Like the feeling after eating too much Christmas turkey I  have been experiencing a bout of post Avatar guilt. Don’t get me wrong the verdicts in, Avatar is huge it’s going to be either the first or second best selling film of all time. But the box office take doesn’t tell the full story. It’s good but not great. As the first of the new wave of 3D Imax specials it’s a must see. As a film it’s not even close to Cameron’s best work.

The Industry specifically Fox bet big on Avatar. With a budget rumored to be $300M plus and a huge media blitz this was no ordinary blockbuster.

Ostensibly this was about pushing back the boundaries of film, redefining and improving the cinema experience for a new generation.

I enjoyed the ride but couldn’t help feeling the film was another blow to cinema’s dwindling legitimacy as an art form and cultural force.

Both the huge budget and the media push were given to Cameron for a reason. Avatar is an attempt by the studios to demonstrate a new model. In short it’s an expensive but profitable exercise in market differentiation.

The modern studio mantra is:put the money on the screen. It’s about shallow, flashy, replicable, franchisable product. Transformers not the Godfather. Although willing to rake in the cash produced by Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity the studios are deathly afraid of the lack of control these films signify.

Improvements in film making and editing technology have put the cinema screen and more worryingly for the studios the dvd platform in reach of film makers everywhere. Well told stories with talented but unknown actors such as Paranormal Activity or lovingly crafted projects like Panic Attack show that the starstudded special effects laden blockbuster isn’t the safe haven it once was.

No current mainstream studio is confident enough to compete on story and character as evidenced by the recent swathing cutbacks in independent film arms. They view  their unique selling point as blockbuster releases and this is where they put their money when under pressure. So with the studios having a virtual stanglehold on cinema outlets and the onrush of 3D TV this year,the 3D platform is seen as a possible answer. Avatar a proof of concept.

No independet filmmaker will be able to complete with Avatar and it’s ilk for years to come. If the studio’s can establish this kind of product as the benchmark for a cinema experience the independent filmmakers will continue to wander in the wilderness despite recent advances in tech.

Avatar’s characters though well played are not well developed. The film lacks depth, some of the dialogue is leaden and despite the hype the 3D adds very little to the story. Avatar is an enjoyable roller-coaster of a film with a cookie-cutter plot.

In a way it’s the failures as much as the showy successes that score for the studios. It’s the very mediocrity of plot and lack of directorial bite that deliver what the studios want, a repeatable model for big budget blockbuster success.

Avatar is a lesser work from an extremely good director that may just help studios retain control of their industry and subsequently the soul of cinema. As a confirmed filmophile I for one hope I’m wrong.