Movie review - Avatar

Barb and I took in Avatar last night amidst a snow storm in old St. Loo.  We made the very wise decision to see it in 3-D, which, I have been told, is really the only way to really experience the movie.  And what an experience it was!  While the story may be old hat (more on that later), the effects - from the 3-D technology to the dazzling array of colors - were like sensory overload (in a good way) combined with some sort of cosmic visual orgy.  Wow, that sounds weird now that I have typed it out, but I stand by it nonetheless.  It was really breathtaking.

The story concerns humankind expanding into other worlds, intruding upon other species and their sacred grounds for nothing more than the almighty dollar.  Yes, it's pretty obvious which side you are supposed to root for right away.  It's typical James Cameron, complete with an over-the-top villain, who is played with great zeal by the always underrated Stephen Lang.  As far as crazy bad guys go, Lang makes an impressive one.

Sigourney Weaver plays a scientist whose loyalties clearly lie with the indigenous people of the planet Pandora.  Age seems to agree with Ms. Weaver very well; this is the 2nd performance I have seen her in recently (The Girl In The Park being the other) and both times she has been very compelling.  It's nice to see talented actresses still getting work as they get a bit older, something that has not been so easy in the past.

The main role is played by Sam Worthington, someone that I was not familiar with prior to Avatar.  He is quite impressive here, carrying the movie with relative ease.  He plays somewhat of a dual role, that of his character in human form and his character in Avatar form.  (It should be noted that Sigourney Weaver does this as well and is terrific in both forms).  I found Worthington particularly believable as a human and watching his character (predictably) evolve was compelling.

Worthington's Avatar has to have a female love interest (of course) and she is embodied by Zoe Saldana.  We never see her as a human (she is not human in the movie) but her character is charming; equal parts sweet, seductive and ferocious.  It's a terrific performance even if the character is more than a bit reminiscent of other strong women in other Cameron movies (see Aliens, Terminator 2 and Titanic for reference).

As for the story itself, it plays out rather predictably as you would imagine.  It is a typical James Cameron event film.  Still, despite the familiarity and some preachy-ness, it is often quite stirring and it's all wonderfully entertaining.  The battle scenes are epic and spectacular.  There are definitely moments you will see coming from miles away but it really doesn't diminish how entertaining the movie is as a whole.

I heartily recommend seeking out Avatar in it's full 3-D glory.  It's an experience unlike any other at the movies and it's one that will stay with me for a while.