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Avatar (2009)

floobles rating

Avatar

a film directed by James Cameron

review written by jack floobles

January 12, 2010

Before Avatar came out, there was a ton of buzz. Everyone was talking about it. People were claiming it was going to change the way we viewed movies. Well, what's my opinion? Does it change movies forever? I don't think so. Is it a good flick worth seeing? Yep.

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It's visually stunning. James Cameron has taken a $250 million budget (some figures put it as high as $300 million or more) and created an entire world. And yep, there are neat explosions too.

A fellow critic had this to say about the movie: "It looked great. I loved it. The story isn't too great. But it's amazing to watch." So, the quick and dirty plot, since it's not too "great" anyway. In Avatar, a noble white warrior (played by Sam Worthington) from a distant tribe rolls into town and goes into this bath tub. Once inside this contraption, his mind is able to control another body, his avatar. He makes love to an alien without revealing he's really human. He ventures to save the alien race from the evil human oppressors.

A lot of people are comparing the plot to movies like Dances with Wolves or The Last Samurai. Wounded white soldier befriends alien people, learns to love them and love their culture, then goes on to save them from destruction. Yes, it's true. We've seen this song and dance before. But that doesn't necessarily impact the viewing experience. Clearly, Cameron was focused on bringing us a visual experience, giant gorgeous eye candy that our brains would become engorged on. It wasn't to tell a new story. It's about the visuals and the message: peace, love, harmony, these are good things. War is bad.

Whether or not you'll walk away loving Avatar depends entirely on what you expect. Cameron has had better movies. In my opinion, Terminator 2 is his best film: great action coupled with great story telling. However, this is still a good movie. It's worth a watch, if only to give yourself some eye candy for a few hours.