Not that good, actually

Rating: 5/10 (29 December 2009)

Well. Hmm. Maybe it was the hype. Maybe it was because I liked Cameron's earlier films. I wouldn't pay to see this again. Let's see:
IMax, check
3D, check
Awesome surround sound, check
Great effects, check
Story, ... story... oops, no story.
I thought this was going to be an SF film. I'm a huge SF fan, but this was fantasy. The big blue kittehs reminded me more of Apaches or Kiowas than anything else. The bad guys were protecting the poor, struggling prospectors. Sound familiar? The love story was pretty weak and predictable (1953 western, anyone?) The tech was weak and absolutely nothing new. The bad guy (beats me what his name is, older buff guy, should have been chewing a cigar but wasn't) was wearing fatigues from last year. LAST YEAR! Umpteen someillion dollars on a film, and they shopped at the local Army/Navy surplus store for 2153 clothes. Really? I expected more from Cameron.
Now, the effects were totally awesome, and this is without a doubt the best 3D I've ever seen. They are good enough to make a trip to the theater worth it. When it comes out on DVD, I'll buy it and put it on the shelf next to the Abyss, which ranks in my personal top 10. I gave this film a 5, mostly to express my disappointment in the story. I know this sounds like a negative review, but go see it. It is a different sort of movie, and it is definitely entertaining. It's good, just not very good.