Avatar is a 2009 American science fiction epic film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang. The film is set in the year 2154, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a lush moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi—a sentient humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The film's title refers to the genetically engineered Na'vi and human hybrid bodies used by several human characters to interact with the natives of Pandora.

Development on Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page scriptment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999, but according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. Work on the language for the film's extraterrestrial beings began in summer 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006.

Avatar was officially budgeted at US$237 million. Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production, and at $150 million for promotion. The film was released for traditional two-dimensional projectors, as well as in 3-D, using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D and IMAX 3D formats, and also in 4-D. The stereoscopic filmmaking was touted as a likely breakthrough in cinematic technology.

Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was released overseas on December 16 and in North America on December 18, to critical acclaim and commercial success. The film broke several box office records during its release and became the highest-grossing film of all time in North America and worldwide, surpassing Titanic, which had held the records for the previous 12 years. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion. Following the film's success, Cameron stated that there will be a sequel. Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction.

I have now not seen it twice and I gotta say it's still an F, at very best.

'Avatar': Enter the World

Review by G.M. (Gamaur)

After 12 years absent from mainstream cinema, James Cameron has made a triumphant return to Hollywood with his magnum opus 'Avatar', the highly anticipated new 3D film currently in national release. Whilst not the buccaneering tour-de-force of directorial perfection from start to finish many were hoping for, it represents an exciting new chapter in the progressive tale of the medium.

The opening act introduces us to Jake Sully, a paralyzed ex-marine portrayed with tentative adequacy by our own Sam Worthington. As you might recall, I had a chance to chat to Sam a few months ago and asked him about his feelings on the pressure associated with leading such a monumental project. His response was typically understated, citing his confidence in Cameron and simple, honest appreciation. He's still the down-to-earth brick-layer he was before his first Nida audition, and that makes him one of the most endearing actors out there at the moment. With a role in next years mythological epic 'Clash of the Titans' he's rapidly ascending to Hollywood's A-list of actors, although his performance in 'Avatar' perhaps raises a few concerns about his ability to convey an American accent with consistency. But this is purely a technical problem, and mild at best. He'll get there.

The film's set in the distant future and showcases some of the - dare I say it - coolest looking technology put on screen. The story is kick-started by the plot-device forming the film's title, with Jake being selected to take part in what's known as an 'avatar program'. As Jake's voice-over tells us, the concept is that the participant's mind connects with a remotely controlled body, referred to as an 'avatar', a term cleverly derived from the Sanskrit 'Avatāra', meaning 'form of oneself'. The avatars are lab-grown alien hybrids made for interaction with a species of primitive natives called the Na'vi, who reside on a moon appropriately called 'Pandora', which has an orbit around planet Alpha Centauri A (the brightest star in the southern constellation). Pandora is covered in a tropical wonderland of a jungle and is of particular interest to corporate earth as it's home to a highly valuable mineral called unobtanium. Unfortunately for the Na'vi, their community is housed directly above the richest known deposit, and so Jake is sent in on a diplomatic mission to persuade them to relocate. Of course, things get interesting as he attempts to integrate himself into the Na'vi society and eventually the opposing interests of each species culminate in all-out war. Along the way Jake meets the surrealistically beautiful Neytiri (played by the illustrious Zoe Saldana fresh off her role in Star Trek), princess of the Na'vi tribe, who teaches him the culture and language after a sign from their deity. In classic cinematic fashion they quickly fall in love and Jake's mission becomes a personal dilemma and a moral imperative, not just a financial one.

If that sounds like a Starship Troopers meets Dances With Wolves sci-fi fiasco, don't worry. It's other elements completely overwhelm any reservations you might have about the plot. This is the first time we've seen stereoscopic 3D on an appeal-to-the-masses live-action blockbuster, and on a visual level it's downright remarkable. Pandora is a triumph in computer generated imagery and houses some of the most unique looking critters we've seen. The forest is absolutely beautiful, especially when lit by the bioluminescent qualities of Pandorian lifeforms in night scenes. What's bioluminescence you ask? Trust me, you'll get a much better explanation at the theater than I could give in a few lines of text. When it comes to the Na'vi it's quite easy to tell you're watching CG, which is very much counter to all the claims of them looking like people covered in elaborate make-up. Within context you gradually grow more accustomed to their appearance and eventually they're very easy to accept as characters alongside any live-action performance in the film. That's a milestone within itself. There is a great sense of depth and imagination to all things in Avatar in much the same way there was to Star Wars. The Na'vi even have their own precociously invented language and history, which results in many scenes with subtitles.

