Landmark Film in 3-D

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2009)

Avatar is a landmark film. Though the story line and the script are, at best, predictable and hackneyed, the special effects are stunning. The special effects in this movie are as important in cinematic history as 2001: A Space Odyssey and the first Star Wars. It is a must to see this film in 3-D; an experience definitely worth the few extra dollars for the ticket. I have never seen anything like the creation of Pandora and its inhabitants-totally mesmerizing.
That being said. I had some real problems with the script and story line of Avatar. Early on in the film, the stereotyped army colonel Quaritch barks out to his troops "you're not in Kansas anymore!", and you can't get anymore hackneyed than that. And this movie is full of lines like that. The story line is a straight forward good vs evil scenario. The bad guys, headed by corporate pig Parker Selfridge and the rabid colonel, are fanatical military neocons who will stop at nothing to make a profit. While the good guys are the indigenous cat people of planet Pandora, who are peaceful, environmentally aware and highly spiritual, and they appear to be loosely based on the American Indian. Of course, in the end, after much travail and suffering the good guys prevail. And Zoe Saldana scores big again (Star Trek) as the sexy but tough Neytiri.
Despite my misgivings, I still give this film a 9 (which is about as high as I go) because of the incredible and spectacular special effects. This film will more than likely win all major technical awards at the Oscars but none in the big categories for acting, writing or direction.