10 Reasons You're Wrong About Avatar

Many of Avatar's critics seem to be under the impression that James Cameron lost his way a bit with the movie and didn't really know what he was doing.

Yet just as with Titanic, the director's goal here was always to craft a broad, democratic cinematic spectacle that would get as many eyes on it as possible. After all, how many filmmakers have ever been allowed to make a $250 million tree-hugging epic?

He was never trying to make Blade Runner 2049: he wanted an easily understood movie that would resonate across cultural barriers and remind everyone that humans need to work together to preserve the planet.

Yes, it has cartoonish and stock elements, but when we look around us, are the cackling, hammy villains really that much of a stretch? And in a world ravaged by unsustainable climate issues, is it really a problem that Cameron's movie bears its bleeding heart on its sleeve?

By wrapping his urgent message around both a simple narrative and all those eye-watering visuals, it's felt that much deeper. While Avatar clearly didn't save Earth, its world-uniting plea for change is likely a big part of the reason why it turned out so successful.