Weak plot but not too awful

Rating: 6/10 (23 September 2010)

For a $237 million budget, from a Three-Time-Oscar-Winning director, the first film in years to be shot in 3D, and hype that puts the seventh Harry Potter book to shame, I expected the best film of the decade when I bought tickets for "Avatar". It was far from that...
I don't really need many words to describe the plot. I wont use the Smurf joke as that's been overused, but I can compare this film faultlessly to "Dances With Wolves". An OK plot, but a bit to weak. It's something that would be aimed at the same sort of audience as The Little Mermaid... The very cliché plot was disguised with 3D cinematography. Unfortunately though, if you don't see it in 3D, it exposes what's left of the film. Which is little. Hence why a lot of people I know fell asleep whilst watching it in 2D... though some did fall asleep during the 3D version too. It's real shame, because there were some great ideas, but they weren't developed enough.
However, despite a weak plot, we are provided with some good characters, which is crucial in any film. We get to see plenty of emotions and opinions in this film, which off course leads to an exciting climax. There is an on-going battle almost from the word "go" between the scientists and the military. These are very well developed scenarios, with a clear and believable difference between character relationships. There are no pushovers, and pushovers are very good evidence for a lazy screenwriter. Character wise, everyone is really well developed, and Cameron has kept the realism whilst drafting his characters.
As far as the effects go (which is what propelled this film to the top of the Box Office) some are outstanding, others are dismal. The space craft and explosions are neat, but the CGI and Motion Captured Na'Vi are awful. The tone of them is almost mono... but a film shouldn't rely on great special effects, which unfortunately, this film does.
The acting wasn't that bad either. Considering there was some awful dialogue, the actors executed it well, as did the actresses. Stephen Lang played the bent Colonel Miles Quaritch brilliantly, bringing forward a great impression of a Military Commissioned Officer.
The over hype, weak plot, bad dialogue, and some disappointing CGI doesn't deserve a $3 billion gross, but that's the way the film industry ticks. I don't like to heavily criticise films, as I know the effort that goes into making them. It's definitely worth a watch, but unless you are a huge James Cameron fan, I'd rent this if I were you. (Or record it off the TV)