Cameron has an epic imagination but 'Avatar' falls just short of being an epic film

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2009)

'Avatar' is a very good movie that sadly falls short of greatness. Cameron does what he has always done best and his shortcomings are in his weak area, script and plot development. Everything about 'Avatar' is perfect except for the script which is devastatingly mediocre.
First and foremost 'Avatar' is an event to be seen in 3-D. I can't imagine seeing it any other way. If you are considering seeing 'Avatar' you really have to get out and see it in 3-D. I can't imagine any DVD version of the film doing it justice. Cameron has created by far the most visually spectacular film of all time. 'Avatar' is beautiful to look at. Cameron's special effects have already surpassed anything Hollywood had ever done or dreamed of. 'Avatar' is a beautiful film to look at. It's lush colors, and galaxy are amazing. 3-D has been called a gimmick, and rightly so. A lot of films don't know how to use 3-D properly. I don't think 'Avatar' is as good if it isn't in 3-D. To see 'Avatar' is to have a sensory experience. I'd like to see it muted just so I can take in all the sights. George Lucas has been dethroned as Special Effects God.
As for the cast. I really don't think Cameron has had a better one in all his career. Stephen Lang and Sigoreney Weaver both deliver performances which I think could warrant Oscar consideration come Feburary. There hasn't been finer blue screen acting ever. These characters are embedded in the universe organically. We could see the awkwardness is just about every one of the Star Wars prequels and some moments in just about every Hollywood blockbuster since then like Iron Man at times. To act with extensive technology is hard. 'Avatar' doesn't have the problem in the least bit.
'Avatar' is a near masterpiece. There are times I kind of wish I had muted it though just to take it in viscerally. The problem with the picture is it's script and story structure. 'Avatar' has been done before many times before but with different names. I ask you how are Cameron's Na'vi fighting for Pandora any different from the Ewoks fighting to save Endor? How is Sam Worthington's Jake Sully different from Kevin Costner's John Dunbar? This story arch has been done to near exhaustion and it's been done better than it has been done here. Half way through the film I've heard people shout tree hugger at the film and laugh at some of Neytiri's lines. Cameron's mythology and story are no different than anything you'd find in Eastern Philosophy and Mythology for Dummies. The story isn't bad per say but it's cliché to the point where I knew what the ending would be an hour before it happened. The fact is this is a classic archetype and classic mythology, I'm not criticizing Cameron for using it. What I am criticizing him for is the fact that 'Avatar's story and mythology isn't unique enough to take me with it. He doesn't make anything his own. James Cameron has written his most disappointing script for his most beautiful movie