Review of Avatar

Economists say Avatar will be a masterpiece-or at least hope so-because despite the record box office in North America this year, none of those so-called "Hollywood blockbusters" can really get their hands on it. At the end of the year, both at home and abroad, there are some "year-end summary" complexes, so everyone's expectations are rising.

What's more, "divine works" always have to be produced by "divine guides". This year, some well-known qualified "divine guides" have all died down, either not launching new works or shifting their positions to play minority roles; Only "James Cameron" can really make it to the end of the year.

However, does this mean that Avatar is a movie? Will it create a new era of film "art"?

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Don't think like that. Personally, there is no necessary connection between "creating a new era of art" and "masterpiece"-the former pays attention to avant-garde and avant-garde thoughts, concepts and consciousness, while the latter needs perfect execution. The concept of "incomplete" art is far from the standard of "masterpiece". In the film industry, artists can kill one with a stick, but few can really demand perfection in the process of execution and can achieve perfection. In this sense, a "masterpiece" should not only be blown as ethereal as in the clouds, but also ... as solid as the strongest man's chest. As a solid state that can withstand all kinds of criticisms, there is a very suitable word in English called "robust". Yes, in my opinion, all masterpieces should belong to Robert.

However, shouldn't "masterpiece" be "profound"?

The fact is that movies have never been "profound" and there is no need to be "profound". Personally, I think "profound" must be linked with "original" to make sense. What is the profound significance if the film expresses what the predecessors have thought about or even thought about countless times? I have never found that the ideas expressed in a movie are original and profound, and everything expressed is well documented and has precedents to help. In this sense, don't say "movies make people laugh at the thought", at least "predecessors" will laugh. As a performance art, why should movies be profound? No matter how profound the theme is, the expression is poor and it is rubbish; On the other hand, no matter how vulgar the theme is and how novel the expression is, people have an unprecedented "feeling" about the same theme, which is the victory of performance art. Therefore, as a "masterpiece" film, "profound" is not important.

Knowing the characteristics of "masterpiece", it seems easy to evaluate Avatar:

Is Avatar Robert's? be

Is Avatar profound? it doesn't matter

So, is Avatar a masterpiece? Uh ~ ~ I'm not sure yet.

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The hat of "Shenzuo" is big, but simple. It's hard to draw a conclusion without elaborating. All the above are "necessary conditions", without which you can't be a "masterpiece"; On the other hand, even if all the necessary conditions are met, it depends on how the film as a whole and all aspects are implemented before we can draw a complete conclusion.

As far as movie stories are concerned, I think everyone knows that the story of Avatar is relatively simple and not profound at all. To put it bluntly, the plot of the film is a space version of the large-scale colonial and anti-colonial struggle, and it is an inter-racial love story at the individual level, which is nothing new. However, this setting is "Robert" for movies-in other words, it is enough to support the narrative needs of movies. Intuitively speaking, a "Robert" story gives people two feelings: first, it is reliable and not far-fetched. There is basically nothing absurd or puzzling about the plot setting of Avatar, like the common situation in other blockbusters that "danger always runs after the protagonist, but it is always one step behind". I have always admired Cameron's ability to play the bridge: he can always arrange some routine things to make the audience feel "should", which is the true meaning of "Robert"; In addition, from the sincerity and efforts behind the crochet plot, we can also get a glimpse of the truth and falsehood of the movie story Robert. Generally speaking, from the perspective of "sincerity", the quality of the film is very unreliable, because no film producer will emphasize his "insincerity" in publicity. The key here depends on "people". The core of "people" in film production is the director. The director is really heavy, and the story of this film is not "empty". Cameron, who has always advocated "do it yourself and have plenty of food and clothing", is definitely one of the most "real" directors in Hollywood. Coupled with ten years of polishing, including the setting of the whole Pandora world, he has accumulated such rich "nutrition" that it is difficult for a "child" like Avatar to be strong.

