Before I get started, I did not catch on to the hype of this film, I did not come out of the theater amazed by what I had just seen, I am not one of the many people out there praising this movie like it is the next Citizen Kane. So that being said lets get started.
Was it the best movie ever made? Hell no. Was it the best movie of the decade? No. Maybe top 5. Was it the best movie of the year?...#2 (District 9 #1). Was it good? Yes. Was it great? Yeah i guess so. Was it AMAZING!? No not really. Was it better than I expected? Yes surprisingly, but I set the bar pretty low. Should you go see it? Yes, I would say it's definietly worth a see.
So now let me get to the movie itself. As many of you might know I did not have good any thoughts of this being a great movie when I saw the trailers, and infact didn't even start to take notice to it until I saw the final extended trailer.
As it is probably well known James Cameron has been sitting on this idea for quite sometime now and didn't even begin to think it was possible to make it until after he saw the CGI used in Lord of the Rings. What is sad is that this is what James Cameron is considering a glimpse into "the future of film". Don't get me wrong I think CGI is a great tool for film but it is being abused and horribly overused now adays. When you have 90% of your movie taking place infront of a green screen there's a problem. Maybe it's because I'm old fashioned, but I prefer any well thoughtout puppet that you can physically put on camera and see and touch to all the CGI, eye candy orgy you see today. Really that's all the first half of this film is really, eye candy. Not that it wasn't beautiful and a great way to suck you into the movie, granted the 3-D helped too, but you can have all the pretty computer generated wildlife you want and still have a bad movie if you lack a story. The story wasn't bad, it was just unoriginal and predictable. Don't go in there expecting a new unique movie plotwise because you aren't going to get it. Visually, yes you will be very satisfed.
Now let's talk about 3-D. Seeing as every kids movie that comes out has to be 3-D now it didn't surprise me that 2009's "BIGGEST" blockbuster would beusing it as well. However, I found it very well done and tasteful. Before going to see it I was watching a show where they were interviewing the producer and they discussed the 3-D and he explained that they weren't going for the cheap shots where they have stuff poking you in the face, they wanted to use the 3-D as a sort of window into this world they created and that is exactly what they did. Like I said though, you can have all the pretty 3-D and CGI you want but it won't amount to nothin without a story to back it up. When talking to a friend about it he said there's nothing original left to do, and it makes me think of the great Alfred Hitchcock and this quote of his.
"Eventually everthing becomes avoiding the cliche. Your own cliche as well as everyone else's. It's not just what you've done. It's about what everyone else has done and done and done. I pity the poor people in the future."
It's sad but true I'm afraid, but luckily as my sister says "It doesn't matter if you know the end, it's how you get there and the journey that matters", and that's where AVATAR shines through. Overall I would definitely see it, and in closing I only have one thing to say....Dances With Smurfs. :]
9/10
Oh and since the year/ decade is drawing to a close( and in case anyone was wondering), here are my top 13 movies of the decade! Why top 13? Because I had too many movies and didn't feel like cutting any out.
1.Lord of the Rings Trilogy
2.District 9
3.[500] Days of Summer
4.No Country For Old Men
5.The Dark Knight
6.Watchmen
7.Avatar
8.Rocky Balboa
9.Up
10.Saw
11.Casino Royale
12.Shaun of the Dead/ Hot Fuzz
13.Son of Rambow