Review of Avatar (2011) by Thomas B — 27 Jul 2016

People must have thought he was mad when first James Cameron told them of his dream of a film so groundbreaking that the technology to make it hadn't been created yet; talking about 8 foot tall blue humanoids, albeit with tails, who live on a forest planet named Pandora and ride around on pterodactyl-like creatures by means of their wiggling ponytails. But for those who saw a veritable goldmine, the pay offs have been huge. .

If you are one of the 10 people left who haven't heard of Avatar, then it'll be news to you that it has crushed Cameron's previous record breaker 'Titanic' by almost half a billion dollars now and has been nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. But is the film any good? .

Short answer; yes. Without the incredible scenery and immersion in the world onscreen, the movie might have not been as applauded critically. It struggles with its diaglogue occassionally (unobtanium anyone?), lacks an original storyline and the secondary characters are almost all superfluous, but the fact is that even the real world around us seems to pale in comparison to Pandora. What's more it means that film fans can finally use the word immersive without being laughed at. .

In terms of character the film is not quite on par with its competitors in the Oscar race. Sam Worthington's character Jake Sully is the main focus of the film, and even his backstory is deemed unnecessary in the face of the visuals being supplied. Zoe Saldana's character Neytiri is almost on the same level of Jake in terms of character development, though she shines as the feisty Pandora native. Both of the leads are fantastic and the chemistry between them is almost visible. As soon as the Academy validates motion capture as acting Saldana should be given an Oscar for her incredible work. Stephen Lang, playing the tough-as-nails Colonel Quatrich, is absolutely fantastic, stealing every scene he takes part on as he munches on the Pandoran scenery, whether he's bench-pressing or he's in his combat suit, remeniscent of Ellen Ripley's power loader in Aliens. The fact that he's so bad ass that he walks around outside without a mask is enough. .

The fact that the storyline may not be as original as some people would consider 'Oscar-worthy' shouldn't even come into question. For those who say that a film is nothing without its storyline, watch Star Wars: A New Hope again. And yes, the rubbish about Eywah is just that, but all will be forgiven and forgotten as soon as you land on Pandora. And as for the last half hour, James Cameron's flair for action choreography has never been as active since Aliens. .

If you haven't seen it yet, you're a fool, strap on some 3D glasses at your closest cinema and watch it. .

Defining Scene: .

Jake takes his first run through Pandora. Cue tingly feeling in the spine.