Where Avatar falls short is in the prevalent Cameron-esque corniness and the lack of effective character development in the early stages. At the apex of the story-arc the pacing is far too quick to allow for the desired dramatic engagement, and the dialogue is simple at best. Worthington and Saldana have a good dynamic on screen but there could have been a lot more time spent developing their relationship. All the same, the romance quickly becomes the focus point of the film which may surprise many who were expecting an updated version of 'Aliens'.

But never mind any of that, the above shortcomings are completely engulfed by the total visual immersion and the originality of the films tonality and appearance. Avatar isn't something you can compare to any other standard of storytelling; it's much more of a theme-park ride than a film, only it's a ride with emotion and a conscious. The message is very planet-friendly and may divide some viewers for it's obvious political relevance to our society, but suspended from any stigma it is pure entertainment in the most audacious form you've ever seen. The 45 minute finale includes some of the most impressive action sequences I've witnessed, and leaves all aforementioned qualms in it's wake. The emotion builds from no where and all of a sudden you get the sense you're watching part of cinematic history unfold right in front of you, much in the same way people felt when watching Star Wars 30 years ago.

James Cameron is perhaps Hollywood's most confident director, and as he's proven once again, it's for a very good reason. Leave your expectations and cynicism at the door, and I guarantee Avatar will be an experience to remember.

****/*****

Just saw it at the Finnish red carpet screening.

Avatar is a good movie with some stirring scenes. It's not a great movie, but it's worth seeing and I'll give it another watch sometime on DVD.

The story is solid and while it has some derivative elements, it also has original and interesting material to it - Like the whole concept of "avatars", which has been used in scifi literature, but not really in scifi movies to my knowledge. The film has a bit too much new age nature mysticism for it's own good, but I liked the fact that these elements were approached from a scientific angle.

Character work is solid as well. Worthington as Jake Sully makes for a good lead with his cocky and fun attitude. I didn't particularly like his constant voiceovers, thought. Felt like a somewhat tacky solution, when visuals were already communicating everything that needed to be communicated. Everyone else is good as well, actor- and character-wise, and the villain is fun to hate.

Technically Avatar is very impressive, and particularly the work on Navi is outstanding. Their design has always looked kinda dorky to me, but in the context of the film they worked great. And there was no uncanny valley for me, they felt like *living* things. I think the key to this is the extremely subtle and realistic motion capture of facial gestures. It's easily the best work we've seen so far in attempting to create CGI characters.

The worst part of Avatar was the 3D. I've only seen Ice Age 3 and Up in 3D before this one, and I don't think the technology works at all in scenes and shots with fast motion. It's very headache- and nausea-inducing. When compared to animated movies, Avatar had the extra challenge that real environments are just so damn detailed. It's straining to the eye. I guess it's worth mentioning that I saw the film in an extremely high quality 3D theatre, so this was not a case of subpar quality screening.

UP worked a lot better in 3D, because there were less details in the shots, the shots were either static or long tracking shots, and the editing was relatively slow-paced. I would have enjoyed Avatar more in 2D. I admit he film felt easier to watch as it progressed, maybe my eyes and brains simply adjusted to it, or maybe 3D worked better in CGI environments, or maybe the shooting style became less hectic.

Whatever is the case, I still don't see audiences embracing 3D over 2D.

The audience reaction I gathered from my friends (males 25-30) were positive, with some reservations. I think it will definitely have good WOM, but I wouldn't expect it to develop exceptional legs. Just good, solid legs.

B+ (I would give it the same grade also to a 2D version).

What do you mean by that exactly? Do you really think there's an agenda in my review?