Groundbreaking. (Technical write up)

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2009)

3D Experience: I will not speak of what the movie was about, but about the technical merits alone. The movie was shot in true 3D using the Fusion Camera system. The results for 3D viewing are on point. Most if not all movies released in 3D undergo a post production process known as Ghostbusting which adds an artificial 3D effect to the movie allowing the viewer to put on glasses in a theater (RealD, Dolby3D, etc..) but in Avatars case, it was shot in 3D. You really get the human eye simulation and it doesn't distract you from the movie like other 3D pictures. In fact, its very much a part of the film. Seeing Avatar in 2D is like watching the movie without sound. You just have to see it in 3D. As far as what 3D system you should see it in, that is entirely up to you, but IMAX 3D is a more natural 3D system that is close to human vision then others like RealD and Dolby 3D so you may not get a headache or fatigue during the movie, so long as you sit back at a good height (IMAX is a large screen even IMAX Digital screens are large enough to be to big at a certain seat).
Sound: As any other Cameron film, the sound mix was on point. You wont find a revolution in sound mixing and presentation like we did with T2 (Cinema Digital Sound in some theaters) but you will find a standard modern day premium sound mix that you SHOULD expect and DEMAND. This will also depend if you see it in IMAX or RealD/Dolby3D, the difference will be noticeable mainly because of speaker configuration and wattage used in an IMAX theater VS a Digital Cinema auditorium. Both formats will offer Lossless Audio so you don't have to worry about that. Be sure to avoid standard 35MM if you can as that is NOT true to the original vision and source of the movie.
Visual Effects: ILM and WETA were the only visual effects houses working on Avatar so you should expect the best in the industry to hit you right in the face as that is exactly what happens. Enviornments look so real at times you cannot tell if its rendered or a composite of a real shot. Fire, smoke, and weather effects are so real and visually stunning you won't want it to end. The 3D only furthers this experience. Creatures are very original yet very familiar to real creatures, the animation of each creature including the aliens are hard to figure out at times for someone who is not a professional animator. The effects are that realistic.
Conclusion: Ill keep this simple, go see this movie, the best experience is clearly TRUE IMAX, not IMAX Digital. If you are uncertain if it is TRUE IMAX, ask many others first about the theater in question. A majority of AMC theaters offering IMAX experiences are IMAX Digital as they could not modify there building to accommodate a TRUE IMAX theater.