Avatar (2009)

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Michelle Rodriguez

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: What? It's a 2009 movie and there's no tagline? WTF?

Plot: A paraplegic marine dispatched to the planet Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.

My Rating: 7.5
UPDATE 3/2/13 - My rating: 8/10


Would I watch it again? Probably, but only in 3D

Well, it's finally arrived. After all these years of hearing about James Cameron's "game changing" CGI, 3D extravaganza, it's here. Now, it's BECAUSE of the eons of hype that it's not the home run I was hoping for but it was rather good despite some minor story/dialogue/cliche issues. The CGI is consistently the best I've seen and the 3D presentation was outstanding, avoiding the obvious gimmicks often found in 3D films.


So. Where to start...the good. The world of Pandora is absolutely beautiful, the vegetation, that is. The plant life is wonderful. There's a ton of neon colors in the various forms of plants and animals. If you can imagine a forest that's the "Las Vegas" of the Amazon then you're almost there. The CGI animals, while interesting, don't fare as well. It's getting old these fantasy creatures that are "smooth and rounded" if you know what I mean. Cameron's are better than most. I'll give him that much but it doesn't feel as if he's done an awful lot that's different than what's come before.


As for the rest of the CGI in the film, it's marvelous. There wasn't a single shot in the TWO HOUR AND FORTY MINUTE PICTURE (!!! Ouch, my butt) that was sloppy. AVATAR is a marvel in this respect. Prepare to have your eyeballs massaged.

There's been a lot of talk about how the story is predictable. So fucking what? I love roller coasters. Most of them are pretty much the same. Some are fun and some are FUCKING AWESOME! Sure, I like films that try to offer something different but in this post-SIXTH SENSE/M. Night world, it's getting more and more difficult. Modern audiences are, in some ways, a bit harder to please. This isn't to say, "Go see this for the special effects." I'm not that kind of movie goer. When people tell me to see TRANSFORMERS for the amazing special effects (because, apparently there's shit for story), I stay away. I'll wait to see great effects in a good movie, thank you.

The indigenous people of the moon, Pandora, the Na'vi, are neat and all but they're too familiar to us humans. Picture 10 foot tall, anorexic, blue American Indians and you've nailed it. In many ways they behave like Indians that we've seen in the movies. In this respect the Na'vi were a let down. I did like how everything on the moon was 'connected'. The ends of the Na'vi's ponytails can latch onto animals and plants giving them the ability to become 'one' with nature. That was a cool concept that I really appreciated.


Some complaints I have are the tiny bits of cliches and one-liners Cameron tosses in that could have easily been excised. There are some giant plot holes that you have to overlook like the "Company's" discovery of the ore they're mining that's at the center of the Na'vi's most religious spot. The idea is if the Na'vi don't move, they will be killed. Surely there's more of that shit somewhere else on this huge-as moon, in that high of a concentration, than here. And because of the importance of this location to the Na'vi, you get the impression that these are the only ones of their kind on the moon. I kept wondering where the others were. We do discover there are many more but only prior to the big battle at the end...when it conveniently serves the story. WTF?

That's OK 'cause the love scene was handled nicely.


The acting was fine. It was fun seeing Sigourney Weaver back in a sci-fi flick. Wothington's OK but rather bland which reminds me of his rather bland acting in TERMINATOR: SALVATION. Rodriguez was pretty good. I LOATHED her performance in TV's LOST. She was fucking horrible in that show and her SPOILERS death END OF SPOILERS in LOST was most welcome. In this one she's a lot like Vasquez in ALIENS. The standout performance for me was Lang as the tough-as-nails Col. Quaritch. He's the badass villain of the picture and he needs his own franchise.


Cameron does get a bit preachy in a couple of spots and he sometimes interjects his politics which lessens the impact. It is possible, you know, to get your point across without beating you over the head with it. In AVATAR it's minor but it's still there and obvious.

The 3D is fucking awesome! I loved it. It's a huge plus in seeing this picture. It truly adds to the enjoyment of the film. It's not in your face like some films get when they're in 3D. I don't recall any "hey look, there's shit right in front of my face that I can reach out and grab" moments which was refreshing. Now I digs me some moments like that but in AVATAR it was more about immersing you into the environment than showing-off the gimmick. WAY COOL!

Overall, it's a great ride. James Cameron puts every nickel of the estimated $230 million budget on the screen. While it's easy to see that he spent more time on the look of the film than the internal story, it doesn't matter that much because if you're buying that ticket to be entertained, you'll certainly feel like you got your money's worth.

ALIENS this ain't! THE TERMINATOR this ain't. But it's leagues better than INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008).

Wait! Almost forgot. Cameron has tried to catch lightning in a bottle again with a hit pop song at the end of the film ala Celine Dion and TITANIC. It's not nearly catchy and timeless but it does have a certain charm that's hard to resist...

UPDATE: 3/2/13 - Now that I have a 3D TV I gave this flick a second viewing and it's better than I remembered.  I'm not bothered by the story or the acting.  I like it.  The 3D is still outstanding and the CGI world Cameron created is still the best thing about it.  I think the next time I check it out I'll try the 2D Blu-ray and see how it holds up without the gee-whiz 3D effect.