Amazing, yet with an awful story.

Rating: 8/10 (24 December 2009)

I have felt drawn in to movies before, but when you watch Avatar in 3D, you are on another planet with the characters. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, and the lighting, motion capture, animation, set design, and every other technical element of the film are amazing enough to make up for the fact that every element of the film is borrowed. There isn't one single original idea here. The main plot line is taken right from "Dances With Wolves". The dress and manner of speech of the Navi is so Native American, it's impossible to be continuously reminded of the similarities. The Navi are a slightly more attractive version of "Abe Sapien" from "Hellboy".
The plot holes are embarrassing. Arrows bounce off the windows of the helicopters until the battle starts. The humans leaving the planet don't wear masks. The electronics on the helicopters don't work anywhere near the magic tree, yet somehow people in fancy tanning booths can communicate with their avatars perfectly.
The writing is a mess to the level of the "Star Wars" prequels, but the visuals make up for it.