Avatar

The long awaited James Cameron movie "Avatar" is finally here. James Cameron, behind Aliens and Terminator I and II and a little known movie called Titanic, has been on the slow side the past decade. After watching Avatar I can see why. The graphics alone must have taken years. The visual aspect of the movie is pure ecstasy for the eyes. I had goose bumps for 3 hours straight. It was so visually stunning that the rather simple story was ignored. The colors, the amazing graphics, the wonderful play on light and of course the characters were soaked up and after 3 hours I wished I could have more. It's my new drug of choice. However, a sequel MUST have a better plot. Cameron is good on epic movies, but not for the imaginative stories. Avatar is a classic good vs. evil story. The RDA (Resource Development Administration) the largest single non-governmental organization in human space are a bunch of gold diggers looking for Unobtainium, a highly valuable mineral found on the moon Pandora which humans mine to save the earth from its energy crisis. Together with a military force they dig and destroy Pandora in search of Unobtainium. A research team is also located on Pandora and to encourage diplomacy between humans and the Na'vi they develop so-called Avatars. These avatars look like the Na'vi species, but are controlled by the humans they are made from through a link. Jake Sully is recruited to this research project after his brother a Phd working with the avatars, died. Jake Sully, a former marine, got injured in battle and is in a wheel chair. As an avatar he is able to run, jump and all that jazz which instantly makes him like the new world. Long story short; he tries to save Pandora from the big bad company.

The movie has several peaks, with the main climax being the battle for the tree of souls. If it wasn't for the amazing visual expression the movie would have been a long, boring one-dimensional crap fest. Of course the movie does have some relevance for todays climate crisis, but I doubt it will have any profound impact on todays social conscience. WALL-E does that better in my opinion.

Avatar is an epic movie. It has pictures out of this world. My visual cortex will be completely satisfied for at least a couple of weeks after this. The 3D makes it even more spectacular. It isn't the most innovative movie story wise, but if you can ignore that, then you are in for a real treat of a movie.