Aliens

Rating: 8/10 (24 March 2010)

Quite a lot has been said and written about this movie. It's a fact that it has broken all the records (except at the Oscars, which might have saved us a King of the World/Universe speech by Mr. Cameron), that it's loved by many, but despised by quite a lot also. While the story is not Original (it's not like there are that many Original stories lying around waiting to be made), the technical achievements have to be seen!
Yes the story seems to be just another take on the Pocahontas story, but does that make the movie itself bad from the get go? I don't think so. After watching it a second time (at the theaters), I have to say, that there are quite a few nuances to the story, that are quite nice. Two lines from the beginning are kind of setting the tone, which you only realize when you watch it a second time.
The 3-D Effects are great, but subtle and it was no surprise that they won at this years Academy Awards. While I still felt that the Navi "people" didn't feel entirely realistic, it didn't feel wrong either. The graphics fitted into the whole Fantasy vibe the movie had going for it (at least that's how I felt, when I watched it). They weren't photo-realistic, but they were good enough.
If you like a movie to be more low key, you should check "Battle for Terra", an animated Feature, that has a similar overall story and came out prior to Avatar and therefor shouldn't be judged by a technical viewpoint/comparison to Avatar. That being said, I hope a future Blu Ray (DVD) Release of the movie will revolutionize the TV market and if we are lucky enough, the extended cut of the movie, might surface at the cinemas at/near the end of 2010. I'm looking forward to that, although I'm a bit skeptical about the love scene, that is apparently going to make it into that cut ...
Edit: Looks like we have been "lucky" enough ... though I would argue with that myself now. After having watched the movie for a third time (the last one being the extended cinema cut), I kinda began to dread the experience. It's just too much for me. Even on the IMAX screen in London and even while recognizing many (most?) of the new inserted scenes. And there is even a bigger cut out on DVD/Blu Ray. Though the 3-D version will not be released before 2011. I personally can't watch it again for another 2 years ... or else I would have to re-evaluate and cut off a point or two ...