By Ben on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 04:42 pm:

Well, I went to see James Cameron's much-hyped sci-fi movie, "Avatar", last night - in glorious 3D, no less.... I was immediately struck by the similarity to the alien world of Pandora, depicted in the film, and that of ADF's "Midworld" and "Drowning World". There are certainly enough differences between "Avatar" and "Midworld" that I am willing to believe that it's a coincidence, but at times I did wonder if any of it was JC tipping his hat to ADF, since they have worked together in the past with ADF novelising JC's films and I notice the "Alien Nation" novelisation is dedicated to JC and his then-wife, producer Gale Anne Hurd. This might seem like an insufferably anorakish thing to say, but I do wonder if ADF has seen "Avatar" and what he thinks of it. I know that ADF has often complained about the lack of ambition in Hollywood sci-fi films, and although "Avatar" has many flaws, lack of ambition certainly isn't one of them... You know, I wouldn't think it possible, but after seeing the film and reflecting upon it, I actually feel a bit sorry for multi-millionaire movie-maker Cameron - the man could've made the greatest movie in all creation and it would still never live up to the marketing hype. I'm sure that hype backlash will hurt this film's chances - what would normally be niggling flaws in a movie have a way of appearing astronomical when you've been lead to expect something will be a quantum leap in cinema..... also, never mind the fact that once upon a time Cameron made "The Terminator" and "Aliens" (two unusually intelligent sci fi blockbusters), as well as "The Abyss" and "Strange Days" (two less successful, but equally ambitious sci fi cult films) - I predict that a lot of people will refuse to see this movie because they are unwilling to forgive Cameron for making "Titanic", all of 12 years ago (another film that came burdened with a weight of hype it couldn't hope to carry on it's shoulders). I think it is a pity that all the hype has probably doomed "Avatar" to failure.... it is unusual in that it is a big budget special effects movie in which the FX is actually used to further a coherent and intelligible storyline, which has a serious, chilling allegorical subtext for our own world. Also, it makes a good stab at credible character development and the quality of acting is in an entirely different stratosphere to most action movies. James Cameron is far from being a perfect filmmaker, but just compare "Avatar" to the four other big, much-hyped sci-fi/fantasy "EVENT MOVIES" that have come out this year: "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen" "GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra" "2012" and "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" It is obvious that Cameron approaches the sci-fi/fantasy genre with more intellectual ambition than 90% of other Hollywood film-makers who are given millions of dollars to squander. The only other sci-fi movie made this year that tries as hard as "Avatar" to give the audience BOTH an intelligent story and mind-blowing spectacle is "District 9" (which perhaps tellingly, was not a Hollywood production) Interestingly, both "District 9" and "Avatar" involve reversing the expected dynamics of human/alien interaction.... Instead of aliens coming to our planet and trying to take over, "Avatar" sees us hairless-apes going off into space and taking over a peaceful forest planet, chopping down the trees, digging up shiny metal from the ground and generally behaving like douchebags towards the indigenous population. The paralells with the early colonisation of South America (and my own country, Australia, for that matter) are very obvious (perhaps too obvious at times) and sadly all too relevant to our world today..... I remember one critic described "Avatar" as "Dances With Wolves only with big blue aliens instead of Indians" and that's not a totally inaccurate description - as the main plot revolves around a colonial marine (Aussie boy Sam Worthington) who "goes native" after being given a genetically engineered surrogate body so that he can "go undercover" among the natives. Whew!!! Now that's a hell of a lot more plot and subtext than I would expect from any big-budget special effects blockbuster right off the bat.... but does "Avatar" live up to it's lofty ambitions? Yes and no. First of all, as a total immersion sensory experience then "Avatar" can only be considered a rip-roaring success. For two and a half hours I felt totally immersed in an alien ecosystem. And no, it's not just the 3D effects, I am sure that if I saw