Avatar

Avatar is a 2009 American–British epic 3-D science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang. The film was produced by Lightstorm Entertainment and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was released in the United Kingdom on December 17, 2009, one day prior to its theatrical release in the United States.[4]

The film begins in 2148 and focuses on an epic conflict on Pandora, an inhabited Earth-sized moon of Polyphemus, one of three fictional gas giants orbiting Alpha Centauri A. On Pandora, human colonists and the sapient humanoid indigenous inhabitants of Pandora, the Na’vi, engage in a war over the planet’s resources and the latter’s continued existence.[5] The film’s title refers to the remotely controlled, genetically engineered human-Na’vi bodies used by the film’s human characters to interact with the natives.

Thank you Wikipedia for that.

Now…First I will give this film a very big, very motivated two thumbs up followed by five gleaming stars.  It was a big, cool and fun surprise.  Being stranded here in the land of the rising sun I often miss news about “up and coming” films as I tend to have my head in the sand, just paying attention to my own self and the things that closely orbit around me.  Due to this, I heard near to nothing about Avatar other than that James Cameron was directing it.  I know, this alone warrants attention as Mr. Cameron is the chief pimp for big budget Sci-fi but anyway: I had close to no idea.

This is really the BEST way to watch a film, that is, uninformed.  No pre-conceptions or hopes that inevitably drag your viewing experience threw the mud.  A clear, unfettered mind to absorb and enjoy the film and whatever it has to offer.

Avatar offered a lot. A very cool story.  Characters people can connect with and enjoy.  An entire new world that Cameron skillfully put together. Genuinely amazing Special effects.  Fun concepts and of course MARINES. Can’t really go wrong there, now can we?

This is NOT however a very novel story. Some of the concepts in the plot are for sure, but essentially its something we have all seen before: coming of age, but with interesting gimmicks.  In fact it seems like James managed to slip in just about every traditional plot line in history. Coming of age, Nature vs. Machines (popular these days), Doomed lovers from different backgrounds, Corporate greed vs. Balance and harmony and let us not forget good ole fashioned imperialism, at a few points in the film I honestly did not feel so good watching blue aliens kicking Marine ass but hey, old habits die hard .  But the gimmicks make it all very watchable and interesting.

Along side the much less touted Pandorum I really think Avatar is one of the best Sci-fi films I have seen in years.

I can say however, that it is no Star War’s and I was appalled when Roger- The Tool- Ebert Compared the two favorably.

That having been said, this IS a fun movie and it IS worth a watch in the Theater.