Amazing adventure movie that proves 3D technology

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2010)

Its been a long time since i have seen anything James Cameron that i liked. Never was much of a Titanic fan (huge chick flick). But he reigned supreme in the 80s with good action/adventure sci-fi and its nice to see Cameron back in his element.
Avatar is a solid Sci-fi with a simple yet captivating story. If your looking for huge plot twists, anti-heroes and audience deduction games, this isn't the movie. This isn't the matrix nor the usual suspects. Its a straight forward adventure movie with good guys, bad guys, love, sadness, and a couple little bits of cheeky humor thrown in (but not enough to ruin the mood of the film).
Now that i mention it, this was much more an adventure movie than action. Yes, there are impressive fight scenes and explosions and many pokey-stabby things. But there is also sweeping views of an alien world and exploration of dense jungles that make most geeks yearn to explore deeper. There is seeing and learning about a culture of an alien species, and how humans react to it. The storyline is progressive and builds up to a climactic ending that tries and mostly succeeds at being epic. I know, we are all sick of epic endings with huge CGI battles right? Well at least this one doesn't have dwarfs and elves counting kills in some attempt at making war funny.
From a more space geek standpoint, I notice that Cameron uses his knowledge of marine biology to develop his vision of Pandora. Quite a few flora and fauna resemble creatures you would find in Camerons "Aliens of the deep" explorations to the bottom of the ocean on earth. The use of color and fluorescence does confuse me a little, but it is very attractive in the movie and makes for very amazing and jaw dropping scenes.
In my opinion, this is the first movie that i have seen that actually makes full use of 3d technology and doesn't make it "Gimmicky". Not only is the rich depth used well for feeling like your in the lush jungles of Pandora or inside a cockpit. But also items jutting out of the screen or floating by the foreground can make some people flinch or wipe the imaginary bit off them subconsciously.
So to sum up, best movie i've seen in years and the first one to emotionally draw me in since the matrix or old yeller. BIG Immersion Factor. Think Emerald Forest meets Halo. Definitely going again, and seeing it in 3D. If this movie comes out on blue ray 3d, i could see investing in active glasses and a 3d ready LCD.