Have to see it to believe it

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2009)

I heard about Avatar about 2 years ago and ever since I have been watching it carefully waiting for Cameron to deliver the incredible visuals he promised. The first trailer left me bummed, I was afraid Cameron had lost his edge and was making another sappy Titanic-like movie. My fears only grew when the reports that the plot was a cheap formula of movies we'd already seen. I figured the only way to know for sure how the movie was was to see it for myself.
After waiting a week for the hysteria to die I down I went to see the film today. I sat in awe as the master, James Cameron, weaved a familiar tale in an unfamiliar world. That's why I think Cameron went with a story similar to those that had been told before, because the skin they made over top of the story is what really makes this a unique adventure. Everything in this unreal world looks real. CGI objects and creatures look like they have mass and every detail is so incredibly intricate you might find it hard to believe (I did). This isn't your father's CGI, this is some next level stuff. There is so much to absorb, it's like a feast for the eyes. You thought Star Wars and Jurassic Park blew you away visually? You thought The Matrix revolutionized special effects? You ain't seen nothing yet.
This is the first film I've ever seen in the new Digital 3D mainly because I thought 3D was a gimmick but this movie is worth the 3D ticket price. It truly is an incredibly immersive film. Sam Worthington plays it brilliantly, he goes through Pandora filled with child like curiosity that really helps the audience connect with him, after all we too are curious to explore this new world. The film follows the formula to the letter but Cameron is the master, he hasn't lost a step, and he knows how to do this story perfectly.
As for the film's sentimentality I found it tolerable. There is plenty of heart but not so much that you'll find yourself rolling your eyes at the cheesiness of it. Everything is there in balance. It takes the gritty alien versus human story Cameron did in Aliens and blends it with some of the more sappy emotional stuff he did in projects like Titanic. It makes perfect sense that Cameron, the man who's been experimenting with CGI and cutting edge special effects since the Abyss in 1989, would bring us another breakthrough. There is a message and I think it's a message that it fairly timeless.
There isn't much of anything bad to report though in the hours since I saw it I've tried to come up with something, anything, to point out as a flaw. Aside from a script that isn't exactly a masterpiece of writing what we have here is a competent sci-fi action film every bit as good as Cameron's older work. Still, I'm hoping he does something a little more gritty next time (crossing my fingers for a sequel to Aliens). To me this movie is proof that story and acting do not have to suffer when CGI is heavily used and George Lucas could learn a thing or two from Cameron.
Put aside your skepticism and see this if you haven't already.