Avatar

Ok, Avatar is pretty good. I was at a point where I was just getting so sick of 3D movies and then all of a sudden Avatar comes out and 3D actually helps make the movie more interesting instead of just gimmicky. Of course, the movie would be pretty good in 2D, but 3D just gives it that extra kick.

So, let's break this thing down. You got a dude who can't use his legs. They give him a 12 foot tall blue alien suit that he can control from a tube. He walks this blue alien suit into an alien forest where there are, basically, Native Americans but blue and tall. He learns their ways from one of the hot aliens. But all the while he's feeding intel back to the military so they can drive the aliens out of their giant tree house and steel some rock that's underneath it which is really valuable for whatever reason. But by the time they're ready to launch the attack, the dude with no legs has decided to help them fight the humans using all the crazy animals that live on this alien planet.

It's Dances With Wolves, meets Lord of the Rings, meets Cats. It's totally predictable, but what did you expect? It's 3 hours long, but I think we're all getting used to that. The 3D is distracting during the dialogue, but it enhances the action and the nature documentary style intro to this new world.

"This is a 12 foot tall indigenous race with neuro-toxic arrows, metal bones, and the ability to control wild animals...and they dance...gayly."

Although the final action scene, the face-off between the military and the aliens, is epic, it would have been a lot better if the story had been just a little less cliche. Ultimately, the only thing that's new about this movie is the visual effect of the 3D. There's definitely potential for sequels or some sort of continuation to the story.

"So, uh, we heard you had a pretty sweet planet."

Maybe that's what is ultimately my problem with the movie. Everything got wrapped up in a nice, neat package and then it's over. They created this whole new world with crazy animals and new people, but they stopped. They figured, once the the one-day fight is over, then there's nothing else to tell really.

"What a gruesome war."
"It was just an hour."
"I had no idea humans were this persistent."

But seriously, do you think the humans would give up? Are there not civil wars between these different alien tribes? Don't the aliens want to learn anything about humans? Are there different aliens on different planets nearby who want in on this action? I guess we'll just have to wait and see, because they definitely didn't explore any of this by the end of the movie.

Still, it's a fun movie and worth the time.

Whoa: 3/5
Huh: 1/5
Sweet: 4/5