the non-3D version of this movie I would still have been blown away by the visuals of this movie. The film is nothing if not a feast for the eyes and ears. The action-sequences are nothing short of phenomenal. Say what you will about Cameron, but he does know how to direct an action sequence..... one of my many problems with a lot of modern action movies is that the director seems to think that by shaking the camera around a lot and rapidly cutting from one angle to the next, this somehow makes things more tense - but really all it does is obscure the action and make it hard to figure out what exactly is going on in the scene. (I'm thinking of "The Bourne Ultimatum" as one of the worst examples of this modern shaky-cam trend... but it's in a lot of movies lately) One of the things that made "Avatar" a breath of fresh air to me: I COULD ACTUALLY SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON DURING THE ACTION SEQUENCES! I COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING! NO POINTLESS SHAKY-CAM! HUZZAH! Ahem, yes.... And as I've said, the acting is so much better than I would expect from any big budget Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster.... Sam Worthington's accent slips on the odd occasion and from certain angles he looks a dead-ringer for Ewan McGregor, which is a bit distracting (not his fault, though).... however, he does give a performance of sufficient sensitivity and nuance to make his character's moral turnaround both affecting and believable.... James Cameron seems to like stories with strong willed female characters and Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Zoe Seldana certainly deliver the goods on that score. Unfortunately, (and this is probably the film's biggest flaw) the villains are written without any redeeming features whatsoever. Seeing that the characters lack any depth, actors Stephen Lang and Giovanni Ribisi ham it up outrageously. As a result, the antagonists in this story come across as mere caricatures of corporate officiousness and Yankee military jingoism, rather than real human beings. It's kind of disappointing that the "bad guys" in this film are so one-dimensional, especially considering that the "good guys" are such complex and multi-layered characters. It also weakens the allegorical aspect of the movie, when every character who disagrees with the filmmaker's message is portrayed in a totally unsympathetic light. I've always thought that making a point by demonising the opposition is a bit of a cop out, and sadly, that certainly applies to "Avatar". "Avatar" has other flaws, flaws that would seem niggling in a normal movie, but will probably be more noticable to audiences because of the hype.... Namely, "Avatar" is afflicted with the same problem that 90% of all war movies are afflicted with: On the one hand, this movie wants to make serious statements about the exploitation of indigenous cultures, wanton destruction of the environment and the utter senselessness of war...... and yet, on the other hand, it wants you to be blown away by the awesomeness of the action sequences, thrill to the spectacular scale of carnage on display and ultimately be cheering on the heroes when they start kickin' butt. Like most war movies, "Avatar" has a pacifist message - and just like most war movies, it has certain characters' fighting moves play out in slow motion just so the audience knows how incredibly awesome said fighting move is... and the music in the background soars just in case the audience still can't figure out that this fightin' move totally kicks butt, yo! And because I am one of those suckers that is born every minute, I totally bought into this hypocrisy whilst I watched the movie - I deplored the violent actions of Lang and Ribisi's characters whilst thrilling to the awesome fightin' moves of Worthington & Co as they kick butt and take back the land... HOO-RA!!!! It's only when I got home, took a beer out of the fridge and started thinking back about what I had just seen that my own hypocrisy was made aware to me... a hypocrisy that has afflicted me when it comes to a great many celebrated war movies - "Braveheart" for one, just to pick another title off the top of my head. I think it was Francois Truffaut who said it was impossible to do a truly effective anti-war movie that actually depicts a war happening - because there will always be some visceral thrill to be had from watching people fight. Still, "Avatar" is such a great action movie, I'm tempted to say that all this doesn't matter.... Hmmm, I dunno, what do the rest of you Fosterites out there tuned into Subspace Communications think?

