Another Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2009)

You know the story from the trailers, you know the director has been working on it for the better part of two decades. So the question is this the film that revolutionizes film? 3-D films in the past have been notorious for breaking the fourth wall needlessly, but Avatar is full immersion 3-D. At no moment do you look at the Na'vi and remember you are in a theatre. Some critics complain that the run-time is far too long, but when Jake is spending time on Pandora you feel as if you are emotionally invested in each and every one of the people and places.
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paralyzed former Marine joining the Avatar program after the death of his brother. With his new Avatar he can walk again and once he infiltrates the Na'vi and convinces them to move away from their land based on a very valuable deposit of Unobtanium, Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) promises to get Jake's "real legs back".
Avatar is one of those moments in film that cannot be missed, this is bigger than Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight, or any movie of this decade. This is the wonderment in cinema that has been missing for so long. Cameron firmly establishes you into a new world filled with some of his old mainstays. There is no lack of strong female characters - something that has been lacking for far too long. If you didn't know any better you would almost say Sigourney Weaver's Ripley had returned in the form of Grace. Zoe Saldana's Neytiri is going to launch her career in a way that Star Trek didn't. Instead of playing the eye candy she embodies a brave warrior that drives the story and rehumanizes Jake.
Welcome back James Cameron, we missed you.