The first 90 minutes of Avatar are pretty terrific -- a full-immersion technological wonder with wonders to spare. The other 72 minutes, less and less terrific.
Despite "king of the world" James Cameron's cocky claims to the contrary, with Avatar, a cinematic revolution doesn't begin so much as proceed into its next phase, one in which the battle vigorously continues between technology and storytelling, novelty and cliché, maturity and juvenilia.
At the end of a decade defined by much bellyaching about “the death of cinema” (including, on occasion, by this critic), Avatar concludes, appropriately enough, with an image of rebirth.
...a technological wonder, 15 years percolating in King Cameron's imagination and inarguably the greatest 3-D cavalry western ever made. Too bad that western is Dances With Wolves.
On a story level, Cameron has invested the bare minimum necessary to call Avatar into existence, and while there's no doubting his meticulousness, the film is more demo than drama.
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ALL AVERAGE CRITIC RATING
8.2
AVERAGE USER RATING (16 ratings)
7.6
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USER REVIEWS:
linus9
3D = mandatory.
mr_incredible9
I saw it in 2D and loved it. Simply stunning.
Before I knew it, my throat was tightening as the blue people wept and sang.
buggyracer8
STUNNING visuals - the plot is interesting, if somewhat predictable, but it's the visuals that set this movie apart - the new standard in f/x has been set.
stevilbot9
wow. just wow. we saw this in 3D and we were talking about it days later. there's a new standard for visual film making. the story's formulaic with the really bad, bad guys and the really good, good guys. but it doesn't really disappoint either.
lalligood7
If you're going to go see Avatar, find a theater in your area that has it in 3D IMAX. It's worth the extra expense for the 3D visual effects.
Visually, it was pretty intense. A new standard (not unlike what the first Matrix movie did to SFX) has been set. In other words, be prepared to see a LOT more 3D movies in the future!
The story was entirely predictable although it did a few things rather well, namely introduce characters & creatures that would play a reasonably important role later in the film. Many characters, however, were flat, largely/obviously hyperbolic stereotypes of the worst kind, and were accompanied by some groan-out-loud horrendous dialog.
Despite the flaws in characters & plot, the visuals/effects are so stunning that they almost make you forget the bad stuff.
spoko4
What a disappointing movie. After hearing all the hype, I thought I was going to see something original and interesting. It was neither. The special effects were fine, I guess, but to me that's meaningless if it's not in the service of a good story. And the story here is hackneyed, tired, cliche and well, pretty boring. The directing and acting are much the same. A half-hour "proof of concept" type film would have been a much better introduction of the tech. Don't waste your time on such an insipid, insulting movie. It's not even a good popcorn flick, unless you really are willing to check your brain at the door.
madmitch9
Quite stunning visually and a pretty good story as well. I saw it on a normal tv in "normal" and thought it was great. I can't wait to actually see it in 3D or super special mode.
This movie is available on DVD/Video