Avatar (2009)

As expected, James Cameron welcomes the 3D technology and his latest contribution to the film industry quite makes the cut overall, although, the movie itself is decent fantasy at best.

The movie. The story unfolds in an inhospitable, awe-inspiring alien world. The plot is pretty standard and won't go much deeper with the introduction of the Avatars. Technically, the movie excels in every respect. The lush overworld of Pandora and the life it accommodates all seem very organic and realistic. Uninspired fantasy though and a world that feels UN-extraterrestrial. The actors play well the overly recycled, shallow Hollywood stereotypes of personalities. It goes without saying that the dialogues don't get astray from the same formula. Adding insult to injury, Cameron borrows quite a few concepts and while he manages to successfully incorporate them into an interesting universe, when all are said and done, this universe feels, deprived of identity whatsoever and ultimately, "artificial".

A stereoscopic experience. Whatever Avatar lacks in thematic depth, makes up for with its visual. Literally. The technology is still in a premature state: blurred, way out of focus objects in 3D intense scenes, inconsistent and scene dependent 3D effect, toned down brightness, all take away some of the immersion. But this is as bad as it gets. Besides, it soon becomes obvious that the entire movie was built from the ground up with that technology in mind and thus, everything was designed with the sole purpose of making the most out of it. The end result is an extraordinary presentation of a realistically scaled universe, filled with high-tech, jaw-dropping vistas, the dazzling flora and the magnificent fauna of a not one iota less than stunning world. And whereas the director fails completely to create any bond with the characters, he does a remarkable job in delivering an unprecedented spectacle, comparable in terms of visual impact only with Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey film, as far as I know. Impressive as this may sound, the selling point is that in these 160 minutes, there were times I felt like being right there.

An enjoyable experience after all. Recommended only in 3D.