Astounding Visuals Elevate an Otherwise Average Movie

Rating: 6/10 (10 July 2018)

Ah, Avatar. The highest-grossing movie of all time as well as one of the most insanely hyped. It is often recognized as a milestone in filmmaking. I know that I'm far from the only one to espouse this opinion, but I feel that the amazing technology and special effects on display save this film from mediocrity.
Let's get the obvious out of the way. Pandora is of course a wonder to behold. It's a totally immersive experience, and gives you a sense of wonder. The sheer visual splendor and world-building alone managed to keep my attention for a good while.
Unfortunately, that is really the only thing about this movie that is truly groundbreaking in any way. The story is pretty pedestrian and nothing new whatsoever. As many have pointed out, it borrows heavily from many other movies of its kind, most notably "Pocahontas" and "Dances With Wolves."
The performances and main characters are serviceable, but sadly nothing more. Jake Sully's relationship with the Navi was pretty interesting at times, but is sorely lacking depth. The dialogue isn't that great, either.
One of the film's biggest problems is its 161-minute running time. As I said earlier, the film kept my attention for a while, but during the last 30-40 minutes, I pretty much lost interest. It also didn't help that the themes and messages felt pretty heavy-handed at times.
It hurts me to be critical of this film, because James Cameron is one of my all-time favorite movie directors. I'm giving this film an above-average grade just for the amazing visual experience alone, but basically everything else was average in every sense of the word. Were it not for the enormously high budget that went into making this, it would probably be forgotten by now.
RATING: C+