Vastly entertaining and visually impressive

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2010)

I was originally a little harsh in my first review of "Avatar," believing that the film was too reliant on its visuals and CGI to make up for its one-dimensional story. However, after having watched it a second time, I noticed that the flaws didn't seem as big as when I first watched it, while the film's pluses shone even more.
As many reviewers have previously mentioned, the quality of the visuals are not up for debate. Pandora is wonderfully realized; you can see that James Cameron was obviously inspired by the Amazon rainforest for his fantastical, near-dreamlike visions. The floating mountains, as well as the floating waterfall, seem to be like Angel Falls broken up and thrown into the sky (I don't think it's coincidence that Cameron had Jake Sully serve in Venezuela once). And as for the Na'vi, there were a few moments when they seemed photo-real. Cameron has had a long history of getting the CGI to look as close to realistic as possible, and just like in "T2" and "Titanic," his attention to the graphics pays off.
Another thing I noticed was that the acting was mostly solid by everyone, and that there seemed to be no weak performances (something I could not say about "Titanic"). While there are no standouts, both lead and supporting actors and actresses seem very in tune with their characters and with each other. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana carry the film well, and their romance even felt a little touching. Sigourney Weaver isn't as strong here as she is in some of her earlier roles, but she's fine nonetheless. Stephen Lang also gets to chew the scenery up as one of the meanest soldiers this side of Colonel Kilgore.
As for the plot, it's pretty similar to "Dances With Wolves." Only Jake Sully and (more or less) Neytiri feel developed into three-dimensional characters, while the rest of the cast either lack dimensions or only serve for important plot points. There are also a couple of hokey, heavy handed moments during important parts (kind of to be expected from Cameron's pictures). Perhaps another rewrite would have fleshed out more characters and cleaned up some of the dialogue.
Still, it works. Because Jake Sully was well developed, I felt engaged in his quest to get to know the Na'vi better and, eventually, defend them. I was always impressed by "Avatar's" visuals and CGI. While I wouldn't call "Avatar" one of the best film's of 2009, I will say it is definitely one of the most entertaining, and represents another solid hit for Cameron's attention to great visuals and superb CGI.