Review of Avatar (2009) by Joshua S — 29 Jun 2015

Seeing Avatar for the first time must have been what it was like for people back in 1977 to see the first ever Star Wars film.

Star Wars was arguably the greatest visual achievement of the 20th century. Never before had anyone seen epic landscapes and space battles of that scale before. People were in absolute awe of it, and that as much as anything contributed to its amazing success.

And that is what will inevitably lead to Avatar's success. That and its extensive marketing campaign.

I was in absolute awe of the special effects in this movie. From the beyond-dramatic landscapes to the climactic showdown at the end, there is simply nothing else like it. The only other time I have gotten goosebumps from a landscape was while watching Planet Earth in an IMAX theater. Ridiculous.

The plot can be summed up simply as a slight rehash of Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, and the Last Samurai except with huge blue people for natives and the asshole invaders ride mechs and gunships instead of horses.

There are countless cliched plot devices drawn from almost every type of movie, but I felt that they were portrayed in a refreshing light because of what was going around them visually. I didn't mind them at all, the settings that were so awe-inspiring and all the creatures that were so unlike anything I had ever seen had me grinning like an idiot throughout the whole movie.

The acting and voice acting is for the most part very good, but at least one corny line had me and a friend laughing pretty hard at its awkwardness. That's okay though, James Cameron has never been about dialogue, nor has Star Wars (as evidenced by the new trilogy). That is not what is on display here.

I can't say for sure if Avatar is a great movie or not yet. It tries to ask moral questions, none of which are anything new or special, although I found the whole concept immensely interesting.

It is a visual masterpiece to be sure, but if you can look past the effects there is a barely noticeable undertone of stailness in pretty much everything that goes on. This did not in any way diminish the experience for me, nor should it for anyone else.

Not even Byron Schultz.

Enjoy it for what it is: a well acted, fascinating science fiction film with the best special effects of anything to date, EPIC scenery, and awesome battle sequences.