I just didn't really like it...

Rating: 1/10 (25 February 2010)

First of all, I would like to point out that I didn't walk into the theater with high expectations. I had heard that the story was laughably bad and unoriginal, but that the visuals were mindblowing: that's why I went. Sadly, Avatar failed to impress me even with flashy CGI. Let me tell you why:
Well, yeah: the story WAS really bad. But I guess everybody knows that now, so I won't waste more time on that. Let's start with the acting: all bar one (Giovanni Ribisi) were awful. Sam Worthington changes accents every 12 seconds, switching at will between American, Australian, New Zealand and something totally undefinable (which sort of sounds like German English). Zoe Saldana cries like a monkey with a mental illness, Sigourney Weaver brings her lines as if she can't wait to be somewhere else, And the general might have the looks, but lacks any real conviction in all he says. Let's continue with characters: except for Zoe's and Sam's roles, none of the people in the movie are fleshed out to the point that you actually give a damn about them. Also, all the auxiliary characters have SO little screen time that you don't even have time to care. On to the FX: I'm really trying to figure out what was so spectacular about them. Detailed? Yes. Sharp? Very. Fluid? Absolutely. Gorgeous? Freakin' A. Realistic? Not at all. I felt like I was watching a video game played on a next-next-next-gen console. I never felt like anything was real, which totally took me out of the movie. District 9 for example gave me the idea that no CGI was used, and they did that on a 13th of the budget Avatar had. Continuing with the duration of the movie: I really don't mind long movies. The Green Mile happens to be one of my favorite films of all time. But when I walk out of the theater after three hours and feel like the whole movie could be trimmed down to one and a half without detriment to the story, I get the sensation that I have been cheated. Finally, my thoughts on 3D: for one, my eyes hurt like hell after the film was over. Also, I don't feel like they utilized it to its maximum capacity; My Bloody Valentine, a horrible, horrible movie, at least had axes flying at you. In Avatar most of the 3D is taking place on the sides of the screen, which only gave me headaches while trying to focus on these elements.
So, how about some praise? Here goes: I thought the design of the creatures and the landscapes was incredible. I didn't like the execution, but the look of the animals and plants was quite original. Also, I respect the amount of work put into this movie. I thought it was horrible, but I have to admit it was an amazing feat of computer programming.
My two cents.