James Cameron's AVATAR series - Page 87

On August 23 2010 01:56 LingKing wrote:
Comparative essay I wrote for english101:

The Good and the Bad Sci-Fi

I am a science fiction movie fanatic. Early exposure to science fiction sparked my interest in the genre. Some of my first memories are of Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. I can also remember watching Startrek Voyager and X-Files on the couch with my mom on weekday nights. Any story that involves speculation of humanity in the future or encounters with alien life always grabs my attention, if it is told well. Alien in 1979 and Avatar in 2009 were both instant sci-fi hits, but for different reasons. Avatar was successful because of stunning computer generated imagery while Alien demonstrated that an original story, a complimentary setting and strong acting are qualities that make a sci-fi hit memorable.
Alien’s story set a curve on suspense and thrill in sci-fi. It begins with a seven man crew aboard the immensely huge deep space mining vessel the “Nostromo” being awoken by the ships computer because it received a distress signal on a nearby planet. Obliged to investigate, the crew lands the ship and sends a party of three to search for the source of the SOS. The crew discovers a derelict ship of completely unknown origin with an apparent cargo hold of egg-like objects. After one of the eggs hatches, an organism attaches itself to a crew member’s face. The crew quickly retreats back to the ship to leave the planet. After they leave the creature dies and the host is left seemingly unaffected. Later at dinner the crew realizes to their horror that the creature laid an egg inside the crewmember as a terrifying worm-like creature bursts from inside his chest. The remaining crew is then stuck in a nightmarish situation as they are trapped onboard with a rapidly maturing alien creature that is elusive and deadly. The story draws viewers in by working upon a variety of fears. Claustrophobia, fear of the dark, fear of being hunted and the fear which is done the best and fear of being unable to escape, are all fears that are played upon in the film. The suspense created by the story unfolding is almost unbearable and makes the film most memorable.
James Cameron’s Avatar features a story of human greed and hatred of other species. The story borrows ideas not far from the Disney story Pocahontas, in fact it has a strong theme colonization much like the story of the American Colonies. The movie begins by introducing main character ‘Jake’, a paraplegic ex-marine. He is called on a mission to a moon named Pandora after his brother’s freak death. When Jake arrives he is briefed by the greedy corporate figurehead on the company’s intentions of driving off the native population in order to mine the rare and expensive mineral ‘unobtainium’. The corporation plans to move the indigenous population of 10ft tall blue humanoids called “Na’vi” either through negotiations or force. Jake is connected to a synthetic Na’vi in order to infiltrate and find a compromise. The situation starts to turn as Jake finds himself sympathizing with the native population and even falling in love with the Na’vi princess. Jake soon finds himself fighting for the Na’vi and against the corporation as they attempt to destroy the Na’vi home and culture. Avatar can be interpreted as offensive because of similarities to the story of Native Americans and white colonists. The story in Avatar is not deep enough to explore these connections in a meaningful way.
Setting in science fiction is important and helps to decide the believability of a film. Alien’s dark and grotesque setting provides a perfect immersing environment for a sci-fi horror. The “Nostromo” ship is cold, poorly lit, weathered and provides the perfect creepy environment for the cat and mouse screenplay. Even the planet and derelict ship that appear in the beginning of the movie are completely bizarre and eerie. Each setting throughout the movie intensifies the overwhelming feeling of fear.
The setting in Avatar is visually intense. James Cameron was able to add some amazing computer generated graphics in every scene, but some of it is not well thought out. The CG graphics did not always blend well with the live action and it was obvious in some scenes that the actor was in front of a green screen. Outside environments vary from vast lush forests to expansive military bases, all of which are CG. The creatures appearances’ are clearly taken from actual animal counterparts on earth with some added bright colors, fins and eyes. The movie also features floating rock mountains with waterfalls that are important in the story and at no point gives an explanation of why they’re floating or the source of the waterfalls. Some of the features James Cameron decided to add to the movie’s setting are confusing and others are unoriginal ideas.
The cast in Alien does a superb job in communicating the sheer terror the characters in the story are experiencing. The white-knuckle fights and arguments between the crew are well done and the moments of panic are truly scary. The stress of the crew looking for an escape builds and draws the viewer in. Sigourney Weaver, who appears in both Alien and Avatar, provides a enthralling screen performance as a tough heroin who ends up being the last one standing and only survivor. The viewer would be hard pressed to find a scene where the emotion the cast conveys is not sincere. The characters fit in the situation naturally and the great acting enhances the experience.
By contrast, there is little depth to the characters in Avatar and it is hard to relate to them. The film features generic and unoriginal character personalities that are made worse by bad acting. Sam Worthington, the actor who plays ‘Jake’, gives a dull performance and his character’s development is predictable. The clunky one-liners throughout the movie are cringe worthy and keep viewers from becoming intimate with Jake. It is sad to see Sigourney Weaver’s talent wasted on a minor role that mostly sets up one-liners for Sam Worthington. The colonel seems to be the only character that has decent background and convincing acting, but his motive of being an elitist bent on extermination of a group of beings prevents him from being someone that the audience wants to relate to. The viewer cannot make meaningful emotional attachments in the movie because the characters are unimaginative and the acting bland.
A sci-fi movie, like any movie, should make sense. Avatar and other recent sci-fi movies lack the science in science fiction. Every movie, regardless of genre, should have consistent quality in story, cast and setting. Alien proved that a sci-fi does not need excessive special effects to thrill viewers. In fact, most of the movie is live action including the alien puppet. Alien is still a well known sci-fi today, even after 31 years most people can recall the shear terror and suspense they felt when they first saw it. The story and setting in the movie went together perfectly and the acting brought it all together. Avatar won 3 Oscars for visual effects because it was a pretty looking movie. It will not be remembered for its story or acting. Other than the graphics in the setting, nothing else about the movie was pretty. Avatar’s story was unimaginative and blatantly borrowed ideas which were presented poorly. The characters and dull acting are on par with a children’s movie. The fact that Avatar earned 16 million dollars in box office is a testament to how low American film standards have become.