just sit back, and turn your brain off....

Rating: 5/10 (8 January 2010)

First of all, let me begin by saying that this movie IS worth the 10+ dollars it will cost to see it in 3D in the movie theatres. However, you should not expect to come out of this movie with any greater appreciation of movies or with any life-changing philosophies...
Avatar, technically, is done beautifully. Yes, the special effects ARE incredible. there are some scenes in the "Flaoating mountains of Pandora" which may cause you to crap your pants. they did both times i saw it. For this reason alone, it is worth seeing in theatres. i can guaruntee you that if you rent this and watch it at home, you will be left saying "man, i wish i saw that on the big screen..." That said, despite a creative story and phenomenal CGI, the execution of the plot is.....well, sub-par. the story itself is quite origonal: a crippled space marine is given a second chance at a meaningful life by being allowed to participate in a program which allows him to have his consciousness inserted into a genetically engineered body. this body is almost exactly like that of the humanoid natives which inhabit the moon of Pandora, and our protagonist is asked to basically make friends with the natives, earn their trust, and then tell us their weaknesses or negotiate with them so we can get them to move off their land and we can get the valuable minerals on which they have settled. has potential, right?
the best thing about this movie is that the production team did a fantastic job of creating a quite literally 3 Dimensional world. all the plants are unique and beautifully colored, and the animals are wonderfully done. it is probably the best looking and sounding movie i have seen in theatres. The other thing i must commend the writers and director on is their ability to make the audience feel. you will feel sad for many characters when bad things happen to them, and you will cheer on the good guys in the midst of battle. mind you, you wont feel any confusion or mixed feelings about anything; there's certainly nothing challenging here, but hey, you will REALLY hate the bad guys.
unfortunately, the plot begins to lose coherence about half way through the film, and what little of it fits together unravels in the most predictable way i think i could have imagined. I could almost move past the predictable plot were it not for the paper-thin, stereotypical characters. The military men are always and without fail the "bad guys," and the one-with-nature aliens can always be counted on to do the "right" thing. Now, i don't expect anything mind-bending when seeing an action movie like this, but the way the plot and characters interact is so cardboard, so....childish really, is frustrating for such a massive budget. The themes and messages in this movie are so obvious and preachy, its painful at times.
The script was a little awkward occasionally. not a big deal, but sometimesthe characters said things which left me wondering, "would anyonereally say that??"
Finally, the biggest turn off for me about this film was the unbelievably awkward alien romance throughout. one of my friends in the theatre with me got it right when she said during the near-sex-scene between two of the "na'vi" aliens, "man, i cant even say 'aw' or anything....this is just weird...." . The romance was INCREDIBLY forced, and well, awkward. just awkward. you almost wanted to discourage their 'love' because it is literally painful to watch.
Again, yes. you will want to see this in theatres. you'll be glad you spent your money on it, but you may not want to spend your money later when it comes out on DVD. The sand-like plot simply slips through the fingers of the SFX, and you feel slightly unsatisfied at the lack of substance or value left over in this film. Five stars out of Ten.