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AVATAR

The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, AVATAR delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary 3D technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story. AVATAR is an immersive, experiential, and emotional movie experience drawn on a vast and spectacular canvas, transporting audiences into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters. (See the feature trailer below)

Socrates' movie review:

Yesterday me, my wife Julie and our friend Dimitre went to see the early showing of AVATAR at a local IMAX 3D Theatre in Toronto.

We went out first thing in the morning and were somewhat surprised to find out that half an hour before the theatre's opening time there was already about a-hundred-people-line-up. Needless to say, the vast majority of them were waiting to get in the first IMAX 3D show that we had tickets for.

We lined up and started chatting with the guys ahead of us about how crazy it is to come early and wait before the theatre was even open, especially on a Canadian winter day like that one. Luckily the theatre's management recognized the situation and opened doors early.

The Plot: While trying to minimize the chance of any plot spoilers I will say that to me the movie was surprisingly pro-Environment, and in that sense arguably political. Julie also noticed that the film came out right on the heels of the world meeting in Copenhagen. Whatever the case may be, I believe such political bearing actually enhances the movie's relevance to the present ecological trials of our planet. Furthermore, it is rare to see a film where the human race is not only not the main character but, at least in some sense, is outright destructive and even evil. Such a counter-anthropomorphic point of view can be extremely beneficial and healthy to consider at least every once in a while.

The 3D experience: I have seen quite a few 3D movies and have to say that by comparison the AVATAR 3D experience was well above and beyond what I have seen so far. In that sense, therefore, it was truly amazing. On the other hand, while watching the movie in 3D, I did feel a very notable eye-strain and Julie felt it even more than me for she claimed that in the first half of the movie she felt "motion sickness." By contrast, our friend Dimitre said that he felt no strain or any other side effects from the 3D glasses and/or the movie format so it will be up to you to judge the 3D effect for yourself. One thing that viewers have to recognize as different about AVATAR is that the images on the screen are not computer generated but are the bodies and faces of the real actors where the computer simply captures rather than creates the actor's movement and emotions.

Socrates' verdict: Usually I am quite quick to rate a movie on a scale of 1 to 10. Just watch the movie, think about it for a bit and pick a number that corresponds with your experience - not a big deal, right?! What was interesting in this case is that immediately after watching AVATAR I thought that it deserves either a 9 or a 9.5. Yet, the more I think about the movie and analyze its pros and cons, the more I realize how deep and multilayered it is. Consequently I am finding myself more and more fascinated with it. It is a meticulously thought of, written, scripted, produced, executed, casted, acted and completed movie. Thus, after over 24 hours of deliberation I have decided 2 things:

Firstly, I will go and see the movie at least one more time - in 2D, because I have the strong feeling that I may enjoy it more and be less distracted without the 3D "eye-strain" effect. This in turn will allow me to pay better attention and notice more of the numerous, deeper, multi-layered and interesting movie details.

Secondly, I have decided to give the movie a 10 out of 10 rating.

To see more movie trailers, behind the scenes footage and interviews with the director, the producer, the designers and the actors you can watch the videos below.

You can also read Ray Kurzweil's detailed and highly critical review.