Wow! Just... wow

Finally got around to going to see Avatar this afternoon. I was among the skeptics when it came out... yea it looks pretty but is it going to be a worthwhile movie? Well then I read a couple magazine articles about the technology behind the movie- and so the geek in me was more intrigued. Well then it came out and everyone that I knew or remotely knew that went to see it seemed to come back raving- so I figured, let's do this. Of course if I was going to see it- I wanted to see it in all its glory, so it was off to a theater in Reading that was showing it on IMAX. And so after all the wondering... I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!

Wow- what an experience! Of course the strong selling point of this movie is the visuals, and they definitely did not disappoint! The 3-D aspect was really cool- it added another dimension to the movie without the constant cheesy stream of things flying at the screen. The CG world of Pandora is beautiful beyond description- I especially loved the nighttime bioluminescence flora. Also on the topic of CG, the job done on the Na'Vi was top notch! From action shots to emotional closeups, I thought the graphics were extremely realistic- to the point that I quickly stopped thinking about and critiquing the CG. And sitting behind all these was a solid soundtrack that supported the movie well and helped convey the emotion of the scene. On top of it all then, seeing it on the grand scale of IMAX- while I can't compare seeing it on a regular screen, I can't imagine that there is any comparison. This is a grand movie that flourishes on the grand scale of an IMAX screen.

I also want to say my piece on the storyline. I've heard so many different things that James Cameron has supposedly ripped off in this movie, from old sci-fi stories to comic books. While I have no prior knowledge of those to comment on, I will say my piece on the complaints that the story is simply Pocahontas or Dances With Wolves re-wrapped. For starters- last time I checked... Hollywood is all about redoing, and re-redoing stories. There are constantly adaptions and remakes coming to theater screens- so why is it that suddenly Avatar is guilty of some sort of unoriginality crime. And then on top of that- I seem to think that Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves were two rather good stories... so why not retell them? Suffice it to say that I thought the storyline was very good as well. Sure, it may be a story we've heard before- but it's told in its own new way, and it's a story with some good lessons- so perhaps its worth hearing again.

So yes- to anyone that hasn't seen it yet, I would absolutely recommend going and seeing it! And on that I would highly recommend seeing it on an IMAX screen- I just can't imagine a regular screen being able to give the movie the same justice.