Avatar.

No, not the hit Nickelodeon animated series turned into a failure of a movie by M. Night Shymalan (the less said about that, the better). No, when I say Avatar I speak of James Cameron's blue aliens. I mean the movie that, with brilliant use of CGI, created breathtakingly beautiful scenery and people who were once mistaken for giant Smurfs (a comparison I only wish were true -- a Smurfs movie is coming 2011). I mean Disney's Pocahontas... in space (thank you Ashley Farrell, though you're not the first to say so).

Avatar is constantly referred to (in it's over 9000 commercials) as the "biggest movie of all time," and there's no denying that it's been a HUGE success, both critically and commercially. Though it's certainly a triumph of style over substance, of the visual medium over the important things like "story" and "character development" (as are many other fantastical epics -- Conan the Barbarian, anyone?), there's no denying the huge impact it has made on popular culture already, not even a year since it's original release.

Star Wars.

When I say that, there are a number of things that could come to mind -- all of them under the same banner, the same saga. The original films, the special editions, the prequels, the animated series (plural), the Extended Universe books, games, and comics, the *gag* Christmas special. If there is any series that had an impact on the way the world sees science-fiction, it is Star Wars (sorry, Trekkies -- no disrespect).

The reason both were brought up is that recently there have been people making comparisons between the two-- specifically, stating that Avatar is or will be this generation's Star Wars.

To those devoted to the Star Wars faith, or even those who see Avatar as the overrated self-indulgent film that it is, this is blasphemy of the worst kind. Though personally I found the idea intriguing, most people are finding it to be... untrue, put kindly.

But why?

Well of course there are the differences, age being one of the most obvious. While Avatar has not even been out a year, Star Wars has been in existence for over 30 -- more than enough time to allow a classic status to have taken hold. And while the blue-man movie only has 150 minutes to its name, Star Wars has two entire trilogies, several side-story movies, dozens of books and games to its name. In terms of story? Forget about it -- Avatar is probably the farthest from Star Wars sci-fi can get.

But the similarities? Some people seem to forget about those. Whoops.

Forget that both had some gaping holes in their stories and moments of weak characterization -- that's too easy. And it's a given that both are sci-fi epics with devoted fan bases. But that both James Cameron and George Lucas have taken influences from all around and mixed them together to create these worlds is pretty big. Both movies have had successful re-releases (well, Avatar is ABOUT to have a re-release). Both Star Wars and Avatar mix the futuristic, the mechanical and the natural. And if there's a conflict between them... nature wins, in the end (Return of the Jedi had the Ewoks, Avatar has its Na'vi).

Worth noting is that while Avatar was released in both 2D AND 3D, Star Wars has only been released in 2D.... but rumors of a final, ultimate 3D release have been around for Lord knows how long. Take this as you will.

Similarities and differences aside, what determines if a movie is a classic is if it has a lasting influence in its field of entertainment, if it has a lasting impact on pop culture -- if it captures an audience's imagination. And for every bit of success Avatar has had, for all the innovations in its CGI technology, there have been critics and haters with numerous reasons of complaint. This is nothing new -- even classics like Star Wars, for all the innovation and success, have their share. It's certainly not a bad thing; if anything, it lets you touch the untouchable. It makes its mystique less impressive. It proves that it is but a human creation, with human-made flaws.

Needless to say, it's far too early to determine if Avatar has the longevity required to truly be this generation's Star Wars -- in fact, if it weren't for the re-release, some people might have forgotten about Avatar's existence. The comparison just happened to cross my ears and capture my attention when I heard, in passing, a father relating his own experience to his son's excitement. But don't let that stop you -- if you feel strongly about this, then by all means express yourself! I'd love nothing more!