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Does Avatar Really Deserve $2 Billion? Does it Really Deserve the Oscar for Best Picture.
The year was 1997, the movie was Titanic. Made on a very high budget with two fresh, young leads and a director who had predominately given us some great Sci-fi, Titanic was hardly a sure thing when it was released. But unlike the historically epic-fail of a ship it was based on, Titanic went on to clean up at the Oscars and earn the highest gross of any movie (when not adjusted for inflation. Otherwise, its Gone With the Wind, another romantically centered, period epic). To this day, some people don't get how Titanic did it. I don't think its hard to understand. Even as a naive, immature junior high boy, I enjoyed the movie when I saw it in theatres (and not because of the drawing scene that snuck its way into a PG-13 movie, you pervs).
Titanic essentially as it all. It has a rich, historic base and feels very authentic on this part. The ship looks fantastic, even today. The movie also ends in a very Roland Emmerich disaster movie fashion. People are screaming and dying, things are blowing up and sinking in freezing cold water. Everyone loves a little destruction. And yes, at the movies heart is this romance that goes beyond social classes (not to mention cross-cultural). At the very least, Jack and Rose's romance seemed less boring and forced than your standard rom-com characters. Also, I have to mention the music. No, not the Celine Dion song but the Academy Award winning score by James Horner. With its almost Celtic flair, the music truly is beautiful.
Now, we have Avatar, a movie by the same director, James Cameron. Its funny that I originally had a post entitled "Should you Care about Avatar?" when now that doesn't seem to be a question at all. At the time, I feared Avatar might be under appreciated but it would seem, in a cruel twist of irony, Avatar has become over appreciated. I liked Avatar. I saw it twice, once in 3D. But seriously, I'm not seeing the big deal.
Yes, the 3D is fancy (and also brings in more money than traditional theatre tickets which could partially explain the abnormal gross this movie has had). The effects are pretty and all, but does it seem that much better than Transformers 2's effects? Or, dare I say, the top video game cutscenes out there? And even still, good effects does not a great movie make (and yes, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and even Titanic were about much more than their special effects).
If Avatar is supposed to be a romance, its alright but hardly anything spectacular, original, or surprising. If its supposed to be a thinly veiled critique on current politics and wars, its awfully one-sided and far-fetched. If its an eco-friendly, environmental movie, then its actually not as forced as they typically are. Still, the world of Pandora is a bit different than ours (unless we have yet to discover how to plug into earth) and its hypocritical in the fact that its taken great advances in technology for this movie to even be possible. Finally, the music, while pretty, its basically a sampler mix of everything James Horner has done over the past 20-30 years.
Then there is all the talk about it winning best picture at the Oscars. I never expected this to actually happen until it won the Golden Globe for best picture. Its not the best movie of 2009 (I would personally say Hurt Locker...or just about any of the movies nominated for best picture). Its not even the best Sci-Fi movie of 2009. That goes to Star Trek which had more interesting characters, a much sharper script, a better villain, more emotional moments, and just as pretty of effects. Seriously people, its not even James Cameron's best movie (I'd go with Terminator 2).
Now I liked Avatar and it is an impressive, roller coaster spectacle. Maybe that's enough for it to be the highest grossing movie of all time. But it isn't enough for people to say its the best movie of the year (much less all time). Great movies are often defined and remembered by specific moments. Even Titanic had its "King of the World" and "Never let go Rose". Cheesy? Sure, but don't tell me you haven't stood on top of something, spread out your arms, and shouted out you're the king of the world. What's to be remembered here? I see you? You're like a baby? When the flash has faded and our eyes re-adjust, what will we really remember about Avatar?
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