"Pocahontas".... just kidding, I mean "Avatar"

Avatar is the newest film from the acclaimed director of the mega-blockbuster Titanic. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, Terminator Salvation) is a member of the RDA corporation, lead by General Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribsi). They are preparing to mine the moon Pandora, in search of a rare mineral known as Unobtanium. Pandora is a planet inhabited by creatures known as Na'vi. In order to stay undercover, the humans must embody "avatars" that look like the Na'vi. Despite having orders not to disturb the peace, Jake finds himself in trouble until he is saved by a female Na'vi named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana, Star Trek ('09), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl). Neytiri believes that Jake is a "baby" for knowing little of the Na'vi practices, but she shows him the customs, as well as how to tame the wildlife. Jake and Neytiri fall in love, but the rest of the Na'vi forbid this love, as well as the army who believe Jake is turning on them and it eventually turns into a war.

So, what makes this movie so great? Is it the acting? Not exactly. Is it the dialogue? No (though coming up with a whole language is pretty impressive, but I'm referring to cliché sayings like "You are not in Kansas anymore!" as well as things like "What am I supposed to do, dance with it?" when Jake is face-to-face with a giant menacing rhino-type creature that easily overpowers him). Is it the plot? Hell no. It's the visuals. When I first saw the film, it was at a screening that was only in 2-D. Throughout the film I was amazed, wondering what each thing would look like had it been in 3-D. I decided to hold off on my review until I saw the film in 3-D, and let me tell you... this film was made for 3-D, and I mean that quite literally. Let's face it - 3-D is turning into a gimmick to make more money on ticket sales, and comparing the two different version of films like Up and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, I saw little to no difference, though I thought a few of the scenes looked cool. Even the remastered Toy Story wasn't all that worth it. However, this is not like those at all. James Cameron specifically made this film for 3-D, and he'd had the idea in his head for god knows how long. However, he didn't put it into effect until 1999, when the technology was available. His previous film, Titanic, is the highest-grossing film domestically and worldwide (though maybe not for much longer, and I still haven't even seen Titanic, though I'd like to) and captured the hearts of many people. So James Cameron knows what he's doing. The landscapes, the character design, the action sequences... everything about this film is beauty to the eye.

The film received a PG-13 rating, mostly due to violence. The war consists of arrows, bullets, and missiles being fired from both sides, though the army men are "protected" by their ship. Selfridge comes out in a robot suit, but is impaled by an arrow (we see a bit of blood). Jake also nearly gets injured by many creatures, notably a rhino that he "pisses off" and charges at him (he attempts to fight back, but no avail - instead, he lures out more creatures). He also tries to ride a horse-like creature, but gets thrown off its back, and almost falls off a pterodactyl-esque creature. When Jake loses control of his avatar, his avatar is shown to faint. There is implied sex between Jake and Neytiri (not seen, but Neytiri says something like "We are mated for life" and her tribe says something about forbidden mating). The Neytiri also appear to be half-naked, with parts of females' breasts visible (nothing too explicit). There's some smoking too, usually by Doctor Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). There's some mild language, a few s-words and a slang for penis ("limp dick", not literal) and testicles ("I got him by the balls", not literal).

My recommendation: See it in 3-D. Quickly. Before Alice in Wonderland comes out March 5 and takes over its 3-D screens. It's doubtful it will look as great on a TV screen.