Not revolutionary, but still entertaining.

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2009)

In the distant future, humanity is attempting to conquer the planet Pandora by overthrowing and annihilating its native inhabitants the Na'vi. In doing this, humanity creates the Avatar program, in which human scientists have created remotely controlled genetically engineered human-Na'vi hybrid bodies called Avatars to infiltrate their culture and either convince them to cooperate or destroy them from the inside out.
As soon as I heard about this film, I avoided all promotions for it like the plague. I watched no trailers, read no interviews, and paid no attention to any marketing. I did this so I could avoid any potential spoilers that came with the promotional material, and so that when the films finally did come out I could view it for what it was, not letting any hype affect my final opinion.
The film is often proclaimed to be revolutionary for two reasons: Firstly the film has been entirely shot in 3D, and secondly the CGI featured is at an unprecedented level of realism. But does it really deliver on these points? Maybe it was just the theatre I saw it in, but the 3D isn't really that much more impressive than 2D. Things don't poke out of the screen and make it "feel like you're really there", no, you just get a little better depth perception at the cost of a blurrier image and needing to wear awkward glasses. If you only get to see the 2D release of this film, you're not missing much. As for the CGI while it is on a technical level probably the best CG in a movie to date in that entire alien landscapes have been created leaf for leaf, the Na'vi have extremely detailed facial expressions, and that countless never before seen alien creatures have been conjured, it's still not all it's cracked up to be. The CG still isn't photorealistic; everything still has that plasticy look to it, with a lack of subtle detail. And the designs of the alien creatures is hardly creative; the Na'vi look just like people except they're tall and blue, Direhorse's are basically just horses with two extra legs, and Viperwolf's are just basically just dogs again with two extra legs. Any opportunity to create original intriguing creatures is really just passed up by this film.
So let's not judge the films by these factors and judge it by its own merits like any other film. Well the film is entertaining, managing to hold my attention all the way through, though admittedly it is very long, with a runtime clocking in at 170 minutes combined with a slow plot pace. And yes, despite my complaints, it is visually stunning; the choreography and composition is really top class. The special effects are really put to good use in generating the ambiance of the alien world and in creating action spectacles that have never been seen before on such a large scale. It's also refreshing to see a major Hollywood film come out that is based on an original screenplay that is not a remake/reboot of some prior source material.
But the storyline is a real let down. It's completely by the numbers, probably more suiting of a video game than a film. No real attempts are made to use the films setting to employ themes of say colonialism, nationalism or imperialism. Nope, every single plot point in the film follows the same old formula with absolutely no twists; a human Avatar is sent to infiltrate the Na'vi tribe, falls in love with their princess, and ends up leading their people against his own. Same old shtick. This and just about every other plot point and gimmick used in the film has been seen before. And this is a real shame because it makes all the effort that went into making this film seem kind of wasted.
So in the end, is Avatar a ground breaking, revolutionary film? Not really, it has all been done before, in some cases even done better. But it is nevertheless a good, professionally crafted movie that will keep you amused throughout its duration.