Which ties into his brains and desperation. He reasons perfectly well a method through which to capture the creature, one which he then imitates in his attack on the humans later.
As I said, the story was predictable (he gets the bird), but I think it was well told (how he gets the bird and the way it is presented thereafter). He carries out a heroic task because he’s desperate, and does so in an incredibly mundane way.
Not sure why it has to be a guilty admission. Finally got to see this in imax 3d last night to a packed house and I thought the movie was absolutely fantastic. Both my 11 year old son and I were pretty much in awe the whole movie and kept looking over at each other and smiling and giving thumbs up. Totally worth it for that alone. The experience was pretty much akin to the sense of wonder I got from seeing Star Wars in the theater when I was 11.
After leaving the theater the impression I got was that going forward the lines between what can be imagined and what can be committed to film are forever gone. I know a lot of people are qualifying their enjoyment to the movie to just the effects, but personally I think there’s a lot more going on. Sure we’ve all seen this story before, but the way it is intertwines with the technical and artistic elements and how the milieux is fleshed out really is quite an incredible accomplishment. Gimme more.
I was impressing with the CG after hearing negative things about it from people who worked on the movie or had seen the preview screenings. I’m really curious to see what’s next with the technology. It definitely helps the (I hate to use the word) immersion. There was some stuff going on with DOF that would be interesting to see in a drama or other genre.
The DOF effects were by far the most jarring and immersion-breaking things in the movie. Everything is in 3D, so my brain thinks I should be able to refocus on the things that are currently out of focus. Of course, it can’t.
Actually, I generally hear that “conventional Internet wisdom” typically from the same people who were predicting DOOOOOOOOM for the movie prior to release.
I agree with you about Hurt Locker, though. I thought it was a better film than Avatar, though I was far more entertained watching Avatar than Hurt Locker.
Oh yeah, that was some real genuine struggle he had to go through in that month it took him to completely master the Na’vi way of life.
I think the special power he used to do that was his “Anything Is Possible In The Cutaway” mutant ability. Similar to a montage, but even lazier from a narrative standpoint.
Enh. He winds up riding the super pterodactyl that only historic heroes can ride, and winds up de-facto leader. I appreciated the humor of him struggling with this and that and falling off the horse and all, but come on.
The only special power he has is his brain, which he uses to come back from banishment in a desperate gamble. Okay, I wish he’d used it for the final battle, but I block that out.
It’s a problematic cliche in and of itself that you’ve got natives with a lifetime of experience and superior physical abilities, but the white dude triumphs with superior brainpower.
Just to nitpick, it was 3 months.
He learns their way of life, the film never shows him mastering it, he’s never shown to be a better anything than anybody else, he’s simply learned enough to join their ranks as “one of the people.” From the look of it that means he’s like one of their teenagers.
By the time he’s made one of the people you see he’s still not as fit as they are.
The film sells this at the beginning as Jake being someone who rises to any challenge as over-compensating for the loss of his legs. Whether you buy that or not…
And here I disagree, the struggle was irrelevant and showing it would have made it utterly cheesy. Either a titantic air struggle, or fighting it in its lair, whatever. You knew he was going to get the beast, the only thing that mattered was how, and after that let’s keep the film moving please.
From the looks of it, the creatures are tamed the same way as the banshee, so the real problem was getting close enough. He didn’t have the same mythic fear and respect the locals had, and being banished he had no options left open to him. He took a risky gamble and it paid off because otherwise the film would end.
By white guy I assume you mean human guy? And why not, it’s a staple of sci-fi that aliens will be superior in a number of ways, but human ingenuity wins the day. It’s a film by humans, for humans, so it’s hardly a surprise.
I think Hugin is alluding to the “white man/noble savage” undertone of the film.
Ah, I see.
I think it’s more that Jake is not really human, he’s on Pandora because he doesn’t feel at home on Earth, has nothing to live for, then he finds the Na’vi fill that void in his life. This is what he’s always wanted, he just never knew it. He’s not establishing dominance (though avatars are made to be more muscular than the natives), he’s establishing his kinship. The colonel can give him his legs, the Na’vi his life.
He’s not really a human and it’s the avatar that is the real Jake.
Wow that’s deep, man.
Do I feel mockery? I don’t read the movies board so much, so your gentle poking may require more sign-posting for my benefit :)
That’s just what I think the film is going for.
Right, and I don’t think the film is intentionally racist or playing the ‘white man/noble savage’ card. It’s just an unfortunate side effect and I’m not even sure that it’s possible to tell the story that Avatar et al. tell without invoking that imagery. Though it would be interesting to see what would happen if you replaced Sam Worthington with a Native American actor. That might have put an interesting spin on it.
After three months, he manages to upstage the previous boyfriend of the chief’s daughter in just about every way possible. He’s sleeping with the chief’s daughter, riding the most badass of all badass flying things, and serving as military leader to the entire Na’vi people. After three months.
Jake is as pure an expression of the Mighty Whitey as has ever put a poor native tribesman to shame.
Why do you hate humanity?
Really? This is news to me, do they have anything that backs up this claim? (about Europeans being less accepting of black stars, not Will Smith’s worldwide statistics)
By that rationale the film shouldn’t even have been made. You know the ending walking in. At the very least, showing the struggle the Leonopteryx would have given Cameron a chance to show that it was very difficult for Jake to do what only a handful of Na’vi have ever done in the history of their species. As it stands, it’s practically comedic the way it plays out.
If you want to read it in a more sinister tone, the white guy uses his brainpower to exploit the simple natives’ superstitious natures by taking advantage of a cultural myth to influence their actions and likelihood of bending to his will. Jake uses what was shared with him in a bond of trust to manipulate an entire species to do what he personally thinks is right, primarily because humans make him all sad and alienated now. But humans in Avatar don’t have a magic bird you can bring them and convince them you’re the Ultimate Badass Whose Will Be Done.
I found the entire plot point to be a misstep, and one of the best pieces of evidence for the Mighty Whitey reading of the film.
Not really. Here in Spain (a country with very few black people) Will Smith, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington are considered as very big Hollywood stars.
edit: oh yeah, and motherfucking Samuel L. Jackson :P.