However, a "strong" child who can bear the whole film structure is not necessarily a glamorous and attractive child; In personal dictionary, "spirit" is a necessary and sufficient condition for a movie story to reach the level of "masterpiece". The story of Avatar, especially the presentation of the landscape ecology of Pandora planet and Navi indigenous civilization in the middle part, perfectly makes up for the dull and boring defect of the blockbuster second act, making the whole movie feel very compact, and the film length of nearly three hours seems to pass quickly; But in the end, this story is still a routine. Because of the predictable turning point and result, it lacks surprises and cannot bring freshness to people.

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In fact, a conventional story like Avatar, even if it is not in a "profound" direction, can bring some more complex and profound elements through the enrichment of details. As far as film expressiveness is concerned, there is no "innate profundity" theme at all. Only the "depth" of the interpretation of the established theme determines whether the film itself is profound or not. The themes selected in Avatar, such as "anti-colonialism", "environmental protection" and "ecological harmony", are undoubtedly profound and awe-inspiring propositions in the eyes of "only profound theorists". However, just choosing such a theme does not guarantee the depth of the film itself. Personally, I think the story of Avatar is too simple, so simple. I don't need it to "impress" me from a deep level, but I hope it can "incite" me when I need the emotional participation of the audience, so that I can forget that I am watching a movie and want to jump into the picture and kill the quartet with the protagonists.

In a big way, the plot conflict setting of Avatar is a simple opposition between good and evil and black and white; Within each camp, there is also a lack of diversity, as if two iron plates collided there, and masculinity was there, but it was a bit silly. In addition, the biggest negative consequence of this simple antagonistic relationship is the singleness of the role image. Originally, I thought that there should be different opinions on the side of human mercenaries, especially between military commanders and chief executives, and the ideas should be slightly different, which would make the stories and characters more three-dimensional, but unfortunately not. On the whole, human beings seem to be bad people, Navi people are good people, and the actions of good people (the protagonist and his friends) among bad people are also common examples; In addition, each character group has a single idea ... In this way, this story is also an honest and clever "Robert"; You might as well think about it: Can sincerity be better than the handsome romance of Weiyangsheng? The so-called "divine work" must not be honest (if you don't know the names of "all honest" and "Weiyangsheng", please call the primary school Chinese teacher and strongly demand to make up lessons).

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At present, there are various analogies about the story of Avatar. Personally, I think the most appropriate film with a similar framework but never mentioned should be Miyazaki Hayao's Ghost of the Princess: the same protagonist who was originally irrelevant but involved in two conflict groups, the same struggle for resource plunder and protection, and the same emotional relationship that transcends ethnic boundaries. This kind of story is more "green" than Dancing with Wolves, has more social group background than Romance in the Wind, and is basically consistent with what Avatar wants to express. However, a little comparison between Ayou shows that Avatar is not as good as Princess Ghost in terms of the complexity and exquisiteness of the picture setting, the vividness and fullness of the characters affected by it, and even the ultimate emotional and thinking shock. In particular, the role of the fantasy queen in the latter is not much different from that of the human military and political officials in Avatar, but the behavioral motivation and the personality complexity embodied in this motivation are quite different.

I naturally understand Cameron's good intentions-the simplest is the most common-just like the love in Titanic, which is actually the most vulgar, but it is this unremarkable story that has attracted the tears of all kinds of women all over the world. I once fantasized that it would be great if the protagonist of "Tai" was an old couple hugging each other on a floating bed and facing death warmly! Their life may be a touching story, extended by five minutes ... However, such a story may be difficult to help Cameron stand at the top of the world box office. I have always felt that the handling of the emotional relationship between men and women is one of the few weaknesses of Ka Shen Da. At best, he can make this relationship watertight, but it often lacks luster-the husband and wife file drilled in the abyss is the most beautiful relationship between men and women in Mr. Ka's works. The relationship between men and women in Abyss is actually very simple and typical, but there are details, which are more delicate in those trivial descriptions; However, the interaction between the hero and heroine in Avatar lacks such evocative details. All the communication steps are stylized, without any serious injuries, but without any sparks. This directly affects the whimsical audience like me to sing stories and the feelings inside. For example, the scene of the competition between the hero and heroine in Qi Fei is beautiful and has a great visual impact. But I just can't help but think of the waterfall frolicking in The Lion King and dancing in the sky in Wall. E, and it seems that the decadent voice of "Can you feel love tonight" is floating in my ear. ...

