a thing of beauty - cameron's masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 2010)

10 is much too low a score for this magnificent movie. Cameron has created his masterpiece. This movie will be watched in 100 years, possibly more so than any movie yet made. The Hurt Locker, a very good film, will be just another scratch your head moment when, 50 years from now it is remembered basically as the movie which beat out Avatar for Best Picture, and which proves that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has it's head up it's collective bum.
Mr. Cameron, long known for making blockbusters that are long on entertainment value and craftsmanship, but short on artistry, has now achieved both with Avatar. Avatar is the most entertaining movie that I can recollect seeing...and an artistic chef d'oeuvre which enriches the soul and makes a statement about the course of mankind and our love affair with technology that is not subtle but it sure is effective.
It is true, Avatar is an amalgamation of tried and true Cameron formula and technical prowess. But wait! It is ever so much more. Yes, dear critics, all the Cameron ingredients are there... but along with these ingredients there is such clarity and passion. This is something new, never before seen...and I am not speaking of 3D as good as it is... there is exquisite, aching beauty and the feeling of loss and redemption, that makes one think more of Beowulf than Terminator.
Ah but a man's reach exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for? If heaven is anything like Pandora, count me in. The NA'Vi are nothing more nor less than the absolute perfect incarnation of man and nature, of what we could have been, and of the very best that we cut out of ourselves, of our own indigenous people. Yes they are an idealization. But since when is it wrong to idealize?
The performances resonate, tear and overwhelm us with their reality, be they man or be they memorex. They may be archetypes, but when Jake Sully makes his choice, it is impossible not to cry with joy for him and yet mourn with him for what he must give up.
This is a profundity that I think many simply do not comprehend. Thankfully, judging by the box office, many more do.
Sam Worthington will be a major star, of this there is no question. His Jake Scully is a warrior but he plays the role with a certain sweet power that is astonishing. His final live action monologue is deceptive and heartbreaking. As for the rest of the cast, Zoe Saldana is exquisite as Neytiri, and Sigourney Weaver is professorial perfection as Dr. Grace Augustine.
Thank you Mr. Cameron, for your vision. I wish it could have lasted forever. 3 hours simply is not enough.