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We don’t need more ‘Avatar’ movies

James Cameron on the set of his multi-billion dollar film “Avatar” (Courtesy of 20th Century Fox)

Owen Johnson
Connector Staff

James Cameron, the director of “Avatar” and “Titanic,” announced earlier this month that there were going to be sequels to his 2009 science fiction blockbuster “Avatar.” Four sequels, to be exact.

Unlike a lot of grandiose movie franchise ideas or cinematic universe plans, this is one where I am not going to give a cynical thought to whether or not it can be pulled off. James Cameron is not some hack director that just throws everything he has out there and hopes that something works. He is crafty and uses his ingenuity to accomplish what he sets out to do. Cameron definitely has everything planned out and knows how to continue the story and where to take it.

From a creative angle, I don’t see any problem with the idea of more “Avatar” movies. The problems arise from elsewhere.

The original “Avatar” from 2009 is a standalone movie, and a fairly formulaic one at that. A more advanced and sophisticated group comes to a place with a more primitive population. The advanced group has an evil agenda, which creates tension between the two groups. Then, the primitive group strikes back and succeeds at driving away the advanced group. It’s an open and shut narrative with no loose ends to cover and a no character arcs left open-ended.

Now, Cameron has no problem with making sequels. Two of his movies, “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” are considered some of the best sequels ever made. Also, both of those movies were the sequels to movies that could have stood on their own. The difference is that Cameron found tiny bits that could have expanded upon from “Terminator” and “Alien.” At the end of “Terminator,” Skynet is still going to happen. At the end of “Alien,” Ripley is left floating through space. There were still aspects that could be explored. With “Avatar,” everything seems so nicely wrapped up and with nothing left for there to even be the need for any sequels.

Another issue is what people loved about the first “Avatar.” There are definitely people out there who were interested in the story and liked the characters, but that’s not why it was so popular. The special effects and the 3D are what caught most people’s attention when they decided to go see it. At the time, it was the quintessential 3D movie-going experience. The 3D was the primary takeaway from “Avatar;” the story and characters were not. With that in mind, it is logical that if the 3D was the driving force behind so many people seeing the first one, it will most likely bore people when it comes time to see the sequels.

A single sequel to “Avatar” is a bad idea, let alone four. With nowhere to take the story to and the tired gimmick of 3D being what made the first one popular, there isn’t anything left to do. I trust that James Cameron is doing this because he has an interest in the world he created, but he should focus on other projects that have potential instead of projects that have no reason to exist.

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