Once in a blue moon comes something like this

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2009)

Why write another review of this film that will get lost amongst the hundreds of other reviews out there ? ... Why not ;-) I'll skip the usual movie recap which you've no doubt already read to focus more on the impressions and emotions I felt during the screening. It's amazing how the graphics in Avatar look so state-of-the-art despite the film being in production for so very long and all the incredible advances made during the past decade. I saw it in Imax 3d which is the best way to go for experiencing it as it was intended to be. Avatar was a grand spectacle that made me smile throughout not because it was funny but because of how wondrous it was. Yes, I felt a sense of awe and wonder which is something I rarely experience anymore. That Pandora planet, its fauna and flora, was breathtaking in its splendor and variety. Certainly, you could associate most of the alien creatures with an earthly equivalent but they still looked great and original anyway.
The main indigenous species, the giant blue humanoid Na'vi, could have been the deal breaker. From previews, it was said they looked and moved too much like video game characters. I understand yet disagree with that criticism but I admit I had to get used to them myself. However, they are indeed fascinating to watch and they do emote very well. They are believable and a technical marvel. An unforeseen bonus is that they're quite good-looking in their tall graceful cat-like ways and that the females are mostly topless although the nipples are almost always artfully blurred or concealed. There are scenes and cinematic angles in Avatar that could not have been done in the past without that level of computer graphics. They are seamless in execution, blending the real and the virtual. It's not enough to be able to do them, you have to do them well and Cameron excels. His camera work is bold and exciting. I particularly appreciated the sequences that made you feel as if you were really part of the environment or a character in the scene.
This brings me to the 3d effects. I think they intentionally tried to avoid cheap tricks such as having spears poke at you or creatures trying to bite your head off, breaking the fourth wall so to speak. They can be surprising but those usually take you out of the picture. The 3d effects here are mostly used to give depth to the environments, again trying to make you feel part of the scene. I think they worked amazingly well and it's probably the best use of 3d effects in a motion feature I've seen yet. The colors didn't feel faded or washed-out as in previous 3d efforts. Quite the contrary in fact, the colors were bright and luxuriant although I cannot compare with the 2d version.
I found the action scenes quite exciting, even exhilarating especially the flying scenes. The battles were tense, easily followable with none of the usual closed-in shaky camera crap. I sometimes feared for the fate of certain characters as they were put in danger or were about to do something particularly foolhardy and/or heroic. However, I had difficulty caring for them as well. I don't know if it's because the secondary characters were not developed enough, because of computer graphics or something else. The movie is long but the storyline, with its strong ecological overtones and white people vs native people metaphors, kept my interest. The above average acting did not distract from the proceedings and I particularly enjoyed Sigourney Weaver and the security chief. Some criticized the dialogue but I must say that despite its seeming lack of originality, it does the job and I for one liked the similarities to stuff we've heard from certain authorities to justify their controversial actions. The music was pretty awesome and fit the scenes rather well but none of the themes struck me as being memorable (a la John Williams). No cheesy songs until the ending generic at least.
I would not have minded spending even more time immersed in this alien world. Avatar isn't just about being spectacular, it does try to be about something and that makes it more special, no matter how unsubtle the message might be. With luck, it will indeed be a great success and will influence in a positive way the kids watching it. Will Avatar become a cult phenomenon like Star Wars in its time? I find it unlikely but it's too soon to tell. One thing for certain though, love it or hate it, Avatar is a benchmark and many future sci-fi films will be compared to it. I would like to watch it again in the theatres but I do wonder how it will hold up on a smaller screen down the line. As it is, I suggest seeing it in the best theatre you can find while you still can. Try not to get your expectations too high (it's not the second coming) and try not to focus too much on finding shortcomings with the Na'vi like I did (they're pretty great)
Rating: 8.5 out of 10