Avatar Review

James Cameron is best known for his romantic drama Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time. However, his recent sci-fi action film Avatar could soon challenge Titanic for the #1 spot. Cameron's new movie is all the craze on the internet (and in real life too), and people have good reason to be excited about it. I saw Avatar a couple weeks ago in IMAX Digital 3D, and I'm ready to give you my scoop on the film...

Acting

The acting in Avatar was alright, but not excellent. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, who played Jake Sully and Neytiri respectively, worked well together playing the two most important parts of the film. I also really enjoyed Sigourney Weaver's work playing the eager botanist Dr. Grace Augustine, and Stephen Lang did a pretty good job of playing Colonel Miles Quaritch.

The script created an funny tone, which contradicted the serious nature of the film, yet made it slightly more enjoyable. However, the script and acting was awkward at times, which was distracting and took away from the experience.

Plot

The plot was exciting and full of action, yet highly predictable. It was definitely the weakest part of the film. It included several battle scenes, which I found to be really entertaining, but other than that, it followed the basic outline for a "underdog vs. evil empire" film. The plot did, however, send an important message that it is important to respect the land, and that it is possible to fight back against those who destroy it. That was a big part of the movie for me.

Special Effects/Graphics

The special effects and graphics were really what made the film so great. Instead of giving the viewer a few cheesy 3D shots and a mostly 2D movie, Cameron made it look like everything was happening right in front of me. As soon as you get used to looking at the in-focus spots and not the out-of-focus spots on the screen, it will seem like you are actually there. The animation, which was based off of wireframes of the actors, was also amazing. The movement of the characters was highly realistic, unlike in many animated films. The animators also did an incredible job of creating a completely new planet, from the plants and the animals to the floating mountains. Pandora, the planet on which the story takes place, was truly stunning, which made it even more sad to see it being destroyed by the Humans. The extra effort on the part of the special effects team definitely helped to make the setting and characters more realistic.

Overview

Although Avatar has a predictable plot and a mediocre script, it is a must-see because of its thrilling graphics and important underlying message.

The Good:

-Amazing Special Effects

-Realistic 3D

-Urgent and Relevant Message

-Realistic Setting and Characters

The Bad:

-Predictable Plot

-Poor Script

-Mediocre Acting