James Cameron's Avatar has been in theatres for about a month now, and has already astonished audiences and is well on its way to becoming the highest grossing film of all time. Will it finally be the film to out gross Cameron's previous blockbuster and highest grossing film of all time, Titanic? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing for sure, Avatar is definitely a monumental film for one reason or another.The film takes place in the 22nd century on the distant world of Pandora, a lush forest planet crawling with life. The planet is inhabited by a species known as the Na'vi, blue skinned feline-like humanoids standing at nine feet tall. They live in harmony with nature, worshipping their mother Goddess, Enya. When the RDA corporation from Earth makes their way to Pandora, they set their sights on mining the world for valuable minerals, but the Na'vi refuse allow such an action. In order to negotiate with the Na'vi, the RDA authorizes the Avatar program, headed by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), which involves growing a Na'vi body with no conscious that could be mentally controlled by a genetically-linked human. The human-controlled Na'vi avatars could then infiltrate the tribe and negotiate terms to move and allow the RDA to mine the land.
Three volunteers control the avatars, Dr. Augustine, biologist Norm Spellman (Joel Moore), and paraplegic marine Jack Sully (Sam Worthington). Sully volunteered for the program under the agreement from military 
Colonel Miles Quaritch, that after completing the assignment, Sully would receive surgery to fix his paralysis. After a few missions in the avatar, Sully is nearly is killed by some of Pandora's local wildlife, but is rescued by Neytiri, a female Na'vi and member of the local tribe known as the Omaticaya. After being introduced to the tribe, the elders agree to make Jake a member, and assign Neytiri to teach him the ways and methods of their species. Jake then begins to grow attached to the Omaticaya and their ways, but increasing pressure from the RDA and military create tension between humans the Na'vi.
Colonel Miles Quaritch, that after completing the assignment, Sully would receive surgery to fix his paralysis. After a few missions in the avatar, Sully is nearly is killed by some of Pandora's local wildlife, but is rescued by Neytiri, a female Na'vi and member of the local tribe known as the Omaticaya. After being introduced to the tribe, the elders agree to make Jake a member, and assign Neytiri to teach him the ways and methods of their species. Jake then begins to grow attached to the Omaticaya and their ways, but increasing pressure from the RDA and military create tension between humans the Na'vi. So, what is there to say about Avatar? Well, I'll start off with something that everyone has already been saying... This is by far, one of the nicest looking films I have ever seen. In today's age of movies and blockbusters, cgi is all-too-familiar. You see it everywhere in films these days, sometimes its impressive and sometimes its so fake looking that it can ruin the film. Audiences have become very critical of CG too. When it was first used on a massive scale in films like Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, or Independence Day, audiences were wowed by the photo realistic look the cgi provided. Of course, as time went on, and cgi went from a novelty to a cliche, audiences were less than impressed, especially when filmmakers began putting less effort into the effects. So with an onslaught of cgi-laden blockbusters and more critical film goers, it takes a truly impressive film to amaze audiences. So, with all that in mind, Avatar seriously has some of the most amazing cgi and digital motion capture I've ever seen.
Its a little premature to call Avatar's cgi THE best, but its definitely in the Top 5. The character animations alone are incredible. The motion capture convey the actors' facial expressions and emotions to a point that I often forgot they were a digital effect. The world of Pandora was brought to life in glorious fashion via the amazing effects team as well. The planet seems so familiar yet it feels so different at the same time. The creatures were all very creative and usually incredible to watch. On top of all that, you have some absolutely gorgeous cinematography and thrilling action sequences. I've never said this about a film before, but I seriously recommend seeing this movie in 3D. I've generally considered 3D a bit of a gimmick. It wasn't until recently, with the innovation of digital 3D, that the technology progressed enough to rise above the "gimmicky" level. Between the camerawork, photo realistic cg and immersive 3D effects, this was one of the few films that I honestly felt like I was actually in the movie. On top of that, you got some solid performances from a good cast and a creative musical score. Avatar really has a lot going for it, and will likely stand the test of time as one of the best-looking movies ever made.
Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad, and I didn't have to look far to find fault in Avatar. Cameron has established himself time and time again as an impressive visionary, but a v
ery mediocre storyteller. Sure, some of his movies have decent writing, but Avatar is not one of them. Its not the worst script I've ever seen, but a lot of the movie falls into the category of generic, bland, or too familiar. First off, most of the characters are about as generic as you can get. For instance, Stephen Lang's character, Colonel Quaritch, feels like just another stereotypical military general. He's mean, loud, over-the-top and cares more about himself and kicking ass than he does about others. Its not that Lang's acting was bad or anything, on the contrary I thought he did a fine performance, its just that we've seen that persona so many times, they might as well have named his character, Generic Military Official #37. I think the same can be said for pretty much everyone in the movie. The Na'vi again were cool to look at (SO AWESOME!) but despite their incredible appearance, even their personalities felt a bit too familiar.
ery mediocre storyteller. Sure, some of his movies have decent writing, but Avatar is not one of them. Its not the worst script I've ever seen, but a lot of the movie falls into the category of generic, bland, or too familiar. First off, most of the characters are about as generic as you can get. For instance, Stephen Lang's character, Colonel Quaritch, feels like just another stereotypical military general. He's mean, loud, over-the-top and cares more about himself and kicking ass than he does about others. Its not that Lang's acting was bad or anything, on the contrary I thought he did a fine performance, its just that we've seen that persona so many times, they might as well have named his character, Generic Military Official #37. I think the same can be said for pretty much everyone in the movie. The Na'vi again were cool to look at (SO AWESOME!) but despite their incredible appearance, even their personalities felt a bit too familiar. As everyone and their Grandmother has already stated, Avatar practically forces down environmental messages down your throat. Don't get me wrong, I strongly encourage environmental awareness, in fact you could probably call me an environmentalist of sorts. Its just when films begin to come off as preachy that it gets a little frustrating. That is a relatively minor gripe, but something worth noting. Lastly, the story was just waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too predictable. There were no surprises, twists, or turns anywhere in the movie that I didn't see coming from a mile away. I didn't watch any trailers for the movie, didn't even see too many TV commercials, so I had the luxury of going into this movie with little knowledge of what I would expect. Unfortunately, 15 minutes into it, I could see exactly where it was going. It was not just the ending either. Every plot point, development, or attempted turn is incredibly predictable. I won't spoil anything, but rather just say, don't go in expecting any great leaps in storytelling.
The lack of story is a bit disappointing for a few reasons. First off, this movie had been in development for about 
10 years, so its hard to understand why Cameron or his writers could not come up with more clever writing. I know they spent a lot of time working on the look of the movie, but if they put just a little more effort into the movie, this could have easily been a 5-star movie. My last little gripe is that I feel like the only way to get the full Avatar experience would be seeing this movie in theatres in 3D. So, watching this at home definitely would not be the same. That being said, I will definitely be buying this movie on Blu Ray. I would even consider upgrading my home theatre set up just for this movie alone.
10 years, so its hard to understand why Cameron or his writers could not come up with more clever writing. I know they spent a lot of time working on the look of the movie, but if they put just a little more effort into the movie, this could have easily been a 5-star movie. My last little gripe is that I feel like the only way to get the full Avatar experience would be seeing this movie in theatres in 3D. So, watching this at home definitely would not be the same. That being said, I will definitely be buying this movie on Blu Ray. I would even consider upgrading my home theatre set up just for this movie alone. So overall, is Avatar a good movie? In short... YES! Like I said, the script isn't likely to win any screenplay awards, but the overall look and feel of the movie more than makes it worth the price of a movie ticket. Come time for the Academy Awards, this movie will be a shoe-in for the Best Visual Effects award and should stand a good chance of winning most of the other technical achievements like SFX or cinematography. Go See It!!!
My Review: 4 Stars out of 5!!!
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