Avatar

Right Avatar, 3D and all that. Let's get the whole 3D thing out of the way first as many of the 5 star reviews attributed to Avatar seem to focus on how amazing it looks and the whole immersive experience and what not. And it is indeed a stunning looking movie. The effects are indeed incredible, probably the finest yet. The world of Pandora is full and brilliantly realised and the motion capture techniques used for the Na'vi characters are almost flawless. The 3D is really good too, although it has its problems, many of which are the sort of things that blight any new technology at first. Really they're minor grumbles involving framing of shots when characters and objects come out of the screen. At times you're staring at half a Na'vi just floating there. When it is used only to create depth going back into the screen it is sublime. Basically Avatar is an incredible technological achievement.

The problem is that's all it is.

James Cameron has never really been one for his brilliant stories. Even his most celebrated films, Aliens, the first two Terminators, were pretty thin on plot but made up for it with some of the best, most tense action scenes you could wish for. Avatar's got a few explosive moments too, but if you're looking for another Cameron film to compare it to, structurally speaking, then look no further than Titanic. Way too long? Check. Tepid love story? Check. An outsider introduced to another culture? Check. Only really gets exciting after you've stopped caring and your buttocks are numb? You get the idea.

It really is very long. Most of the events that occur in the first two hours or so would probably have been presented as a series of montages in other films so we could get to the juicy action stuff. In all honesty you can't blame Cameron for wishing to dwell on events happening on Pandora. It really is a beautiful, wonderfully realised world. It's just that at the same time you wouldn't mind seeing some of it getting all exploded n shit.

Well rounded as the world may be, the same term cannot be applied to the characters who either populate or visit it. Most are identikit like you'd buy out of some stock character Ikea or something. There's the science geek, the company man, the hard as nails drill Sgt. that R. Lee Ermey would play if this had been made twenty years ago. In fact only Sigourney Weaver's chain smoking biologist Grace Augustine, who's a bit like a cross between Ripley and her from Gorillas In The Mist, is actually interesting. Of course a lot of that is mainly thanks to Weaver being her usual level of smashing. In fact as bad as the characters are there are actually some pretty good performances. Colonel Quaritch may be as cliched as war is hell but it's a fun turn from Stephen Lang none the less. And most of the main Na'vi are very good. Again the wonder of the technical side of the film comes into play as even though most only appear as CGI characters the motion capture tech developed by Weta and Cameron means that the actor's performance isn't lost, even if they don't have much in the way of character or dialogue to actually work with. This would have come in handy for lead character Jake Sully if Sam Worthington had managed a performance. Instead he continues to confound as to why he has been lined up as Hollywood's next golden boy. He lacks anything approaching charisma, but in a way that means he's perfectly suited to play Jake, a total tool of a man who is very difficult to root for in any way. It's very hard to care about his predicament and even harder to believe in his ability to rally the Na'vi troops when you hear the delivery of the big speech.

For many Avatar will rankle thanks to all the hippy stuff, all the pro-environment, anti-war messages. The Vatican really didn't like the idea of it promoting the worship over nature. Supposedly that's because putting faith in a tree is ridiculous when there's a big floaty unprovable man and his dead son cutting about. These messages are delivered in a pretty heavy handed way but they're not really a problem, unless you're some ultra right-wing bastard type who likes death. For most people seeing it the special effects will have enraptured them to the point they don't notice any message. Watching it as an effects showcase is probably the best way to experience Avatar, they really are incredible and the film will deserve all the technical Oscars that will no doubt be thrust in its direction. The problem is watching it this way is what's leading so many to award it five stars and declare it "the greatest thing they've ever seen". It's what's going to lead to it winning the Best Picture Oscar. In fact it looks like it'll sweep the board, just like Titanic did twelve years ago. An overblown effects showcase that's quite a poor movie when stripped of its bells and whistles that's being awarded for its money making ability? Check.