An impartial review

Rating: 6/10 (1 February 2010)

I was reluctant to go see this as I'm not sold on the 3D craze, which is currently sweeping the cinema-world. I had seen "Up" and "Fly me to the moon" before this and was expecting more or less the same. In my opinion, that's what I got.
James Cameron is a master at creating stories, characters and relationships which the viewer can empathise with. He's no genius but he is solid.
It's no surprise that Avatar is now the biggest grossing movie of all time. It's got all the ingredients of a mainstream smash and almost executes to perfection, but that's all it is really. Elements of the story are terribly clichéd; some parts are borderline silly, and there's nothing in the action sequences we haven't seen elsewhere before, it's just bigger and more 3d-er in this movie. It could also arguably be a bit shorter. I did find myself yawning on the odd occasion.
For kids (eg 7-15), this would be the ride of a lifetime. It's a bit too rough for younger viewers but the editing has been handled really well, to make this accessible for a wide demographic. There's no blood n' guts but it's not exactly the A-Team either. Think "Return of the King" and you've got a similar level of violence.
To summarise, it's great but not mind-blowing. As for the 3D, I found that by the end, I was oblivious to it, which is the same for good old 2D.