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Avatar: Story Done Right. : Clif Armstrong

31 December 2009 No Comment

Say whatever crazy thing about James Cameron you want to, but he sure knows how to put a story together. By now, you’ve heard that Avatar has shattered box office records and wowed audiences from all over the place. From the luminescent forests of Pandora to the tech metal clanking of mechs, every detail of Avatar has been graced with the latest CGI, talent, computer design, photo realistic and motion capture, experience that we’ve ever seen. In other words, Avatar would fail if it didn’t have a good story to back it up.

There are several movies that are arguably bad while pouring advertising dollars into showcasing their CGI muscle. Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith, Final Fantasy Spirits Within, Transformers… and while each movie made their advancements on the technology side of things, they fell flat because they didn’t have a solid story.

Camera followed the same Three Story Act structure that captivates us always.

Act 1 - Establish Conflict

Act 2 - The Conflict

Act 3 - Conflict Resolved.

This next thing isn’t really a spoiler alert. I don’t say anything about the details of Avatar, but the story falls into the three act structure.

Act 1 - Human’s and the Navi both have goals.

Act 2 - Only one can accomplish their goal. (Conflict Establish)

Act 3 - Resolution, there’s a final battle between the Navi and the Humans.

Every story can be broken down in to it’s components and when we break down Avatar into it’s components, we can see that Avatar is a classic story show in a new light.

While Avatar brought us in to a world that is completely beyond imagination, for us (as the audience) it still has to have a good story in order for it to be a good movie. There’s a saying in the film world and as the story goes, “Every story has been told.” Avatar is no different. The difference that Avatar has giving us is now there are no limits to what our imagination can dream up. Every story that is ever possible can now be told and be made into a film. Any imagination or dream can become a film. That’s the gift that James Cameran has giving us. But this would not have been possible without a the telling of a great and classic story.