I’ve watched “Avatar” so many times that, according to some reports, it could be unhealthy.
It all starts with my childhood. Growing up as an autistic kid in the late ’90s, I went through a phase in which I obsessed over box office statics. This included that period in late 1997 and early 1998 when director/writer James Cameron’s “Titanic” became the highest grossing movie of all time (that is, unadjusted for inflation; it landed at No. 2 when adjusted for inflation, after the 1939 Civil War epic “Gone with the Wind”). I vividly remember following each week’s returns, poring through data points like a sports fan analyzing the latest game statistics.
By contrast, I was much less enthusiastic when Cameron released “Avatar” in 2009. It was predicted to join “Titanic” in earning unprecedented quantities of money, which it’d need to do to recoup its $237 million budget ($349 million in 2024). Based on the trailers I thought “Avatar” looked derivative and preachy, and only relented to see it in theaters after a friend urged me to connect to the zeitgeist.
I’ve since had a falling out with that friend, but all of the grief he caused in our friendship was worth it for the single act of him making sure I saw “Avatar” in a movie theater. It truly is a marvel for the senses, the pinnacle of what the art of cinema can achieve on a visceral and emotional level. My life would be worse if I did not have the memory to cherish of seeing “Avatar” in a theater, and then remained an “Avatar” fan ever since.
As I am wont to do, I talked with fellow moviegoers once the credits began to roll, and the three I spoke to all loved it. Yet I struggled as the years passed because — while fans of superheroes or “Star Wars” had countless movies to turn to for sustenance — I just had one. While some created communities or learned the Na’vi language (I’m too shy to do either), I contented myself with rewatching “Avatar” whenever I could.
The bad news is that, as reported by some media outlets at the time, I sometimes felt depressed after doing so. The good news is that I felt this way because I missed the lush visuals of Pandora and the intense experience of joining human protagonist Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) on his adventure as he explores an alien world. I enjoyed letting the bright colors wash over me, examining details in the fictional fauna and flora and gleaning what I could about “Avatar” universe lore.
Yes, the story is formulaic. Specifically it follows the formula of somber revisionist Westerns like “Dance with Wolves” and ecological fables like “Fern Gully.” Given Cameron’s political agenda and need to innovate new technology to realize his artistic vision, he perhaps could not have done this any other way. Certainly executing his ideas while being precedent was easier if the ideas themselves were somewhat conventional.
“Conventional” is not the same thing as “irrelevant,” though, and “Avatar”‘s conventional story remains more relevant than ever. Take the scene when Sully prays to Eywa, the super-intelligence that connects all living themes in the Pandoran biosphere.
“If Grace is there with you — look in her memories — she can show you the world we come from,” Sully says. “There’s no green there. They killed their Mother, and they’re gonna do the same here. More Sky People are gonna come. They’re gonna come like a rain that never ends. Unless we stop them. They chose me for something. I will stand and fight. You know I will. But I need a little help here.”
“Avatar” never shows our ecologically blighted former home, but those 74 words paint a picture as potent as anything special effects can create. At its core, “Avatar” is a warning against environmental exploitation and the colonialist ambitions, with the latter getting a proper roasting in a defiant Sully monologue translated by one of the alien leaders (Laz Alonso as Tsu’tey). Bear in mind while reading this that Worthington’s delivery of these lines are apparently what convinced Cameron to cast him over better known actors like Chris Evans and Chris Pratt. (I also included the Na’vi translation.)
Na’vi: Fpole’ sawtutel ‘upxaret.
English: The Sky People have sent us a message…
Na’vi: Ayoeri tsat new.
English: …that they can take whatever they want… (lit. Regarding us, (they) want that)
Na’vi: Tsun mivunge.
English: …and no one can stop them. (lit. can take)
Na’vi: Slä awngal ‘upxaret fpìye’ for.
English: Well, we will send them a message.
Na’vi: Kämakto nìwin, ayngati spivule hufwel.
English: You ride out as fast as the wind can carry you.
Na’vi: Ayolo’ru alahe peng ziva’u.
English: You tell the other clans to come.
Na’vi: For((u)) peng syeraw toruk makto.
English: Tell them Toruk Makto calls to them.
Na’vi: Tswayon set oehu!
English: You fly now, with me!
Na’vi: Ma smukan, ma smuke!
English: (My) brothers, (my) sisters!
Na’vi: Sawtute wìyintxu ayoeng.
English: And we will show the Sky People…
Na’vi: Ke tsun fo fìkem sivi!
English: …that they cannot take whatever they want!
Na’vi: Fìtsenge… l(u) awngeyä!
English: And that this… this is our land!
While I cast no shade on “Titanic” and its fans, that movie never achieves the eloquence and prescience of these two monologues. For all of the criticism of the “Avatar” plot, the “Avatar” story (by which I mean the execution of that plot) is as close to perfect as anything ever put to screen. This is why I regularly rewatch it at home; because “Avatar” is a great movie, rewatching it in any format is superior to most other viewing experiences.
“Avatar” deserves to be the highest grossing movie of all time, replacing “Titanic” as No. 2 when adjusted for inflation.