Avatar Movie Review

Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world and in here is the dream...
-Jake Sully

Note: This being a recent release, this movie review does not contain spoilers. I'll post an analytical detailed review later.

A new world with new dreams. A new exciting place to explore, filled with adventure, interesting sights, and a beautiful forest to rip apart and destroy in order to fill the needs of greedy human corporations. Yep, Avatar is another one of those films that seeks to delightfully expose man for the greedy ruthless bastards that they are and their internal struggle against hippie tree huggers and the few who sympathize with them.

I'll just get straight to the point. In terms of story and characters, Avatar is nothing close to resembling anything unique or original. Grizzled military veteran who loves to shoot stuff? Check. Evil corporate executive who will destroy anything and everything to make money? Check. Hero who finds a way to overcome a (in this case literally) crippling flaw through high adventure? Check check check. It's all been done before. Oh, and of course the obligatory war overtones are here as well. Earth wants to take over Pandora for rich mineral? America wants to wage war over oil? Uh huh. We see what you did there James Cameron.

Yet despite an overly formulaic plot and lack of originality, Avatar manages to be a super fantastic movie. After you enter the world of Pandora, the silly plot troubles melt like lemondrops and you are taken into a fantastic CGI world of wonder. Avatar is a technical masterpiece, with human actors and CGI blending in extraordinarily well. I hate to use the movie as an art form metaphor here, but really at the end of the day Avatar is quite simply a work of art. I'm not sure how much effort and time went into creating the CGI, but it is gorgeous.

And truth be told, the story isn't all bad. Yes I said it was unoriginal and formulaic, but that isn't always a bad thing. At the end of the day, Avatar doesn't break any new ground, but it sure breaks the heck out of the old ground. Really, every you know that has seen it says the movie is awesome, and they are right. It is awesome. Go see it.

I have more to say, but that will have to wait for a more detailed spoiler post.