In other words, the rough but inaccurate story setting of Avatar didn't excite me; And the thinking level contained in it is not the type that people are willing to calm down and have fun from thinking; Even the warmth setting of playing the "Volkswagen" card has some origins. Generally speaking, a narrative "masterpiece" movie should at least achieve one or two of the above "cold", "hot" and "warm"; The story frame and specific interpretation of Avatar are far from that height. You can say that Mr. Ka has no such ambition, or that it is not worth giving up commercial success for such a goal, but it cannot be said that Avatar can enter the category of "masterpiece" in film expression.

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Fortunately, Avatar is more than just a story. Personally, the settings outside the plot of the film are much more exciting than the story itself.

As a genre film, Avatar is positioned as a sci-fi fantasy; ; Since the name of science fiction is involved, but no new ideas are put forward, I am really sorry for this unprecedented situation. Not to mention the specific scientific gadgets, such as the celestial trajectory of Alpha Centauri, the relationship between Pandora's gravity index and the height of the Na 'vi people, the formation principle of the rare mineral Unobtanium, the trilogy of floating mountains, etc., which are far beyond the cognitive scope of a science scum who almost failed the college entrance examination in physics. Strict scientific content needs strong computing power, and those top students who leave full marks in physics; When we waste materials, we must mend something that is tangible or something that doesn't need to be studied at all-that is, we just need to think about it.

The first thing that caught my attention was an old friend of Mr. Ka's, and also something I often owned in YY-the Armed Personal Unit (APU). Presumably, everyone was impressed by the ultimate battle of the earth female PK alien queen at the end of Alien 2. After entering this century, everyone has also experienced the feat of Zion's mecha bravely resisting millions of mechanical octopus in Matrix 3. Before this year's Avatar, there were also wonderful humanoid mecha displays in special forces and District 9. These movie scenes all have "man-machine integration" machinery. For hardcore sci-fi works, I personally think that in the last 200 years (the story of Avatar took place in AD 2 154), the "man-machine integration" system will be an important prop for human beings.

The core meaning of the so-called "hardcore" science fiction is that its setting must pay attention to the logical foundation and the track of scientific and technological development. The inevitability of the rise of man-machine integration is determined by the physiological limitations of the human body. To put it simply, under the condition that the intelligence of automatic machinery is limited and human body is fragile, the "two in one" mode of "controlling quasi-automatic machinery with human intelligence and enhancing and protecting human physical skills with machinery" has become the most reasonable choice before the autonomous intelligent machinery is fully mature.

"Man-machine integration" is nothing new for sci-fi fans, and anime fans may be earlier, because Japanese anime likes to play the routine of "Gundam" and other beautiful girl soldiers manipulating ironman. Hollywood mainstream works came into contact with this aspect relatively late, so the installation in Alien 2 looks quite pioneering. However, in recent years, with the US military becoming more and more interested in the concept of "exoskeleton" and starting to invest in research, it has stimulated artists' imagination and creative enthusiasm in this respect.

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In the view of my failed scientific brain, "exoskeleton" is actually a transitional state before APU; If all the external devices attached to the human body are grouped into one system, the most primitive state of this system is the armor commonly used by soldiers in the past and military police today, with the middle form being "exoskeleton" and the advanced form being APU. The biggest difference between exoskeleton system and conventional armor is that it can provide external power. For example, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Division (DARPA) of the US military has invested 50 million US dollars to design and manufacture mechanical devices that can make individual soldiers carry more loads, travel faster and make extraordinary jumps. The prototype product "HULC" developed by Lockheed Martin (see the picture below) has been able to help soldiers easily carry equipment weighing 200 pounds and move freely.

