The big hitters in the Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards are The Hurt Locker and Avatar, and everyone is holding their breath. Why? Let us count the factors.
Avatar and The Hurt Locker are on opposite sides of the spectrum. The Hurt Locker’s total box office gross was $18.6 million. Avatar’s national gross thus far has been 706.9 million. While Avatar has gotten reviews that range from mediocre to great, The Hurt Locker has had stellar reviews across the board. Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow might actually be the first woman to win Best Director. Ever. It’s the last major category that is still a boys’ club. Then there’s the fact that Kathryn Bigelow used to be married to James Cameron. (Talk about awkward.) The Hurt Locker is exactly the kind of film the Academy loves, but the Academy also loves James Cameron. Let us not forget that Titanic is in a three-way tie for most Academy Awards ever (11) with Lord of The Rings: Return of the King and Ben Hur. Then again, for the first time in Academy history the number of Best Picture nominees was raised from five to ten, so it is possible that a Crash-style upset from one of the other eight nominated films (most likely Inglorious Basterds) might occur.
But let’s take a step back. What do I actually think about Avatar?
Generally, I avoid seeing movies that are as hyped up as Avatar until after they have been released on DVD and the hype has subsided. However, my friends and I decided to trek to the Hampshire Mall one January night for my best friend’s birthday to see Avatar in 3-D. Visually, Avatar is the most stunning movie I have seen in quite some time. Team Cameron deserves all the credit they can get for visual effects. The scene that did it for me was when Neytiri (Zoe Saladana), a character who is 100 percent CGI, cradles Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), 100 percent human, in her arms. The line between what was real and what wasn’t was completely gone. While the acting was good and the music was hauntingly beautiful, what bothered me about Avatar was the story.
If you’ve seen Pocahontas, if you’ve seen Fern Gully, you’ve seen Avatar. The story was unoriginal, to the extent that every plot point was predictable. Don’t get me wrong, Avatar enthusiasts—I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy every minute of it. But is it really fair to give the highest award to a movie that is every other anti-imperialist movie you’ve ever seen (plus super cool blue people)?
We’ll find out Sunday. Avatar and The Hurt Locker are competing head to head, each with nine Academy Award nominations.
Related posts:
- What are the odds? Predicting the Best Picture winners
- Kathryn Bigelow for the directorial win?
- Oscar who? A clueless look at four of the Best Picture nominees
- A&E Pick of the Day: 10 Questions for James Cameron
- Not everyone is Oscar crazed
