An outstanding production is hindered by a weak script.

Rating: 6/10 (23 February 2010)

'Avatar' is not bad, but it is hardly the outstanding film almost everyone seems to be heralding it as. It goes without saying that it has amazing visuals and great effects. It also has wonderful art direction and designs, outstanding music and sound, and a wonderful performance by Zoe Saldana. For the most part, the movie works fairly well, and it has many moments where it becomes a really engaging experience.
Unfortunately, its engaging moments are few and far between. It suffered so much from over-length and slow pacing that, despite the incredible imagery, there were many times I found my mind wandering. Sure, it was all pretty to look at, but nifty effects and scenery only go so far. The script is also heavy-handed in the delivery of its oft-told message and is filled with corny, amateurish dialog. It seems Mr. Cameron was more focused on perfecting the technical aspects of his film than on perfecting the script.
Script weaknesses are hardly the movie's only problems. As I'm sure you have all heard by now, the movie's entire storyline strongly resembles such films as 'Dances with Wolves,' 'FernGully.' and Disney's 'Pocahontas.' As a result, the film is not only unoriginal but predictable beyond belief. I don't think there was a single moment where I didn't know what was going to come next. Anyone thinking that 'Avatar' is some great achievement in storytelling is sadly deluding themselves.
The entire movie is practically recycled goods. That goes for the characters almost as much as for the plot; everything was practically ripped out of those previous movies, but instead of Native Americans or Fairies, we have an alien race known as the Na'vi. Now, having similar characters would not be so bad if it were not for the fact that they had almost the same exact personalities and story function. It seems there was no real effort to make these characters anything more than what they were before. Even the main villain was such a clichéd military baddie that he was laughable, despite veteran actor Stephen Lang's best efforts.
Amazingly, the movie was made in 3-D, but the characters -- the most important element of any story -- are nearly all one dimensional. The sole exception is Neytiri, who, despite clearly filling in the Stands With a Fist/Krysta/Pocahontas role, manages to break through convention thanks to an extraordinary performance by Zoe Saldana. Not that the other performances were bad, but none of them really managed to take their characters beyond their cardboard cut-out status like Saldana did.
Now, despite all of these issues, the movie was not that bad as a whole. I will admit, there were a few times I really found myself absorbed in the action of the story. I would say I really enjoyed myself for about half of the movie, maybe a bit more; there were even times when I felt like cheering. And, yes, I did even start caring for the characters, despite the fact they were heavily clichéd. Like I said, though, the movie could not keep my full attention for an extended period of time. The movie was two hours and forty minutes, and that's about how long it felt.
'Avatar' is nowhere near a great movie. It relies too heavily on convention and even stereotype, and it lags extensively. But there were several moments where I was really engaged with the action. I also want to point out that the performance-capture technology used to change human actors into Na'vi is amazing. Plus, James Horner's music is fantastic, the sound effects are awesome, and, of course, the visuals are really breathtaking. If it weren't for the amazing visual and auditory aspects, though, there wouldn't be a lot there that we haven't seen before.