AVATAR (Originally Reviewed and Posted December 19, 2009)

Before I even start on this review, let me just tell you that I was waiting in anticipation to see this movie by James Cameron. I have a friend that's a film critic and he got a special film screening of this movie last week. Told me alot about the movie but in a way, didn't tell me alot (I wanted to see the movie for myself). Here' what I have to say about AVATAR...

The movie “Avatar” is absolutely stunning to the eye and a pretty terrific movie — a full-immersion technological wonder with wonders to spare. James Cameron’s Avatar, becomes intentionally grueling in its heavily telegraphed narrative turn toward genocidal anguish, grim echoes of Vietnam-style firefights and the inevitable payback time sequence near the end. The movie really does look incredibly fantastic, whether it’s dealing with flying prehistoric-yet-futuristic birds or fluorescent mushrooms (I've seen people actually trying to grab at them)...the imagery in this movie is spectacular. And the 10-foot tall alien race known as the Na'vi were incredibly stunning...all CGI....and they blended beautifully well with the humans in this live action movie.

Our hero is paraplegic ex-Marine Jake Sully (played by Australian actor Sam Worthington), who takes over his late brother’s job as part of the Avatar Program on Pandora. This means he psychically controls the movements of his Na’vi-like avatar while confined to a coffin-like container. The program, which was originally designed for botany research, is overseen by his no nonsense boss played by Sigourney Weaver (She's as tough as Ripley in the ALIEN Movies). By lying in the coffin-like chamber and “Matrix”-ing his way into an alter ego, Jake regains metaphoric control of his legs, and his life. He is a changed man once he tastes Na’vi life and falls in love with his teacher and trainer, the female warrior Neytiri.


Before he can realize it, Jake is too late. There is a corporate Boss/Drone Selfridge(played by Giovanni Ribisi) and mean old Colonel Quaritch (played by Stephen Lang). Jake finds out that the two of them have no interest in anything but profits and carnage. There is a lot of slaughter of the Na'vi in the latter half of this movie but I found it pretty hilarious when Colonel Quaritch laid on some of the Iraq war parallels (references to “shock and awe,” and fighting “terror with terror” come to mind)...but there's more... At one point, Quaritch’s gung-ho/bullet biting arrogant self says, “I want this mission high and tight. I want to be home for dinner.”

In short...if you do decided to see this epic of a movie, I would suggest that you see it in 3D (IMAX if you can), because the 3D effects will blow you away.