Avatar - Must See in 3D!!!

I had zero expectations for the movie itself and the highest of expectations for the special effects and the 3D in particular. The storyline was one that is basically that of Last of the Mohicans. A white man joins the natives and becomes their greatest member to fight off the march of imperialism masked as capitalism masked as progress. There are themes of Iraq, the rain forest, corporate evils, Blackwater, the persecution of the Native Americans, and straight up hippy love of nature. Which is fine. It was not a surprise is all. It was what I expected.

The effects, however, were a complete and total WOW. It was so stunning to look at I don't think I blinked for an hour. The 3D had the occasional shot I found gratuitous and distracting but was much more integrated and nuanced than I thought it would be. The planet of Pandora is spectacular in every way. The blue people were still only OK as "actors" but much better than any other CGI person in a movie I have seen.

It isn't going to replace Godfather or Star Wars in the pantheon of my all-time favorites, but it represents a significant step forward in movie making...and it is miles better than the junk movies of Terminator Salvation and Transformers 2 and GI Joe.

Do yourself a favor and see it in 3D while you can.