Avatar Review: Stunning yet lacks an inventive plot

Rating: 7/10 (10 March 2010)

With the option to watch Avatar (James Cameron, 2009) in 2D or 3D I felt forced to go with the latter due to the extensive advertisements saying that this film would totally immerse you into James Cameron's world of Pandora. Although the depth of field was far more developed and immersive than on a 2D version, 3D still has its problems. And the best part about the 3D film was the advert at the beginning with a floating robot ball/dog, which truly felt as if it were in front of you and one could touch it.
But putting the 3D debate aside Avatar still managed to wow me, and the rest of the audience, with the huge variety of textures and layers throughout the environment, creatures and the Na'vi. With Cameron having developed a whole new world, with plant life, stunning geographical features and never seen before animals the film feels totally new and some-what real as Pandora is perfection down to the smallest blade of grass, Cameron had thought of every tiny detail within this new planet before even filming/animating any of it.
Yet after the audience gets over the "Wow Factor" of this film, which is after about 45 minutes, the film has a very predictable storyline that follows a similar story to that of the invading Americans of the indigenous folk's land. Many critics and audiences alike are referring Avatar to Dances with Wolves 2, which is a fair observation that can be noticed throughout Avatar.
By the end of the film one leaves feeling that it dragged on 30 minutes too long, like many other Cameron films, and that whether in 3D or 2D the film would likely have had the same "Wow" effect. And I believe it is a unanimous belief that the best 3D scene in the cinema had to be the advert with the floating robot ball/dog. Yet this film still stands in a world of its own with no other film obviously able to compare with it. And although not being film of the year (in my opinion) it must still go down in history for its amazing achievements in its budget and then the box office.
7/10