Another step forward for sfx

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2010)

Avatar has been out for a few weeks now and the general vibe is that the film is better than people were expecting. I must admit when I saw the trailers for Avatar I wasn't desperate to queue up during the first few days it was playing. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I finally got around to seeing it.
Avatar tells the story in the future where the human race are mining other planets. The local inhabitants take second priority over the main task of recovering the resources for earth. Pandora is a moon of the planet Polythemus and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is sent to take over his dead brothers Avatar. The atmosphere on Pandora is noxious, so humans can only explore by using an Avatar which is a human-navi mix. Jake is paralysed, but the Avatar gives him the opportunity to walk again. Whilst some of the crew such as Grace (Sigourney Weaver) wish to understand more about the navi, most just want to blast them away and take what they've come for.
The obvious stand out feature of the film is the technology. This is the first 3d film where I've really felt immersed in the film. It is extremely impressive and Cameron has obviously been fairly obsessive in getting the technology right. There isn't too much of a plot as you can see from above. I enjoyed the film, but I can't help thinking that once the sfx loses it's magic this will be a fairly average film.