Visual Masterpiece But Hardly Original

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2010)

Yes, I do agree that this film is a visual masterpiece; that's basically the draw of it. We all knew going into this that James Cameron is a visual genius. But ultimately, that's what this film relies on as I did not find the acting superb in any way, aside from Zoe Zaldana's performance. She gave great passion to the character. Yes, valid acting can be done without expressing great passion, but my point is that I found her captivating and worth watching. But the story is by no means original. At the same time, I'll give it credit for being "more" original than 95% of the Hollywood movies that are so formulaic, and are mostly sequels and remakes. At the end of the day, I have great respect for Cameron and what he has done.
Maybe my expectations are too high but I just wish someone would come along and reinvent the wheel. Given, he did reinvent the wheel with his 3D technology. But, I want a new story. I don't think I'm delusional and I think it can be done. It just seems like Hollywood doesn't make it a priority because that's not going to make them money. Maybe the blame is on the viewer who has convinced this business that all we care about are cheap thrills.