Avatar - The Hero's Journey

Just got back from Avatar and I thought I'd weigh-in.  I'm going to take a lot of flak for this, but...amazing to look at.  Exquisitely and perfectly beautiful.  Best 3D I've ever seen.  Here comes the bad part.  Hackneyed theme and plot.  One dimensional characters and a two dimensional (still flat) hero.  Great voice performances (especially CCH Pounder, a personal favorite, as the heroine, Neytiri's, mother).

My favorite performance?  Stephen Lang as the villian.  Single minded, ruthless and driven.  I hated him. Which is the mark of an excellent actor.  I enjoyed the movie immensely.  If you can ignore the politics (which I can) you're in for a great time.

One really cool thing about Avatar.  One might ask why I enjoyed a movie with one dimensional characters and a thin story.  Well, it wasn't just the eye candy.  My wife and I are big fans of the Mythologist Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth, The Hero With a Thousand Faces) and one of his most famous books is "The Hero's Journey."

The book talks about cross-cultural hero stories, where an ordinary person encounters extraordinary circumstances and rises to the challenge to becomes an extraordinary person; a hero. Think Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter.  The one great thing about this film and the reason so many are raving about is that it is a Hero's Journey writ large...very large.  Go see it.  Enjoy.