Marginally entertaining, but not Oscar Worthy

Rating: 4/10 (3 March 2010)

Regardless of what others try to tell you about this film, it is NOT the most monumental film since Star Wars. Yes, the effects are the centerpiece of this movie, and they are indeed amazing. However, in this day and age, with the video games and computer animations out there, audiences have come to expect this. To put things in perspectives, I was by far more mesmerized by the Star Wars special effects than by Avatar. It was like watching one long video game. And, the story line and acting is better in some video games I have played. Movies, to me, will always be about story. This one was too transparent to be enjoyable. Even the art direction was unimaginative. I found the Na'vi to be rather bland, boring characters. Tall blue cat people dressed as Native Americans that move around in horses...yawn. Oh, occasionally they fly in dragon like creatures. Pandora, unbotanium... give me a break. Even the jungle like setting lacks imagination. Oh, and they are fighting the industrial/military complex. For a movie that most people are praising for being visionary and imaginative, I found very little in the form of vision or imagination. To be honest, if you strip the movie of it's millions of dollars of special effects, you are left with one thing... a SyFy original movie. Hey, I sometimes sit at home on a Saturday and watch these, but I would not nominate any for an award.