Big step forward

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2014)

Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is paralyzed. When his brother is killed, he is offered an opportunity to take his place on the faraway planet Pandora. The company is mining valuable unobtanium and they are encroaching the local aliens Na'vi. Avatars are genetically engineered alien look-alike with both alien genes and human genes. Jake is similar enough to his brother to take over his Avatar. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) leads a team to connect with the natives and find a diplomatic solution. As he gets to know the locals, it becomes harder to bridge the divide.
The story is not as impressive. This is simplistic native warriors against big bad corporate land rapers. While the visuals are amazing, this is a long winded version of other movies like 'Dances with Wolves'. The big drawback for me is Sam Worthington. While the technology is there to give the avatars emotions, Sam isn't a good enough actor to take full advantage.
This is one of the first motion captured performance that actually looks natural. The amount of CGI is impressive. The amount of skills and technology involved to put this movie together is a big step forward. Compared to the stuff that Robert Zemeckis does, the big difference is the faces. James Cameron brings real emotions to his CGI characters that is still missing from Zemeckis. The world of Pandora looks amazing and lush. It has enough fantasy and realism. It represented a new high point of 3D. It is a visual triumph.