RATING: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I have to say right up front that I loved this movie. I’ll layout some rationale, some caveats, and such in this review, but all in all, it is simply a damn, fine flick. I do not believe it is going to change movies forever, but I think it has set a new standard for technical achievement in films that others will be striving to catch or break. It is a fun, entertaining adventure that happens to look STUNNING and that is exactly what I expect from James Cameron.
Note there will be some minor plot discussion below, so please stop reading if you want to see it unspoiled…
There has been much said regarding this flick basically being “Dances with Wolves” with Aliens and that is fairly well true. It follows a similar formula, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. In simplest terms, the Earth has been bled dry and humanity has taken to the stars to find resources that it needs. One such location is the moon Pandora which has an indiginous population known as the Na’vi. Jake (a human marine) is in the avatar program which allows a human to transfer conciousness into a hybrid human/Na’vi hybrid. Their sole goal is to convince/force the Na’vi to work with humanity/get out of the way of humanity so that a rare mineral can be mined. Things obviously grow from there and I’m leaving out a lot, but that is the beginning in a nutshell.
It is important to remember that the main draw of the movie is that it is a tour de force from a technological perspective. It is beautiful and engaging and awe-inspiring. Thankfully, Cameron knew to not overload the story/plot. There is just enough to feel compelling, but this is no weighty psychological drama. The story exists as part of the whole, but it is only a part. Make no mistake, you’re on a roller coaster for the entire 2hr 42min runtime. The story was interesting and kept my attention, but it has issues. If you are strongly opposed to films with strongly ecological/environmental messages/viewpoints, to the Gaia concept, or to presentations of military/corporate interests as antagonists or as evil, then likely you will be either bored or completely put off by these overarching concepts. I didn’t find this overwhelming, but obviously some will. I felt the acting was reasonably competent and the dialog felt appropriate to me, but I have read reviews that trashed both. None of it is mind blowing, but I personally thought that Sam Worthington did a terrific job as Jake Sully. Once again, everything is a supporting actor to the star of the show, the amazing visuals. At the end of the day, everything seemed to exist to create a fun, but extremely beautiful and expensive ride. I found myself enjoying the story, but truly enthralled with the visuals. YOU NEED TO SEE THIS IN 3D! The 3D is not overwhelming and the subtle added depth really does make the film even more compelling. This is like when CG effects were first used in a way that was more en-grained and less obtrusive. For the first time, I saw a movie in 3D and thought damn…that was totally worth the added cost and inconvenience of cheap glasses.
All in all, I’m thrilled to have seen it and I’m going to see it again in 2D because I want to see it again and I’d like to contrast the 2D vs. 3D experience. This is an extremely fun movie and a joy to watch. I think Cameron set a new standard for CG effects and I was in awe at what he accomplished…