Avatar - a comprehensive review (no spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2009)

Avatar is quite simply the most outstanding movie experience that I have witnessed to date. It excels on all levels without exception. Anyone who is fan of science fiction / fantasy and enjoys having their imagination tickled will thrive on the vast wealth of original creativity contained within this multi-layered epic masterpiece. Avatar is a movie you don't watch... you live it.
VISUAL PRESENTATION: James Cameron has thrown down the gauntlet with Avatar's stunning visual imagery, phenomenal CGI and 3D presentation. The next generation motion capture technology that James Cameron developed and utilised in the production of this movie has achieved a wholly realistic quality. The days of dead-eyes, emotionless facial expressions and general unnatural creepiness (such as seen in Robert Zemekis' Polar Express) are at an end. CG characters are for the first time truly emotionally expressive to the extent that they appear real. The overall quality of the CGI is so high that for the first time it is practically impossible to distinguish between what's real and CGI. Cameron's perfectionism has paid off particularly in this regard.
3D OR NOT 3D? Avatar is a great movie irrespective of whether you watch it in 2D or 3D. However, if you want the best viewing experience I strongly recommend you watch the 3D version. Opting to view the 2D version would be akin to choosing to watch Titanic on a black and white television... why would you do that? I watched the 3D version (in RealD not Dolby3D) and can comment that it was a mind-boggling spectacular experience. I have never, ever found myself so immersed within a movie... The 3D is not in any way the occasional gimmicky hey-look-I'm-jumping-out-the-screen-at-you effect of the past. Everything has a truly three dimensional depth... the effect is that of astonishing realism... It is literally as if you are actually there in Pandora watching events as they occur. With Avatar any apprehension I had about the new 3D technology has been quashed, it is without a doubt the way forward for visual entertainment and I very much hope other movies take note of Avatar's demonstration of how it should be done.
AUDIO: The music composed by James Horner is consistent with his previous work and superbly lends itself to immersing you in the world of Pandora rather than beating you over the head with a relentlessly pounding soundtrack. Horner provides the perfect balance of atmospheric ambiance where relevant blended with thrill-inspiring pulse-pounding accompaniment to the various action sequences. The quality of the sound effects and mixing is also exceptional. Whilst the music was pleasingly emotive there were also times I was literally shaking in my seat.
STORY: The one area that Avatar has received criticism from some is regarding its story. I'm not going to include any spoilers here, but suffice to say that the theme of the story is strongly science fiction / fantasy so if you don't like that sort of thing then this movie may not particularly enthral you. On the other hand if you enjoy sci-fi and possess even a modicum of intelligence you will almost certainly enjoy the story as much as I did. Please don't pay attention to any of the tabloid film critics who in my opinion always try to be too clever for their own boots. Any talk of Avatar's story lacking originality is quite frankly utter nonsense. Of course, there are certain aspects that could be considered similar to this movie or that movie, but commenting that Avatar is low in originality is akin to stating that The Terminator is not original because it comprises what is essentially the standard formula for an action film, namely lead/hero meets villain, lead/hero battles villain through various action sequences, lead/hero kills villain, the end. Of course The Terminator was most original, and so is Avatar. In fact, the extent of imaginative creativity contained within Avatar's story, in particular relating to Pandora and its inhabitants, is mind-numbing. Furthermore, Cameron pulls off a high level of character depth to not only the lead characters but even those of a supporting role. The wealth of imaginative ideas contained within Avatar is more than enough to produce at least one if not two sequels. Let's just hope that we don't have to wait so long for the next instalment. I for one am longing to return to Pandora!