Avatar

We saw Avatar yesterday afternoon. Braved the single digit temps to do so. Actually we needed to get out anyway to pick up LB's new eyeglasses. And since we were out that way, we thought we'd see the flick on the nice digital screen in 3D. I'm glad we did. The 3D was very impressive! There were times objects seemed to be in my peripheral vision. And TWICE I was tempted to reach out to touch floating objects.

Unfortunately the rest of the movie was predictable, way too long and had cliched, near terrible dialog. Plus except for the planet's flora and fauna, which were very vivid, I found the designs pedestrian too. The military objects look lifted straight from his (Cameron) Aliens. Though I did like how their drabness contrasted with the bright colors of the planet's lifeforms. And while somewhat cool to watch in flight the "horses" reminded me too much of Lord of the Rings dragons. And speaking of Lord of the Rings, I really didn't think the effects in Avatar were any better and perhaps not as convincing overall as in the LOTR trilogy. I only mention this because most reviewers seem to be falling all over themselves to compliment the visuals. Now don't get me wrong. There are some very nice visuals in Avatar. But it doesn't feel revolutionary to me. Perhaps I'm just cynical and jaded when it comes to big budget CGI flicks. If you're gonna spend a gajillion dollars on a film, it's effects sure better look first rate. But take away the 3D (which I must stress again was really impressive and non obtrusive) and it didn't excite or show me any more than LOTR or even the Star Wars prequels. In fact Avatar feels very much like the SW prequels to me. Lots of eye candy while sacrificing storytelling and compelling characters. Not sure why Cameron gets praised for it and Lucas slammed for it but...

All of that said I do recommend seeing it in 3D. But not before you've seen The Fantastic Mr. Fox! Now that's a fun visual treat with strong creative storytelling and direction.