It feels so good to be a fanboy again.

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2009)

I did my best to keep the expectations low, but it didn't quite work out. I mean, it's a movie directed by James Cameron, featuring sassy badass Space Marines, evil corporations, power armor, and Sigourney Weaver. That's the closest I'll ever get to a direct Aliens sequel, definitely one of my top 5 movies of all time and inspiration of countless wet military sci-fi dreams.
On the other hand, although trying to stay spoiler-free, I kinda did expect something that would turn me off on a certain levels, hearing things about "dances with wolves" in space and a straight green message, delivered in black and white, without the necessary shades of grey in between. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving the planet and respecting the natives, but I like my messages delivered in a subtle way that makes me care, instead of the sledgehammer-in-your-face method. See "the day the earth stood still" remake. Bah, humbug.
Third point: My first movie in 3d. Wasn't sure how it would work out for me with my glasses, and if it would enhance or distract from the experience. Really, I had no clue.
So. here's a spoiler-free, very personal summary of what I think: Go. See. That. Movie.
In a nutshell: It's flawed, but for me, a flawless experience. It's extremely CGI-heavy (something I couldn't be more sceptic about), but it's CGI you buy into. The designs, the human characters, the animated characters, there's just... chemistry. The illusion is there and makes you overlook the obvious. The plot is predictable, but it didn't give me time to predict, because it gripped me and didn't let me go. See, a movie can have the most blatant story, the question is how it is delivered by the people involved, from the actors to the director. That's the theory, and I was always sceptic of such gibberish. But boy, it was delivered, straight to my inner child, on a silver plate full of awesome. It immersed me. It worked. I was in awe. I was in tears. I was cheering. The whole premise, the parallels to our history, the message, the love story, it's all naive. And I'm so glad that it just shut the **** up that cynic in me in the most elegant way for three hours and made me naive and open for the beauty and wit and wonder in it. I didn't think I was still capable of that, but I watched that movie with the wide, blue eyes of a fourteen year old, enjoying a thrilling, heartbreaking mix of "ALIENS" and "E.T.".
Also, sh** blows up really good.
See, the Star Wars prequels were something that should have been just that. Instead, I was pulled out of it and shaking my head all over the place. I was pulled out by wooden, badly-directed actors acting confused in front of too much blue screen. I was pulled out by half-assed cartoony CGI characters. By video game sequences of unbelievable combat and plot holes as big as a small moon.
And here's the movie where it's all so flawless, human and elegant- characters, effects, delivery- that I gladly overlook its faults and enjoy it for what makes it awesome. Here's the spiritual successor of the movies I grew up with and loved, that just left me dreaming. Suddenly I remember how it was to watch 1977's Star Wars for the very first time. Grinning, crying, cheering and clapping.
This is it. But don't listen to me, I'm being a biased fanboy here.
See? It managed to make me a biased fanboy. Nothing has done that in a decade. And it feels so good!