Avatar: The Matrix meets Braveheart set in Fern Gully; with traces of the Phantom Menace.

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2009)

A couple of years ago I found myself wondering what had ever happened to that once great director James Cameron? You know the one; he produced a string of hits, Titanic, T2, True Lies, Aliens. He had managed to circumvent the artistic divide somewhere between critical acclaim and box office success. Whatever happened to him?
Basically, Avatar happened.
It was an acorn of an idea that; like anything worth investing time in, has taken many many years to bring from infancy to adulthood. A real labour of love that has made a lot of recent waves in the media for setting new records for budget requirement and length of post production. All of this coupled with the kudos that goes with a James Cameron project, mean that the goalposts for success both critically and financially, were going to be set pretty high....
As a film Avatar works fairly well, it sets it's building blocks on very firmly established sci-fi ideals and ensures at all times that no matter how imaginative the storytelling; the realm of reality that has been crafted is consistent and believable.
There are a lot of nuances that would have you believe Avatar has scrounged strong plot moves and ideals from several other films and on the whole this has to be accepted. Avatar cannot be considered a wholly original or innovative sci-fi movie. In my mind I can set aside some of this 'borrowing' by clinging on to the fact that the first draft was apparently written a long time before some of its predecessors were ever conceived. This however does not excuse any of the stylistic elements which make Avatar look very much like an homage to The Matrix, The Phantom Menace and the Halo franchise.
There is an amalgamated feel to Avatar which is all its own and if you can forget that you are seeing a fairly straight forward, unidirectional story unfold before your eyes; then I think there really is something in there for everyone.
From pretty much the first scene it was fairly obvious what was going to happen to Jake Sully and how the character would develop within the realms of the story. However the was still enough drama, action, romance and political overture to keep me enthralled for the majority of the movie.
there is a 30 minute segment in the middle of the picture which judged against the rest, could be considered a little dull. However even this section could never be considered lifeless or without heart, nor would make anyone turn the movie off or leave their seats. In truth this part of the narrative is almost unavoidable and within the realms of the characters provided is absolutely inevitable. There is a certain school of thought, that would lead me to believe this part of the story is deliberately slow burning to allow the magnanimous crescendo at the finale to be accentuated, however I have to temper that opinion by saying that it still won't be to everyone's liking.
There is a message in Avatar that is obvious and makes no excuses for its self and to a large extent; no excuse is needed. The overtures it makes have been made for as long as mankind has been in existence and there are very few people in the world who would be blind the problems it attempts to highlight.
The acting throughout the film is universally excellent. It is now obvious why Sam Worthington is such high demand after only a very short carrier thus far. Sigourney Weaver reignites her relationship with James Cameron demonstrating the vigour that came before. She acts as a good foil for Worthington throughout. The undoubted star of the show however, isn't actually an actor or actress but the CGI created 'Nytiri' voiced excellently by the increasingly impressive (and busy) Zoe Saldana. The effects department have obviously taken extreme care to ensure the complex delicacy of the character is obviously but subtly presented on screen (it's a real triumph).
Whilst the story isn't pulling up any trees (sorry that's a pun) or filled to the brim with new ideas, the CGI team have mastered the images presented absolutely faultlessly. It really could be considered an evolutionary step forward in digital media and green screening. Through 120+ minutes of entertainment their expertise can never be questioned.
So whilst there are overly corny moments that will have some audiences rolling their eyes and there are periods of sentiment and political overture that are laid on a little thick; these slight errors in judgement can be forgiven because the overall attainment level of the film far outweighs the slight glitches.
A masterpiece of storytelling? No. But a memorable, enjoyable, inoffensive and likable motion picture? Yes, most certainly.