A mobile that mesmerises while you watch...

Rating: 5/10 (6 February 2010)

Entirely enchanting world no doubt. For 2 and a half hours I was submerged, engaged, and wholly wrapped up in the wondrous world of Pandora. Visually it was better than David Attenborough on Magic Mushrooms.
Plot-wise the potential was all there too. To begin with. We had the potential of a much needed omen for where this endless, self-serving, capitalist greed is leading us all, and just how far away from the rhythms of mother nature we had become. The Navi seemed to have found that harmony we so lack, and they could have been our mentors. The ground was ripe for a timely message about the power of reconciliation and the ability of humans to look inside, learn and change.
But then, tragically, it descended into the same gung-ho, kick the crap out of the 'bad guy' extravaganza we've being subjected to since Rocky and Independence Day. It seems violence IS the answer after all. Sure it ticks those teenage 'stand tall and proud' hormones nicely - hence the cinematic pleasure - but is it really any way to resolve global conflict and environmental destruction? Or is it what led to the 'War on Terror' and the 'Axis of Evil'? Is it really any message we can take away, or just cheap thrills? Which is why that magical, hypnotic feeling sadly faded away as my brain kicked in again.
Shame. With that much power and appeal to reach out to the world (look how many people LOVED it) Cameron basically descended into a formulaic rehash. Which makes me doubt how much he believed his own hype in the first place. Sorry.