Article and Photo by Olivia Simonson
As the year came to a close, James Cameron’s third installment of ‘Avatar’ released in theaters across the nation, bringing in millions of dollars overnight. The movie is the conclusion of main characters Jake and Neytiri’s story, shifting focus instead to their kids and the evolving world around them.
The movie quickly became a box office hit like its predecessors, but the film still garnered criticism from fans and critics alike. So, the question that swept the internet arose – was this a genius film, or lazy writing in a successful franchise?
The film follows the Sully family as they mourn the loss of Netayam while struggling to fight off the humans who are hunting them down. The movie does a good job of highlighting each member of the Sully family, and it is a key contributor to this movie’s 3 hour and 17-minute runtime. The audience sees Neytiri grapple with her hatred for the humans who have taken everything from her, along with how she reconciles that with her feelings for her human son. Jake struggles to balance grieving his son alongside the rest of his family and being a leader for the clans in a time of crisis. Lo’ak struggles with depression, Spider faces the consequences that come with his ancestry, and Kiri works to connect herself back to Eywa.
Since this movie is meant to transition the narrator from Jake to his children, the emphasis on each individual story makes sense, but it also makes for a very dense plot that has issues weaving everything into a cohesive and fluid narrative. There are standout moments from each of the individual stories – like Lo’ak attempting to commit suicide, Kiri learning about her mother, and Spider almost executed by Jake – but most of the stories feel rushed and disjointed because of how many characters there are.
The movie also explores another tribe in Pandora – the Mangkwan. The Mangkwan did not follow Eywa after a volcanic eruption ruined their sacred forest, instead choosing to follow the fire that “liberated” them. This concept was a definite highlight for fans of the franchise, who want to see more of this clan in the next two films, since the ending of this one leaves the fate of the Mangkwan up in the air. Some fans felt this movie was mis marketed, as most of the film is spent focusing on the water tribe instead of this new fire clan.
This movie may have been better split into two, as the long runtime and dense plot can be overwhelming on the first watch. However, most fans will not complain because of how visually stunning this movie is from start to finish. Avatar has always been cinematically beautiful, and this film did not disappoint with its stunning lighting and the play between contrasting colors.
Fans did notice that some aspects of this film seem reused, especially the big battle at the end of the movie. It mirrors the first movie immensely, with the Navi losing hope in their chances and then the animals stepping in to help fight back against the humans in the name of Eywa. There was also the poaching plotline, which felt like a rewrite of movie two, along with the Tulkun Payakan still being an outcast, even after saving the Navi people in movie two. Some fans say that it pays homage to the two previous films, as this is the wrap up on Jake and Neytiri’s story, but others cite this as a cash grab and lazy writing – the movie did break $1 billon at the box office and was nominated for awards even before its theatrical release on December 19th. It recently secured spots at the Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design. This movie has its flaws, but it did what Avatar does best – immersed the audience into the world of Pandora.
The next two films have yet to be confirmed, as they are dependent on this film doing well, but audiences are optimistic about their chances for an Avatar 4 and 5. The movie is currently showing at the Parkwood Cinema in St Cloud, likely to stay there for another month or so before it is released to Disney+.
Recent Comments