It was with great anticipation that my husband and I went to see a showing of the movie, Avatar. After all, I loved Terminator (I know, I'm weird) and Titanic is one of my all time favorite movies. James Cameron directed both of those and Avatar looked to be just as good. Let me premise the next statement with a fact. I'm very critical of movies. I love movies. Always have. Maybe that's because I love "story". but that makes me also very critical. So, if you loved Avatar, please do not be offended by my opinion. Despite the fantastic special effects and the incredible world Cameron created, I found my mind drifting during the film (not a good sign). The characters were so flat and one dimensional, I could predict everything they said before they said it. Sterotypes all the way. The good guy was all good. The bad guy was pure evil. The tree-huggers were stricktly tree-huggers, the military guys were blood thirsty mongrels. The plot was almost as predictable as the characters. Plus, I resented that Cameron or Hollywood or whoever forced their political and spiritual views down my throat in every scene. If you're into New Age philosophy and oneness with nature and mother earth, and if you hate the military and think we are ruining the planet, then you will love this movie. Unfortunately, I believe in none of those things. I went to the movie to be entertained, not have a political agenda forced upon me.
However, I will say that the creativity in this film was magnificent! The world of the Avatars was fascinating, unpredictable and exquisitely beautiful. One thing it did for me was stretch my own imagination far beyond its tiny bounds and make me realize that if man can think up something so beautiful, then surely God has a world in store for us beyond anything we could imagine or hope! This world gave me a glimpse into the Creator's mind and into the beauty of the New Earth He will create someday. So, if you're going to see this movie, see it for that. As you view the Avatar world, consider it a peek at Heaven and at the new Eden, and I guarantee your problems in this age will diminish in size by comparison.
My brother called me on the way home from this movie to tell me I would not like it because it choked him with political and spiritual agendas. He's more critical than I am, but I will wait for it to come out on DVD.
ReplyDeleteMy dad and a buddy of his just went to see this the other day, and they said the same thing - great special effects and location, but way too much of a political agenda. They especially didn't like how anti-military it was.
ReplyDeleteI think it's disgusting that what is supposed to be entertainment, plain and simple, is always trying to push liberal beliefs on us, because this seems to ring true for a lot of movies. I wish the Christian movie market was bigger. Maybe they'll make movies out of some of your books, MaryLu! ;-)
-Sapphire
I went to see that movie with my best friend, my father later showed up. All of us are Christians like you. We all are also republicans, and support our troops. (Not that you have to be a republican to support the troops) and we all liked the movie, I did not have a hard time watching this...I have a hard time watching shows on the History Channel that say Jesus and God had wives, and other people talking about the Bible as if it were fiction. Personally I liked the movie merely because it had action...and the way everything lit up was neat. I did however think throughout the movie - this could never happen in real life, which is another reason i liked the movie, as times get tougher all we want is a dream world to escape to. But I will agree I was a little irritated with the way they made troops look like the bad guys - I brushed it off though, because I liked the rest of it.
ReplyDelete-Abigail