Geeks on Film: Does Avatar Deserve to win Best Picture?

With Avatar winning best director and best picture in the Golden Globes recently people are starting to speculate a second Oscar for Cameron and his tale from Pandora. Needless to say the Academy still hasn’t forgotten the last time they let Cameron on the stage, which strangely might be the only thing keeping him off this  of it this year. But really Academy Best Picture for Avatar? I can see a Best Director nod for the world and technology Cameron created for this film, but don’t get me wrong Best Picture is a bit much.  Before you start to think I am riding high and mighty on the Avatar backlash band wagon, I am still an Avatar fanboy in the worst way: I have the Toys, I have seen the film in both 3D formats available and I have an Avatar poster over my desk at work, but even though I have drank the Cameron Kool-aide I think if we give Avatar Best Picture we are taking things a bit too far and lying to ourselves.

Why you ask do I feel this way? Because I as much as I love Avatar, I do see the issues many people have with the story aspect of the film. Look, Avatar may be one of the most mind-blowing visual spectacles ever put to film but Cameron made a lot of sacrifices story-wise to make that happen, sometimes I think he made too many.  I think this really came to light for me when Fox put the uncut script up for download for free, (which was a great move by the studio if you ask me) there was quite a few things cut out of the film sex, drugs and animal leg implants; that might have alienated or just weirded out an audience member or two – that was cut out to keep Avatar as warm and cuddly and playable to the largest audience possible.  Which I think really hurt the film because it honestly has no real edge and complexity to it; and it maybe thought provoking but does so in a very politically correct and non-judgmental way. That is why it can’t win for Best Picture and why is sat at number #2 on my list.

But on the other side of that coin I think the Academy wouldn’t mind the viewership that having Avatar on the bill would bring even it if doesn’t win, after all if no watches the Oscars what leverage do they really have in our society? I also think last year’s winner Slumdog Millionaire showed us that they are not afraid to take one for the team if you will letting less than stellar films win, to get those ratings up. Remember when Lord of the Rings fans would tune in year after year hoping Peter Jackson would finally get his due? And the fact the he won for Return of the King always puzzled me because Fellowship was a much better picture, but people still watched hoping year after year and if that wasn’t a play on ratings; waiting till the last film had come out I don’t know what is. But just letting Avatar come into the race for Best Picture discredits the Academy and takes away what little respect I still hold for the Oscars because, it would be nothing but a shameless ratings ploy for all the Avatards of the world. (which I proudly count myself) Then if Avatar won for best picture would Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves get an honorary mention? Or how about this Avatar could get a Navi extra large Oscar and Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves the can have little people sized ones as well, like Snow White.

I mean here is the real irony Cameron himself recognizes that his own story may not be the most original thing on the face of the planet and Avatar never set out to be a great film but a great experience, which it is and has proved that. But almost all of Avatar’s box-office is mostly from 3D and 3D-Imax ticket sales, and the film has actually been quietly pulled from 2D theaters where is was just a back up date if the 3D and Imax were full. Jim Cameron can and should win Best Director because now every CG and 3D film is going to have to take the Book of Cameron to task when working on a film that has any CG characters or wish to use 3D they way it was mean to be. Which is why I still wonder how it’s going to sell when it hits DVD and Blu-ray because your going to get a piss-poor representation of what you saw in the theater but we will talk about that another day. But Best Picture I think not.

Avatar's only problem is the story. As you can see here.