Avatar - Movie Review

I kept this review very basic and spoiler free. Read on!

I first saw a preview for Avatar a few months ago, and thought it looked interesting. I remember thinking "yep, I'll want to see that". But then, when the movie was released, and all the insanity around it broke out, I lost a bit of interest. I couldn't understand what all the hype was all about. I wanted to see it, but it wasn't a "must see", by any means.

But, the other night, my cousins and I decided to go check it out, and figured that since we were going anyway, we might as well watch it in 3D, right?

So, dorky 3D glasses on our faces, we settled down for a very long movie. I'll admit, the first 10 minutes or so were oddly uncomfortable. Getting used to the 3D was awkward and there was a certain amount of "motion sickness" to it all. But soon enough, the 3D seemed natural, and I was able to just enjoy the beauty of the images on the screen.

And beautiful they were. This movie was absolutely beautiful. Breathtakingly so. I will be incredibly surprised if it doesn't get nominated and win for every category having to do with set, costuming, etc.

The 3D just simply added to the beauty, and fit perfectly with the fact that the movie was taking place in a world that was so unlike our own, filled with magical plants and gorgeous surprises around every corner.

I'll make this clear, there is no other way to watch this movie but in 3D. Don't bother to watch it otherwise.

As far as the story line itself goes, it was also a beautiful story, filled with awe, wonder, sadness, rage, fantasy, and every other emotion you can think of. In order to avoid posting spoilers, I'm going to skip any summary of the plot, and let you watch it for yourself. I will, however say that this movie served to show both the beautiful soul as well as the ugly nature of humanity. I was both touched and angered while watching this movie. Reminded of how the human race is so quick to destroy anything different and beautiful. But also how amongst us there are always those who will sacrifice everything to save that very thing.

The cast was fantastic. Sam Worthington as Jake Sully captured both the human and the avatar perfectly. Giovanni Ribisi was a pleasant surprise for me (i'm a big fan of his) as Parker Selfridge, the rich benefactor of the entire project. He always seems to play these conflicted characters, and is always so great at this. Zoe Saldana was beautiful as Neytiri.

The movie is almost three hours long, and yet, I found myself wanting more when it was over.

I don't have much more to say because I don't think my words can't do justice to this film. Honestly, if you are even remotely a fan of fantasy, go see it. If you love beautiful images, go see it. If you are a romantic, go see it. If you like watching movies that make you think and examine the world around you, go see it. If you like explosions and battles, go see it.

I'm going to easily say this is my favorite movie of 2009. How's that for a review? Just...go see it. In 3D. ;-)