A new bar has been set

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2009)

James Cameron must have woken up one morning and got a revelation. An angel must have come to him and said: "You have to use your power to create something unprecedented, something that will shake the very foundation of human psyche". And so the idea for Avatar was born. Either that or James simply watched "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" and then decided to redo it in 3D.
Utilizing the full potential of the 3D technology with what must have been a massive budget, as well as catching the actors on a good year, the creators of Avatar have set a new bar for movies to come.
The special effects are of course central to the film. There is hardly a frame where they are not present. The graphics astonish thanks to the realistic and high quality animation. Realistic movement in characters grabs even more of the viewer's attention thanks to all the freaky colours and lighting. Since the setting is an alien planet, the graphic artists had the freedom of creating beauty that does not exist down here at Earth.
All the actors were believable and well articulated. Perhaps this was done not without the assistance of computer graphics. Is that cheating? Hard to say, when your jaw is on the floor. Not to mention that some, like Giovanni Ribisi - plays the bad corporate - did not get any help from the special effects and yet performed outstandingly.
So have we hit perfection? Well...no. The story and its participants were getting progressively less mysterious and more cliché. Towards the end of the movie, the Na'vi alien people were less like aliens and more like a conglomeration of African, Jamaican and Arabic tribesmen, right down to what they were wearing, the noises they were making and their dialogue. The leader of the Na'vi is actually played by the Native American actor, Wes Studi, for crying out loud.
Also, the whole hippie go-green hype (oil and mining companies - very bad, we get it already) may have been a little too obvious here. If you're going to create something so creative, why stop half way? After all, the concept itself is not particularly original. A little more brain and mystery would really have brought this creation further.
The trip Avatar takes you on is well worth the money you will pay for watching it at a theater. Separately, some things can be criticized, but together, the experience is amazing and should not be missed, no matter what your taste in movies is. Avatar is entertainment at its 2009-best.