Sometimes Cliches Are Awesome

So I watched Avatar last night when I couldn't sleep. Man, is that a long movie. I heard a lot of things about that movie, mostly comments of derision about how similar it was to a plethora of movies. Having seen it, I can agree with a few of these comparisons:

-It is Dances With Wolves, except in space.

-It is Pocahontas, except in space.

-It is Atlantis, except in space.

And I liked it. Yes, it was cliche and the ending was predictable, but it was predictable in that the story line followed a natural order of progression in a way that I happened to be able to anticipate. So that's okay. And really, why is it such a scandal to make a movie that is similar to other stories? All fiction exaggerates the human experience so that the audience can see things from a different perspective. That's why fantasy is all one big cliche copied from Lord of the Rings. But we don't criticize new authors or screenwriters for writing a new version of Cinderella or whatever (well, we do, but they keep writing them anyway). And you know what? Ella Enchanted was great!

So yes, Avatar was yet one more version of true love for two impossible characters (except in space), but it was a new variation of the same story that has been around since before Romeo and Juliet and that will never ever die. And so I say, good job, James Cameron, for only putting a hint of non-pushy environmentalism in your story and keeping your screwed-up politics out of the story line. I appreciated your effort. And I appreciated the cliche.