Avatar

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2009)

Initially conceived in 1999 as Cameron's follow up to Titanic, Avatar was put on hold when Cameron realized the technology did not exist yet to support his vision. Over the course of the next decade, Cameron created much of the technology he needed to make this movie possible. In 2002, Cameron watched The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and through the character of Gollum realized that his vision was finally possible. Twelve years have passed since the release of James Cameron's Titanic, will his new film prove that Cameron is still "King of the World"? Much has been made of Cameron's Avatar long before it's release. Hailed as a revolution in 3D and CGI technology, Avatar holds a lot of expectations, not the least of which is the fact that the budget and marketing for this film add up to approximately half a billion dollars, making it the most expensive movie ever made. Of course, Cameron has been here before. Titanic cost $200 million to make, the largest budget for a feature film at the time, and just when it looked like it was going to goose that laid the rotten egg it proceeded to make $1.8 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of all time. Cameron's also not new to the idea of revolutionizing the world of film with almost every movie he makes: with The Abyss he had the first all digital water effect, with Terminator 2 he had the first CGI character with realistic movement, and so on. Can lightning strike yet again? I'm generally someone who's adverse to using all caps for anything, but: DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS MOVIE!!!!! Also don't wait for it to come to DVD or to a TV station near you. Why, you ask? Because this movie is a movie that has to be seen the way it was intended to truly get the fully immersive experience. I watched the trailers on TV and online, and none of that compared to seeing the film in theaters in 3D. With Avatar, Cameron has truly outdone himself. When District 9 came out, I raved about the CGI effects in that movie, but Avatar is a whole other monster. With Avatar you truly cannot tell where the CGI begins and reality ends and vice versa, and on top of that it is the most beautiful film I've ever seen, CGI or otherwise. On top of that, Cameron's new 3D cameras create an experience that is in no way uncomfortable. No headaches and no motion sickness for those of you who suffer from that sort of thing. Instead, you get a highly immersive experience that leaves you begging for more (which is saying something, considering the film's run time is 162 minutes) and wanting to return when you leave.
I've seen a lot of reviews lately that talk about the film having a weak script with too many clichés and one dimensional characters. What you really get, in my opinion though, is old school story telling with a message, even though the message is drowned out in special effects and action. The script moves quickly, there is no downtime, but you also never feel like the pacing is off, or that it's moving too fast. Cameron has built a complete world, we don't just see characters and action, but we see complete eco systems, and are introduced to many characters. While the entire cast is amazing, Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch are the real standouts here. Sam Worthington creates a character that you feel for, and through his progress from pawn to leader is truly believable and heartfelt. Stephen Lang, on the other hand, gives us a character that starts off just trying to do his duty, but eventually becomes a character on par with Sergeant Barnes from Platoon or Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now.
I purposefully chose not to mention anything about the plot for this movie. I think this movie is going to be the revolution of movies that Cameron believes it's going to be. I've seen reviewers compare it to The Wizard of Oz (the movie to truly lead the color revolution) and King Kong (the 1933 version, which revolutionized special effects), and I wholeheartedly agree. I still can't completely fathom what I just saw, and will probably see it at least one more time on the big screen if not more. Anyone who's into film, the tech of film, or just wants to keep up with where film is going in the future should see this film. On top of that, this movie touches on so many different genres (SciFi, fantasy, romance, war films, drama, etc.) that it will appeal to almost everyone. Once again, James Cameron is "King of the World"! 5/5