Could have been so much more

Rating: 6/10 (20 August 2010)

After watching the film and thinking about it for a few weeks I have come to some conclusions as to why I wasn't impressed.
The main thing is that like Titanic before it the movie feels like a showcase for the effects, and in doing so missed out on the story.
I found the plot was overly simplistic, certainly when you consider that the film is in the ball park of 160mins in length. To make a film that long the story needs to be much more engaging and complex. For this reason I found myself bored for portions of the film, which in my mind is never a good recommendation for the film.
To add to the lacking plot I consider myself intelligent enough to be able to work out what is happening without characters telling each other constantly what is actually happening. Especially when those characters are well established in their relationship with each other and shouldn't have to be explaining things to each other. If you need to do this, use a character that is new to the story and therefore it looks like a briefing for them and their benefit.
Thanks to the lack of plot and a largely at times clunky script I was constantly pushed out of the story and back into reality. Cameron is a good movie maker as he proved with the first 2 Terminators.
So with a slow story I have to turn my attention to the effects, which seemed to be the reason that Avatar exists. In the main it is a sumptuous feast visually. The stunning effects of the environment and scenery was well created and put together. Breathtaking stuff indeed.
But there lies another problem. As I am more than aware most of the film is essentially a CGI creation. So I am watching a computer animated film with real actors doing the voices. Again this then draws my attention back to the creations of Pixar as there is some technical comparison, and certainly the same wow factor is there visually from seeing the first Toy Story.
Toy Story though has a good story and characters that I was interested in and cared about, very unlike Avatar itself.
There are other things that annoyed me about the film but they if mentioned may develop into plot spoilers which I don't want to be accused of giving out. Even though with the simplistic story I defy anyone watching to not be able to predict the plot after the first 30mins.
If there is to be a sequel which it appears there will be, lets hope that Cameron focuses on the plot and not on another special effect / CGI showcase.