A fantastic voyage !

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2009)

Although "Avatar" may not be James Cameron's greatest story I consider it a great popcorn movie. It is a film, that should work fine even without IMAX cinema - however with 3D for me it was fantastic! Already once Cameron took a lot of risk with "Titanic". Back then his success was nothing you could have expected back then! His newest creation is no less risky but it seems it will work out perfectly fine.
What has always impressed me considering this director and writer (especially when thinking of his movies "The Abyss", "Terminator 2", "Aliens"...): nothing in Camerons script seems to be coincidence. Everything seems to have a profound reason. Every picture is thoroughly thought. Same holds true for "Avatar". Its plot provides several typical Cameron elements: the clash of different worlds, technology versus nature, progress versus tradition, human species crossing a crucial line and so on. I heard it reminded several viewers of films like "The Last Samurai" but I'd say the meaning of this story goes deeper. It's not just about how we deal with other cultures and traditions, it's about how blind we deal with nature.
During this picture, you can almost feel how its 3D technology is evolving. The director and his crew were painting an image of colossal size, merging tons of impressive ideas from all directions (movies, nature...). So far I have never seen anything as detailed. It's like seeing (feeling in some way) a different world - which from my point of view is "Avatar"'s greatest strength. This time the very archetypal plot is no more than a fancy (though not less moving) accessory.
Easy to see I'm very positive about this movie. On the other hand - without 3D and especially on a TV screen - I could imagine that "Avatar" might have some lengthy moments. I assume that probably 3D needs more "lengthy" moments to relax than 2D. In my point of view Cameron chose the right pace and you'll have enough time to become familiar with this new world. There are several moments, when "Avatar" is like a "prototype", where not everything is perfect. And yes, the quality of 3D varies and some images seem to have little space, whereas others look totally overwhelming. But from my point of view the story is strong enough overcome little flaws.
Summing up: "Avatar" is offering a truly wonderful impression of what is possible, how cinema can/will be plus even more and also a very moving story which hopefully will create a more positive spirit towards nature. A film which already is one important brick in the wall of film history !