Avatar - Movie Review

It has been a while since I reviewed a movie--but I saw Avatar and felt it needed a review.

I saw the movie in 3D XD at the local theater and was really impressed with the way the 3D was incorporated into the movie--it was one of the most impressive and natural 3D experiences that i have had. Technology gets a great grade.

The story is compelling and intriguing. The movie is long--almost three-hours, but the character development is necessary to understanding and appreciating the movie. The story moves though and the three hours passes very quickly. Much has been written about the opening sequences as being slow--but without the character de velopment acocmplished there, the movie would lack depth. The story is a lot like Dances with Wolves meets Fern Gully. The movie is set on a planet called Pandora with native peoples who are different form humans, but as you might suspect also superior in many ways to humans. This sets up the conflict between the races which forms the basis for the plot.

That written---the movie provides solid entertainment with a distinct social engineering thrust in two arenas--one--the suppression of indigenous peoples is wrong, and two, we need to be more in tune with our environment. Of course the quest for money (the love of money is the root of all evil) and the desire to possess the mineral riches of the planet are critical parts of the movie and directly relate to the environmental and ecological themes presented. There is also a strong religious (earth mother) undertone to the movie as well.

RECOMMENDATION: See this movie. It is not the best movie of all time, but the technical effects are amazing, the story compelling, and the acting is strong. Everyone is talking aobut this movie and there is no way you can appreciate it without seeing it. See it in the 3d and exepcially the XD 3D is you can. There is some violence and sensuality in the movie--so not good for the pre-teen crowd.