By adf on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 09:07 am:

Haven't seen it. Rumors are dangerous things.

By PAX on Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 06:23 pm:

I enoyed your critique on Avatar. I take it that Avatar has come out in Australia before here in the states--it doesn't open here until the 18th (hey, that's tomorrow!) You'll probably get some responses this weekend from the "Yanks", as my Aussie reallies call us, after this weekend. Sounds like an interesting movie, but if what you say is true, I can already tell it is going to "urk" me to watch the so called "pacifist" take on life and then watch the gloriously hypocritical fight scenes...it is such a hacneyed theme in movies. Maybe I read too much into it, but it always seems like there is some sort of liberal political undertone to these types of movies that is so cliche in Hollywood...yawn...turn the page already! But it wouldn't surprise me if I hypocritically enjoy the movie anyway if there is otherwise a good story and visual effects.

By Flinxerone on Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 03:27 pm:

I enjoyed it quite a lot.

By Jezskates on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 07:17 am:

I came out of "Avatar" yesterday feeling quite the same, that I had seen a film rendition of MIdworld. I thought the modest differences between Pandora and Midworld were intentional based on a less esoteric American movie audience. Having a solid, "plugged-in" connection with that world's fauna and flora is easier for many to understand and accept than an innate emotional/psychological bond. Also I strongly urge everyone to see it in 3D, preferably in Imax. Unlike other 3D treatments, Cameron clearly went through great effort to use the format to bring his viewers INTO the movie's sets, rather than using 3D as a surprise/shock gimmick tool. I, and my whole family, LOVED the movie, and left the theater utterly satisfied.

By LukeH on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 07:46 pm:

Movie was great, however the flora and fauna of Avatar don't even come close to Midworld.

By 3jsand1k on Friday, December 25, 2009 - 06:09 pm:

I had the opportunity to meet Cameron while he was working on this film. One thing he clearly took pride in was the richness of the 3D world he was creating. He wanted to capture the nuances of the character's expressions and his team devised approaches to do so. He also wanted to create a vast world, with a huge scale for his story, and again his team found the means to do so. So he has created a world that reflects the intricacies of the real world as well as its expanse. Clearly there are similarities to Midworld. As we left the theater I told my son he should read that ADF classic. My wife has said for years that Midworld should be made into a film. As to the story, my wife and older son found it to be a bit cliched. The bad guys threatening the aboriginal people is an old story. To the point above, there was no explanation as to why this was the case. Why was unobtainium worth so much? Was there an association between it and the "dying world" of the humans? These are all unclear in the story. I don't know about the hype, because I tend to ignore hype. It's doing quite well in the US and is the number 1 ranked film. It is a gorgeous visual spectacular. I think the story holds up well enough, and while there are flaws, I doubt they will prevent this from being a highly successful film. As to avoiding it because of Titanic, I doubt that will be the case. I've personally avoided that film because of the fictualization of a great human tragedy, but that doesn't prevent me from finding his works of pure fiction worth seeing.

By Flinxerone on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 07:36 am:

I'm an admirere of anyone's effort and determination when they achieve something that advances wonder and imagination, why is it getting so arbritrary, why must it be contentious?!? If one is really intrigued by the ideas that come off of the genre science fiction and the contributions of so many, sure, there must have been crossovers of ideas down through times if not the ages....damn, goddamn, man.

By Flinxerone on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 07:38 am:

The 'bad' guys (businessmen and women, military men and women) is no cliche. That is a living reality. Please, do not lie and deceive.

By 3jsand1k on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 02:58 pm:

If you are addressing me in particular, not just a general point, then I'm neither lying nor deceiving. Yes there are evil people. I'm only speaking of a literary form when I speak of cliches. In point of fact, Cameron is a businessman. Arguably, because he has been successfully involved withe publishing industry so is ADF. I agree with you that science fiction is a wonderful means for exploring ideas. I would argue that in the present time, it may be the only means wherein a range of ideas can be explored.

By Marty on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 08:10 pm:

Got to see it in 3D, very impressive visuals. The story is pretty much Dances With Wolves on Midworld with bits of Sentenced to Prism (the ability of the life forms to plug into each other). Story overall is so weak, almost all the characters are strictly one dimensional, if he really worked on this for 10 years it doesn't say much for his writing ability. I have to wonder if he did this on purpose, it's an interesting switch that the story is cartoonish and the animated world seems so real. It's a fun ride though, at least in 3D, might not be as fun in 2D. Sort of like looking at pictures of the grand canyon for 3 hours vs. sitting at the rim for 3 hours...

By yacob on Sunday, January 03, 2010 - 09:00 am:

Enjoyed Avatar in 3D a few days ago. Could have used some Ewoks to liven it up though. Kidding of course ;-) Both Polyphemus and Midworld are fun places to visit, similar for the abundances of life but significantly different in enough ways (vs Endor also) that I won't belabor the comparisons. I think with Avatar Cameron has developed the technology and software needed to make a Midworld film and get it right. It would be an excellent reuse of the Avatar investment to make a Midworld film cost effectively. Certainly preferable in my book than making an Avatar sequel to recapture the development costs. I figure Avatar is just one or two sequels away from the slide into "Na'vi vs Predators". Also a good opportunity now to reprint Midworld and Sentenced to Prism to get them available to fans of Avatar. My main gripe with Avatar and Cameron's creativity (STOP READING NOW if you haven't seen the film yet), was that the ending seemed to be a rehash of Aliens. Where in Aliens we see a human-with-exoskeleton battling an alien. Avatar ended the same way, except this time the human-with-exoskeleton is the bad guy and the alien the good guy.

