avatar gives you plenty to gawk at as you drink in the richness of the world Cameron has created. The wonder and joy of Jake’s discoveries on Pandora mirror your own feelings as you explore with him. And although the story is familiar, it’s still thrilling and fun and even emotional. The final battle scene almost seems as though Cameron was thinking “I could do that final battle from Return of the Jedi way better, and cooler too”; and he does. While the technology sometimes drowns out the people, Avatar is well crafted and enjoyable, but more importantly it’s a visual feast that’s not to be missed.
