- Jake's whole training with the Na'vi just flows very... lacksidaisically. Although in fairness, that's kinda the point. This long stretch of the movie is important because you need to invest in their culture, and it's perhaps smart on Cameron's part to present as few obstacles to that as possible.
I think keeping it simple was a good move. It allowed you to feel as though you knew the Na'vi well.
I do agree with you here. This part of the movie obviously achieved its intended audience response.
- The one dickhead Na'vi is just so over-the-top. Does he have any dimension as a character beyond "tell Jake how much he sucks"? Although, to Cameron's credit, there's the super-satisfying moment where Jake kicks his ass. The man knows how to play to an audience.
Remember when Grace was explaining him to Jake early on. She said that he and Neytiri were to become a mated pair. He saw Jake as a threat and was jealous of him. Thats my guess at least.
That aspect of the character dynamic is explained once in a line of dialog that I didn't even catch the first time I saw the movie. And when we find out Jake mated with her, it's not really explicitly mentioned that Tsu'tey's woman was taken from him. If you're gonna do that, well, okay. It's cliche and silly but I can roll with it. But commit to your character arcs.
- The chief dying when the tree comes down just felt too simple and easy. Neytiri hates him after his big revelation (cliche, but it's hard to do it any other way). None of this is bad, just meh and unsurprising.
It was expected, and he had to die at some point. Him getting killed by any weapon would have been cliche.
Why did he have to die? If he lives, you get two interesting scenes:
- When Jake rides in on the big bird, because he's an elder, he can provide more perspective on why it matters.
- He could directly pass the torch of leadership over to Jake after the final battle.
If he must die though, I'd almost rather it be to a weapon. I can't pinpoint why, but his whole death scene just bummed me out.
- Jake gets on the big bird after escaping. And this is maybe the lamest part of the movie. Jake's idea of approaching the big bird from above is actually pretty awesome. But this calls into question why he was the first one to think of it. Are we as the audience supposed to buy that?
Keep in mind, even though the Na'vi are intelligent, they are no where near as intelligent as a human. They may not have thought of it. Neytiri did say that it had happened 5 times before, maybe its just too difficult. Also, remember Neytiri said that the ikran must also choose its rider... perhaps Turok could have refused past riders, even if they managed to attack it in a manner Jake did.
What's it supposed to be though? Are the Na'vi these amazingly intelligent creatures we should idealize, or are they inferior versions of humans? Is it the Forrest Gump thing where they're not as smart but then somehow more in tune with what makes life worth living?
Then again, the Na'vi have really poor battle tactics*, so maybe it's not completely illogical.
But even so, I can't agree with you on this. Coming at the Toruk from above is a good idea, but one that a civilization thousands of years old could have figured out and been able to execute more regularly by the time of the movie. And the thing about Toruk choosing its rider doesn't fly. It's not in the movie at all from what I understand.
And I still want to know why the Na'vi immediately accept him back into their tribe. I think you can get away with this if you give the Na'vi actual flaws throughout the movie and let this be a big moment where we're forced to see that this is what their value system is, for better or for worse. But since we're supposed to think they're an idealistic species, then tell me what's idealistic about them accepting Jake because he rode a big bird.
- The whole time after thing I'm thinking "Please don't let the Na'vi lose so Pandora can then rally its animals to save itself."
Yeah.
That was to show us all that Ewa was infact real. I think that Grace was wrong in the whole planet acting like a human brain. I think the connection between everything in nature was actually Ewa. Science lead Grace to believe it worked like a brain, but she was being blinded by the science. Much like religious debates on Earth.
I don't think Ewa is real, and it's tough to believe that knowing (a) Cameron doesn't believe in any kind of deity and (b) if I understand correctly, Cameron's definition of religious fulfillment is based on being able to through your own actions and connection to life satisfy the religious urges in you. Based on that, it would seem Cameron tried to create a planet where the intelligent life (Na'vi) are able to satisfy that religious need by literally connecting to each other electronically. Cameron himself is most likely going to favor science over religion in any debate.
But putting all that aside. As a plot point in a movie, it was a cliche I knew was coming that wasn't done with any interesting layers added onto it.
- From there, I dunno. Michelle Rodriguez dies for no reason. Norm lives for no reason.
She was on the side of the Na'vi. She tried trying to help them. She knew going in that she was going to die. Remember she mentioned the martydom plan.
Why does she die except to die? I read an early draft of the script where she dies because she actually has to. In the final movie, she just does.
*Wouldn't it have been a more interesting character arc if Norm died for the Na'vi cause, thus transforming from a pretentious science nerd to someone who really cares about the subjects he's helping?
Norm's Avatar got killed, yet he still went out unprotected with nothing more than a gun once back in human form. That to me was pretty cool and showed he cared for the Na'vi.
It's certainly not
bad. I just think it could be better.
*Perhaps ironically, this is in contrast to the American Indians, who knew how to disperse and hide in trees and fight guerrilla style against superior armies.
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