Why Avatar is a great film, but why it doesn't deserve Best Picture.

Avatar. Several words come to describe this movie; Beautiful, thrilling, emotional, but revolutionary isn't one. Avatar is a great movie and delivers what many movie goers want in a movie, action and adventure, a great villain, a struggle and love. But it didn't bring in anything revolutionary in any of this categories, in fact its almost made out of a mold, BUT WAIT!! The visuals DON'T forget those! No, I won't, in fact, the visuals is all that Avatar was about. The film featured a fantastic jungle, a brand new world, realistic characters and wondrous new(ish) 3D technology. Is it revolutionary? Kind of, why? I'll explain in a bit.

Story. Avatar features a story about group A trying to obtain something from Group B. Group A send Main Dude A in to learn and get to know Group B. Main Dude A falls in love with Group B and their Leader's Daughter. Group A uses excessive force on Group B. Main Dude A is considered a traitor to both Groups and helps Group B fight back (in an epic battle of will versus technology) and Win. Oh, by the way, Group B is less civilized and Group A.
I love this story, I grew up with Pocahontas… sorry, I loved Dances with Wolves… wait, hold on, I really enjoyed The Last Samurai… Ferngully was enjoyable... AVATAR, yes, I love it.
Well, when you put it that way, sure, but when you summarize like that, even Casablanca is just "another" movie. Sure, you could say that, but it's such a cookie cutter move, a lot more blatant than others, but there is still credit to the characters, even if they are a bit one dimensional. The evil general who's been through wars and wants only one thing, the neutral scientist who is in it for the science, the assistant so young and hopeful, but watches from the sidelines. The young brash hero who unexpectedly gets tangled up in the middle of all this… and I won't even get into the Na'Vi.
And since I'm already talking about the story, Main Dude A (Jake) has a twin brother who died… so he's the only one who can take over his avatar. OH, he's also crippled in the legs, so he's able to walk now, which is something I enjoyed wonderfully. Although one of the cheap shots to my intelligence was the precious item Group A is after: Unobtainium. I kid you not.

Visuals. I'm not gonna lie. The most impressive visuals in a movie that I've seen in my short life here on earth. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan, but that's a personal thing. Now, James Cameron worked about 10 years on the visuals and technology for this movie, and about 2 weeks on the story (it took me 5 minutes to explain it). A lush and beautiful jungle with mountains. A futuristic military base with robots, beautiful new animals and creatures, combine all of that to create one climactic and wondrously fantastic last fight. Each leaf and plant and piece of flora in the film is greatly detailed, the character textures and details. The actors didn't provide just voices, but also their faces and emotions.
It is precisely because of this attention to detail that Avatar was nominated for and won the Awards for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Visual Effects. It won what it deserves, because it did those things best.

Technology. Now Avatar featured new technology, specifically 3D technology. James Cameron waited so long for the technology to come around because the film needed it, and it was worth the wait. It was wonderful use of it too, rather than use if for the gimmick of throwing crap in your face, it was used to illustrate and involve you further into this wonderful new world. Mechs (giant robots) weren't flat, but were moving and realistic, the fauna of Pandora was alive and dangerous.
The reason I said it was kind of revolutionary is because of this simple fact. 10 years. It took ten years to create this movie. It's not practical in todays society to dedicate ten years on a film that might not be a hit. But that's just the first attempt at the technology, but there's also the money factor, this is expensive technology and its also money that not every studio can afford to risk. Today it is an awesome and new technology, but it won't revolutionize the film making industry until several more years into the future.

Overall, Avatar is a great film if you're not looking for a brand new story. It delivers action, thrills, love and a fantastic journey of self-discovery. Also, remember that Avatar was nominated for 9 awards, winning three, 1 taken by Up (Original Score), and 5 taken by the film The Hurt Locker (which I highly recommend everybody watch).

Best Picture. Okay, you bashed its story and praised its visuals, but you haven't even noted that it is the new record holder for the highest grossing film of all time. True, but you have to remember that IMax screening, 3D screening (and cost of glasses) as well as 3D IMax screenings are more expensive than normal screenings. I'm not saying it doesn't deserve the record, but you should factor that in, ANYWAYS!! The academy awards films for being what films are: a story telling medium. Avatar's story is good, but good isn't enough. The characters are mostly flat and one directional and the movie is predictable. A movie needs to present a story that emotionally impacts the viewer, a story worth sacrificing 2 hours of your day. I don't think Avatar quite reached that standard in its story, even if its presentation was great. That is why Avatar doesn't win best picture, because it's like a cheerleader, pretty to look at, but not much depth.