It taught me something.

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2014)

This is my very first review, and out of all of the movies I could choose I decided to go with one of the highest grossing films of all time, as well as one of the most hated and overrated.
When trailers of 'Avatar' were showing all over the T.V and the internet, my first thought was "....really?" The instant I saw the previews, I knew what the story was going to be like. The hero falls in love with the princess of the natives, and fights for her tribe in the end, turning his back on his own people in the process. It's a story we heard a million times over already. I didn't care if it was directed by James Cameron, one of my all time favorite directors, I avoided this film as much as possible.
Then I got 'Avatar' for my birthday, and I face palmed. Perfect, I'd have to live with this movie even if I knew it was going to have a clichéd story. So I sat down and watched the film with my family, and when it was over, I didn't know what to think. I wanted to watch it again, I wasn't 'blown away' as most audiences were, I just had a feeling that I couldn't really describe, as though I'd missed something.
The next day we watched it again, and that's when I found the meaning of what I felt, it was a lesson I failed to learn during the first viewing.
I learned that a story can be entertaining if done right, no matter how clichéd it is.
Does 'Avatar' have the same story as I thought it would have? Yes it does, but it is told so brilliantly that you don't even notice the similarities, that's how I felt. While 'Pocahontas' is a good film with nearly the same story, I was never really impressed with how it was portrayed, even as a kid I remember enjoying the music more then the movie. I just felt 'Avatar' pulled it off better, either that or I enjoy science fiction more then history.
I started to watch the movie more often after the second viewing, each show giving me more details, and a bigger smile, then the last. I grew to love the beauty of the planet Pandora, from the atmosphere and aura of the forests, to the Navi clans and the amazing yet deadly animals they share their world with. Even the attitude of the human marines, and the designs of the weaponry and futuristic technology, took me back to 'Aliens'
Heck, I even grew to admire the characters. Sam Worthington plays well as the main character Jake Sully, a disabled marine in a wheel chair who starts out rather obnoxious, and often annoying, but he matures past this the more he learns from the Navi. There's also Sigourney Weaver, who is awesome in every role she plays, as the fierce tempered, yet almost motherly Dr. Grace Augustine, and Stephen Lang as the brutal Colonel Quaritch, a scarred marine who shows no mercy against the Navi, and won't hesitate to kill anyone on their side.
Some of the acting gets hammy here and there, you either get used to it or overlook it. If not, well that's your problem.
Then there's one of the biggest issues in all of movie history: CGI. Arguments against CGI annoy the hell out of me, because without it most movies that come out today would look really pathetic. I don't have anything against practical effects, though, because in the end they both share the same answer. If done right, they can look amazing, and 'Avatar' is no exception.
As my final verdict, I give this movie an 8 out of 10, a tip of my hat to James Cameron for introducing us to an amazing new world, a way to enjoy movies with overdone stories done right. I look forward to 'Avatar 2'