Opens a new era in 3D films

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2009)

This is an amazing film. Definitely see this in 3D in the theater.
What makes it amazing is not the plot, which is classic, nor the many agendas of the makers. The original Star Wars had a similarly classic plot. The agendas are going to be offensive to some, but are not fanatical in their presentation.
What makes the movie amazing is the motion capture aliens and the use of 3D as just another tool in cinematography. Putting the human expression from real actors works here as it did for Andy Serkis as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. It makes the aliens believably complex.
Rather than use 3D as a gimmick to make the audience jump, or even as a way to give depth to scenes the way it was done in G-Force, the makers chose to use it as a tool to lend realism to the movie. It just works.
When you move through the alien landscape, the 3D motion brings you into it with much greater realism than is possible with standard film. It does not jump at you. At times it is subtle enough that it is easy to forget it is there -- but it always IS there. I think we will mark this movie as the real beginning of the 3D era in film.
The subtexts in this movie are many, and range from subtle and fascinating (technological vs biological avatars; technology vs life; reality vs fantasy) to blatant (mercenary behavior; living earth). They are not, however, just thrown at the viewer. There is more solid underpinnings to each of them in the story than you typically find in movies with agendas. In other words, it is a specific story with believable characters and motion, and the agendas actually fit the story and enhance it, rather than jump out as sermons.
I do very much hope this will eventually come out as a 3D blu-ray. The use of 3D in this movie will make many people want to get it that way.