By Rembrant on Sunday, January 10, 2010 - 07:41 pm:

"the utter senselessness of war" This gratification watching the "good guy" blast the bad guy is just a reflection of the world. We all want peace but we want it our way. We mess with other governments until we get it our way or until it escalates to war. Every religion and government claims it is peaceful until someone crosses some line then they go to violence. So it is both a demonstration of anti war sentiment and a demonstration of when it is ok to go to war. As long as there are people willing to rob the corner 7-11 and threaten the life of the clerk for a couple hundred bucks there will be people willing to do it on a national level.

By jeff the sith on Friday, January 29, 2010 - 07:52 pm:

Honestly, I thought "Avatar" was one of the best films I've ever seen. I, too, thought of Pandora as a theif of Midworld. Yes, the story held no real twists and turns, but it was still one heckuva ride! I can read the same story from multiple writers and still enjoy their spin on it. A good yarn is a good yarn. Perhaps we've all become a bit jaded to the technology to truly appreciate the uniqueness of "Avatar." Just saying...

By John E on Monday, February 01, 2010 - 04:57 am:

I saw Avatar 30th Jan 2010. "slightly" related to "Midworld"!!!!!????? How about a total rip off of a fantastic book which should never have gone out of print. Nidworld should have been made into a film and accredited to ADF. Does Cameron expect people to miss the obvious? or is he just brushing it under the carpet as coincidence?

By Rembrant on Friday, March 12, 2010 - 12:21 pm:

Just saw it. Meh. 3D was cool. Was it 150% cooler? As in normal movie $9 vs 3D $14, not really. Plot? Meh. The whole evil empire ravages kindly natives thing is gettting old. Same deal with evil corporaton thing. The critters? Meh. The horse things, adding an extra set of legs and eyes didn't make them particularly exotic/alien to me. Flying mounts were pretty close to pterasaurs. Better than the horse things but still not great. The ground preditors looked alot like the demon from Hellboy. A number of critters had four eyes, six legs and breathed through openings in their upper torso yet the big blue guys didn't. They were pretty much human with a tail and a pony tail. The overall enviroment was like a super sized forrest with some reef life thrown in. Considering that the entire thing was CGI he could of been very creative with it and didn't. No new plot ideas and no new alien life ideas. Pretty much nothing new. This is not what Scifi should be. It was fun, it was pretty. That's about it. Was it a Midworld rip off? Maybe a little but not enough to hold up in court. On the upside it showed that the tech to make Midworld into a movie is out there. Should it be made? Considering Hollywoods track record with destroying great stories I would rather they didn't. Unless Mr Foster was totally in charge that is.

By strider1974 on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - 08:06 pm:

While I am big fan of Midworld and ADF in general, Midworld is not the only story to contain a forest on steroids. Have a look at Brian Aldiss's Hothouse which was published in 1962. Personally I found that while both stories contained some similar concepts they were very different books. As for Avatar, well apart from a giant tree it didn't feel at all like Midworld to me.

By Potawatomi13 on Monday, May 03, 2010 - 03:37 pm:

Oh Brother! Everyones a critic and can't seem to just enjoy something. I went hoping to enjoy the movie and I did. Immensely!! The natives were beautiful and I quickly fell for Neytiri. I saw at least 3 stories within the movie and was plenty disturbed by the evil corporate determination to have at any cost what belonged to somebody else already. While not looking for it I left even more environmentally concerned than I already was. Midworld was VASTLY different. With the MANY stories that have been written about big tree worlds how can there not be similarities to someone elses world? As for cliches; bring em on. Some are good for a laugh and some are just reminders of the retards in the world. Again I loved the movie without reservations. I paid enough to and I deserved to enjoy it.

By Marty on Tuesday, May 04, 2010 - 09:06 pm:

I haven't been able to watch it on my home theater without hitting the fast forward button a lot. But watching the blu-ray on my computer looking closely at all the details in the background the movie flies by in no time. This movie loses a lot if it doesn't fill your visual field of view. The guys at Rifftrax have an extremely funny commentary track for Avatar now. I picked up the blu-ray combo pack just because of it. With those guy joking around I can watch it over and over...