Great flick but no heart

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2009)

As a spectacle, you can't fault Avatar. However, if it hadn't been made by Cameron, I'd reckon Kevin Costner's lawyers would be sharpening their pencils!
The similarity in plot between Dancing with Wolves and this is so startling I just am in awe of James Cameron's audacity. The 'Indians' even use bow and arrows and have witch doctors for God's sake! Anyway, the special effects are very good.
The story-line, however, is weaker than you'd expect for a movie this big. None of the characters really live .. though that's not to say the actors don't do a pretty good job. It's just that none of the characters has any heart and so it's difficult if not impossible for viewers to identify with anyone. The 'western society invade peaceful pastoral society' motif is so overdone that's it's almost a parody of itself these days. I can believe Cameron started this ten years ago because that's about where the level of maturity is rooted.
Disappointing but okay.