Those were the first words out of my mouth after seeing Avatar. Special effects and 3D magic aside, this movie was EXACTLY like Last Samurai only with big blue people in the place of the Japanese.
Is this a White guilt thing? Every so often a movie with a colonial-imperial plot grabs the heartstrings of America and wins awards. Did Last Samurai win any awards? Ya got me. I don't know if that one in particular won anything and I care too little to wikipedia it to find out. OKAY FINE. It was nominated for a Golden Globe, nominated for some Oscars, blah blah blah, I'm right and you're wrong. Who am I talking to?
Avatar was well done. It's a good movie. James Cameron, you made me hold my bladder during the last third of the movie, which was about thirty-seven hours. Had I expected a post-colonial feel good-er with wide-eyed blue people instead of Indians, Japanese, South Africans (er, all Africans), Chinese, Native Americans, etc. I would have loved it. Unfortunately I was expecting something... more... I don't know... SCIENCE FICTION. Thank god I was watching it in 3D to keep me entertained as the crazy forest forested my face off. Those bird things were awesome!
It's a touchy subject - why can't we just feel good about it? Well, because we all know that once the guy from the Mod Squad gets back home he's just going to better prepare for a total takeover.
In conclusion (I love doing that because I can). I ended up laughing during the serious parts and being bored during the poignant ones. Best thing this movie has going for it is the 3d effects. Cho gives this movie a "meh."
