Parents Television Council Reviews

PTC reviews aim to provide you with advance information about an entertainment offering so that you can be the final arbiter of what you and your family see.

In the year 2154, an Earth corporation is mining an energy-producing ore found on the planet Pandora. Pandora’s natives, the tribal Na’vi, resent and resist mankind’s exploitative presence. To befriend and study the Na’vi, human scientists have created alien-looking bodies, or “avatars,” which are inhabited by human minds. Crippled Marine Jake Sully is embodied in an “avatar” as part of a mission to discover the Na’vi’s weaknesses and gain their trust; but as he comes to understand Na’vi culture and life on Pandora, Sully finds his sympathies beginning to change…

Language is perhaps the largest concern for parents in Avatar, with nearly non-stop use of profanity-laced speech when the human characters are shown (the Na’vi speak in a more elevated and formal manner). Avatar is also characterized, especially in its latter half, by tremendous amounts of violence, as humans make war on the native Na’vi. This involves everything from Na’vi firing arrows and throwing spears at humans, to humans massacring Na’vi with machine guns, missiles, bombs and flamethrowers, destroying their sacred lands and blowing apart the tree in which the tribe makes its home. Massive death is implied and many deaths are seen, though none are gory.  There are also scenes of humans and Na’vi being attacked by the many alien animals which inhabit Pandora. Sex in the film is limited to kissing, one scene in which Sully and his Na’vi wife are “mated for life” (the female is shown straddling Sully’s lap, but no nudity is seen); and one humorous reference to masturbation: inhabiting his new “avatar” body, Sully examines the body’s hair braid; his co-worker tells him, “if you keep playing with that, you’ll go blind.” The human corporate officers and soldiers view the Na’vi as primitive, calling them “tree monkeys” and similar derogatory nicknames, and being perfectly willing to massacre as many as necessary to further human exploitation of Pandora.

Avatar represents an impressive step forward in visual effects technology, particularly in “motion-capture” techniques previously seen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy; but the film’s familiar story, despite several lessons about respecting nature and the rights of indigenous peoples, is dominated by war-time violence and a profusion of foul language. Due to the film’s violence and profanity, the Parents Television Council does not recommend Avatar for viewers under age 17.

Family Movie Reviews

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org

Have you seen this movie? Comment on this review, Click here!