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Let's get this over with right away....AVATAR is probably the most stunning display of visuals I've ever seen on the big screen! I was trying to think back over the years of other films which amazed me in such a fashion, 2001, ALIEN and BLADERUNNER come to mind though none of these films have much to do with AVATAR. I was very careful not to look or read much about this one before I saw it so when it shifted gears from sci-fi to fantasy I can honestly say it took my breath away. There are scenes of beauty here capable of making your heart flutter and it's easy to see why the film is breaking records across the board and why so many people a going back over and over.
The story is nothing special and I suppose this can be expected from a James Cameron feature, there is enough of it to keep the spectacle going and this is all that matters. As for all of the special interest groups yowling about AVATAR (gotta love when the Vatican weighs in on the subject!) they should all take a chill-pill with perhaps the exception of the anti-smoking folks. I still can't figure out why Sigourney Weaver's character does so. Doesn't bother me one way or the other but I'm curious to know why Cameron wrote her that way. I can't help but comment on Zoe Saldana who between playing Neytiri here and Uhura in the new STAR TREK franchise has pretty much cemented her position as the geek-fan-boy wet dream gal of the era. I must also add she does a stunning job in the role. Sam Worthington too is great though his Jarhead part could have done with some better dialogue. One pleasant surprise with the casting, other than seeing the great CCH Pounder finally getting a plum big screen part, was the inclusion of Stephen Lang who we all both loved and hated back in the CRIME STORY series. I was thrilled to see him getting some top notch Hollywood love and I'm sure his and Pounder's inclusion will greatly help their retirement funds. Giovanni Ribisi has a couple moments of note but when all is said and done AVATAR is a feast for the eyes. For those of you who've not yet experienced it, the 3-D is more depth oriented rather than things flying out at you and as much as I enjoy the REAL D 3-D process I have to say I would have rather seen this in regular format as some of the action is so frantic it can make your head spin. It may have something to do with my age but I also could have done with a shortened battle scene at the end but then who am I to complain about this billion dollar epic which will no doubt clean house at the Oscars this year.
In closing, it doens't matter if you despise sci-fi/fantasy films, AVATAR has to be seen to be believed and it does have enough heart to carry you through the weird stuff. Absolute blow-your-mind material!~