Movie review—Avatar

Seeing as I had nothing better to do on Friday night and thought I would give into the Hollywood hype machine, I went to my local multiplex and went to see Avatar. First off I would recommend seeing it in 3D because it was filmed with the intention of be viewed in 3D. 

This is a visual feast from the very beginning and you're thrown right into the storyline from the get go, getting filled in with details along the way. The basic plot is that humans are greedy and selfish and after destroying Earth they set to space to colonize and strip mine other planets. The natives of the planet they're after now aren't so friendly so they create avatars that allow them to look like the locals and try to assimilate. Of course there are kind hearted humans who take the moral high ground and try to help the natives.

There are some really great battle scenes  and the special effects are done masterfully. I was really skeptical about the blue, 10 feet tall avatars but they really look and feel natural. After awhile you begin to prefer watching the CGI over the real human footage. However it makes you wonder why they didn't just animate the whole damn movie and save a couple hundred million. If the point of creating a movie wouldn't that have been just as effective? Perhaps.

In summary, this was an enjoyable parable of a movie that dazzles you with special effects and an engrossing storyline but leaves you wondering if it was worth all the fuss.