Further development, external mechanical devices can not only strengthen human body functions, but also increase effective weapons and protective devices, which has entered the category of APU. So strictly speaking, the "human forklift system" in Alien 2 is not an APU, but an advanced stage of "exoskeleton"; The "Two Guns and Iron Clubs" in The Matrix series is indeed an APU, but it is also a relatively primary stage in the APU system, because it only provides primary kinetic energy and fire system, and the form of human-computer interaction is completely mechanized, not to mention the weakest protection system without bulletproof glass cover. But the resources of Zion brothers are limited, and it is understandable to be simple; The human mercenaries in Avatar are rich in funds, and the APU in the movie is basically as agile as ordinary people, far exceeding the bulkiness of the Matrix period; The man-machine interaction system has also been upgraded from pure hydraulic linkage to virtual induction system; The degree of informatization has also been greatly improved, and the virtual display screen has a relatively global grasp of the battlefield dynamics and APU functional status. The key point is that all these technologies are not only prototypes that can be realized based on current scientific principles, but also conform to the time logic of future scientific and technological development in terms of the advanced level of specific details. From this, we can see the difference between a "Robert" science fiction director and those science fiction works that win purely by imagination; This is the difference between The Matrix, Avatar, Iron Man and Special Forces, and the APU also shows it.

Just now, I talked about the human-computer interaction interface in the APU system, which needs attention, because it is the starting point for the next boring topic, and it is also a core "showy" setting in the movie Avatar. As mentioned above, the design starting point of "man-machine integration" system is to strengthen and amplify the function of human body, so as to transform the world more effectively (including fighting more effectively). The performance of "exoskeleton" or APU depends on the performance of those systems outside the human body in the initial stage; With the progress of science and technology, the efficiency of that part will rapidly develop to a stage as comfortable as commanding your own body; However, this freedom is not "ultimate", because in the APU system, the manipulation of the external hook is still carried out among some columns. Even if it is advanced to the intelligent stage like "Iron Man", it still relies on voice control instructions to direct the next reaction. Is it possible that the external mecha system can "directly" master human commands without saying or doing an action by itself, so as to respond immediately? In other words, only when human consciousness (here refers to all systems and activities of human nerve perception and reaction) is directly handed over to the machine can the ultimate "man-machine integration" be realized.

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This extreme fusion state has gone beyond the scope of APU and started to step into the field of "incarnation".

Maybe some students will use the word "doppelganger" and think it means the same as "incarnation". Personal advice is best not to, because in today's H civilization and BL civilization that moistens the whole world, "busy man" has a certain meaning, and this specific meaning may make some traditional women blush, or let the mainstream rotten women immediately "sprout" their pupils, and their minds will flash. "The general attack is always attacked by ghosts, animals, toys, queens, kings, women, and women. There is no evil." In addition, in the context we want to use, as a way and means of externalizing individual consciousness, "incarnation" and "doppelganger" do have significantly different meanings and cannot be confused. In short, "incarnation" means that the subject consciousness and externalization form are the same, tied together and unable to operate independently; And "doppelganger" refers to a doppelganger whose subjective consciousness can be independent of externalization. The oldest examples can be found in the Monkey King and his whole body.

Don't talk about earthlings now. Even people on Pandora know that Avatar is an "incarnation" story, which aims to create a new species that can be entered and controlled by human consciousness and is unfavorable to the conventional Navi people in appearance. At first glance, there are not many new sci-fi ideas here. Is it not "cloning" and "out-of-body experience"? It seems that many sci-fi works have played with these concepts in the past. However, personally, Mr. Cameron did play some groundbreaking things this time, which mainly depends on several core elements contained in the complex technical system of "incarnation".

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