Avatar

[rhienelleth]

So, I find myself really, really amused at all the articles and naysayers that are popping up re: James Cameron's Avatar. People wailing about how expensive it was to make, how it's going to suck, or flop, or never make back all that money, or other variations on the theme.

First, I want to ask them "Have you seen the trailers?"

But beyond that, this is James Cameron we're talking about. The last time the guy made a film, it was the same story - "OMG, it's costing so much money, wail, moan, whine." I remember when he waved his director's fee in order to complete Titanic.

And then it became the number one grossing movie of all time - and still is, twelve years later.

Uh, maybe people should have a little faith, is all I'm saying.

(Plus, seriously, have you watched the trailer? How can people think this movie is going to suck??)

Comments

[rhienelleth.livejournal.com]

Really! That is so interesting to me.

I don't see Avatar as anything like Apocalypto, which was slow and very uninteresting, IMO. I do see why parallels would be drawn, but Avatar looks much more visually stunning, action packed, better paced, better written, with better characters and story, etc.

I also see why people might see it as preachy. I don't, and I'm usually among the first to boo a movie that's being forced to make the point of a political agenda. Maybe it's because I'm a SF fan, and I can look back at Aliens and various books/series and say "yes, this a classic SF story trope". Is it a native people being exploited? Yes. Is it a metaphor for the white man destroying native american populaces? Maybe. As much as Firefly is a metaphor for an alternate outcome to the American Revolution, I guess. See, I tend to think that yes, when we eventually explore the universe, there will be exploitation - of worlds, of ecosystems, of whatever alien cultures might exist - it's practically inevitable. It's not like I think all humanity is like that, but someone, somewhere, will be greedy enough to try. I think the fact that the story is that recognizable is actually in its favor - it isn't some incomprehensible SF film (because those never go over well).

As far as it being compelling - Cameron was able to make the story of the Titanic compelling through character - Rose and Jack. He created them and their story for that specific purpose. I suspect he's done the same thing with Avatar, creating a very personal story with the characters to make his SF epic accessible to the audience.

SF author John Scalzi wrote a pretty interesting article on why he thinks Avatar (probably) won't flop here, if you're interested: http://blogs.amctv.com/scifi-scanner/2009/11/avatar-box-office-predictions.php

I see the trailer and think Avatar will be for SF what LOTR did for fantasy, but I could be wrong, and then you can throw this post back in my face. :D