Don't bother wasting your time.

Rating: Null/10 (15 December 2011)

Like almost everyone else alive, I was looking forward to Avatar but I wasn't going on opening day or even opening week. I waited and lucky me, when I went to see it in IMAX 3D at 10am on a Saturday morning, there weren't even 30 people in the auditorium. Clean, comfy, and quiet. Just the way I like to see my movies that I pay for. Online ticketing was trying to charge me 15 bucks plus service fee. I paid at the box office because I knew it wasn't gonna sell out like it did the night before when I really wanted to go. 9 bucks was the tally. Can't beat that.
Say what you wanna say and feel how you wanna feel about me for saying what I'm about to say, but I thought the movie totally sucked! That's right, I said it. This movie might as well have been a children's book it was so fluffy. Minimal cussing (even with the military present in this flick), no non-human nudity, straightforward plot with no twists or turns, ultra predictable, monotone and unmemorable characters, borderline unrealistic war motives, pointless deaths, uncreative and fairy tale climax, and the environmental theme was thrown in your face so much that you'd think you were watching a PBS special. Special effects aside (they were top-notch), there was nothing I liked about this movie. I very rarely laughed. I don't think I did at all. Only thing that got a chuckle from a few peeps was when the antagonist said he was part of the Jarhead Clan. That's about it. It was a practically emotionless movie-going experience.
I mean, come on. You turn on your own species over a girl? She gives you a piece and that's all it takes? I can see about him wanting to become one of them because of the girl and having a functional body but is he really ready to live the natural life and abandon TV, internet, and all the other wonders of human technology? Yes, the tech is a demon and it can also be a godsend. I get it. But that morality was never discussed or explored. No civilized human alive would just switch that quick. I ain't buying it. Regardless of the cost for him to get new legs, I ain't buying it. Things could have been done differently. The world they created and the creatures within it were a little too forced for my taste. Took up too much screen time that could have been devoted to adding more complexity to an otherwise oversimplified plot. The whole deal was just too textbook. No depth at all.
3D effects weren't so good. All the previews before the movie were of 3D movies, all of them kid movies. I expect more from 3D. I've gotten more from 3D. Those previews and the movie didn't deliver the goods. Depth perception is altered but nothing moves beyond the four corners of the screen or comes out at you. The IMAX screen was big with a crisp, clear picture and sound. I'll give credit where it's due. But save your money and if you have to see this movie, just watch it on a regular screen for a regular price. I would tell you to just wait for it on Blu-ray and if you have a nice sized TV, just watch it that way. To me, it's not worth a penny. It's boring and not at all entertaining. The only surprises were seeing Sigourney Weaver and Giovanni Ribisi. Wasn't expecting to see those two. If this movie was Rated R and more authentic, then maybe it'd be worth a whirl. But as it is, if you have the mentality of a simple-minded and impressionable 10 year old, this movie is tailor-made for you. I give it 4 out of 10 stars. I don't care how popular it is or how much money it's made and is gonna make. For me, it sucks chicken bones. A complete and total waste of time and money. I'm disappointed more than anything. I expect better from James Cameron.
Even with all that said, this movie still got a round of applause when it finished. Now it joins the ranks of Equilibrium, the Godzilla teaser trailer, Spirited Away, and the first live-action Transformers movie as the only movies I've been in attendance of that have gotten some applause. Nothing happens after the credits so don't waste your time even further like I did. And when I left the auditorium, there was a long line of people waiting to get in for the next showing. Wanted to tell them so bad that the movie is a dud but everyone has their own tastes. I would have been upset even more if I had to wait in a line like that to see such a horrible movie. It only got those 4 stars from me because of the innovative special effects and Zoe Saldana's voice acting. Everything else? FAIL!