A technical and spiritual feast

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2009)

Despite the hype, and excitement and such all over the web and TV these past weeks, AVATAR rises far beyond what I expected, and I have been following the progress of this movie for close to a year now.
Avatar is science fiction film with some political undertones. Man has gone to an alien world, seeking wealth, but are hindered by the most hostile environment known to man, unaided by the strong natives, the Na'vi. They feel the humans do not belong on their world, and are slowly killing their planet. I will say no more, as there are a few beautiful events that must not be crushed.
I can already see comparisons to Transformers 2 and even District 9 sprouting up all around the media and, unfortunately, this will influence the average popcorn-muncher. Avatar and Transformers only belong in the same boat if you only consider that they both have amazing visuals and deal with aliens. Similarities stop. Don't compare (Avatar takes the Oscar for Best Visuals though) While District 9 had a deeper moral, and was based in history (Apartheid Era South Africa), they share many values. I lean towards D9 for certain reasons, one being, I'm South African, and our story needs telling. Avatar shares a closer bond with the Native American culture and spirituality, (Loosely inspired by), and all tribal cultures decimated by greedy colonists and miners.
Every review has commented on the Visual Effects, and it is truly well deserved. Simply amazing. I was shocked at times, from beautiful vistas, to CG characters that I just refused to believe were digital. I was, at times, convinced that it was people with incredible make-up. Yes, it's that convincing. Oh, and watch it in 3D. It's not full of gimmicks like all 3D movies so far. This is almost entirely 3D, a living world.
I do have a gripe about the music score however. The soundtrack is weak. At times, you'll find yourself thinking of Titanic. Titanic's music has no place in Pandora. It is distracting to hear a light orchestral piece, when a sweeping, emotional number should be played. This happens often. While it's not perfect, it's far from film-breaker.
Just see this movie. 90% of the world will enjoy it, many will love it. Only that 10% will dislike it, but those are the ones that are just never satisfied, or just plain in denial. There really is something for everyone to enjoy, from the jock, to the hippies, this really is a movie you will dream of.
James Cameron, you have come back to us with a film well worth the time you spent creating it. Thank you. Truly a master...