.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

It's funny how the Must See Movie of the Decade has hardly become the Most Anticipated Film of 2009. When it was announced that James Cameron - he of Terminator and Titanic - was going back behind the camera for the first time since he sank the big boat, the world went 'oooohhhhhh' followed closely by an exaggerated 'ahhhhhhhhh'.

Further details about the film helped whet the appetite for the average geek/sci-fi fan (also known as, 'me'). Cameron spoke about how he wrote the movie years ago but was waiting for technology to catch up so that he could film it the way he had envisioned. He started work on the film four years ago. Think about that for a second - four years of your life to prep and produce a live action film. Then there were the 3-D effects. Sure, 3-D has become a fairly routine device used in films now in 2009, but Cameron said that his 3-D film was going revolutionize how the technique was utilized.

But when trailers started to hit the screen for Avatar (it was about time I mentioned the title), there really wasn't anything contained within with sneak two minutes that deemed special enough to have the common populace run out and wait in line for tickets. It looked ok. Maybe even good. But were we blown away? Hardly.

Years of speculation later, Avatar hits theatres this week and the question that I have been asked most since the screening is if the film meets expectations and does it exceed the less than stellar outlook of the film's ad campaign. The answer: Indeed.

The story is good, but not unique. A wounded ex-Marine who is now paralyzed, named Jake (Sam Worthington) is recruited for a mission on the planet of Pandora where his life force is transformed into an avatar of a Na'vi warrior - an indigenous population that happens to live on the same spot where a particular cherished resource named unobtainium just happens to be positioned. The Marine's job is to relocate the Na'vi, which is military jargon for destroy and kill all those that stand in their way.

Jake tries to infiltrate the Na'vi from a non-military yet more strategic angle. Ten feet tall, blue and with a tail, Jake is transformed into a Na'vi. It's while he is in his avatar's body that he meets Neytiri (Star Trek's Zoe Saldana) and soon his love for Neytiri and his internal conflict between his mission and his moral compass reach a climax at the same time military operations escalate to massive consequences on both sides of the conflict.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to make the correlation between the unobtainium in Pandora and oil in the Middle East and the military action taken to secure a natural resource. Cameron doesn't hide behind the association and is unapologetic. He shows the U.S. military as self serving towards but one culture and that they will use their full arsenal for Earth's best interests.

Characters, plotlines and underlying morals aside, Avatar is a special effects extravaganza. It is a tour-de-force of technical achievement where 3-D effects are used seamlessly as background and foreground in a non-distracting and frankly amazing approach. And let's be clear. This is not your House of Wax 3-D trickery in effect here. There is nothing that really jumps out or appears to land in your lap for the purpose of soliciting more oohhs and aahhs. Instead, the technology is employs definition and depth to a unique and incredibly looking foreign world.

When the action sequences begin, the 3-D effects really shine and separate this science fiction spectacle more than any of its predecessors. As astounding it was to simply explore the native land and watch the military navigate in a world where mountains float above the land and Na'vi navigate aboriginal creatures as gliders, all take a second seat to when the bullets fly and the explosions commence. Anyone that goes to the movies, has seen action - but not like this. The 3-D technique adds another element and just watching huge military controlled beasts destroy a forest is something to behold.

Avatar is released in both the 2-D and 3-D formats. I couldn't imagine seeing the film in the stiff 2-D format. The experience you lose by not seeing the film in the multi-dimensioned arrangement to which Cameron intended would be indescribable. I thought specifically of a scene where Neytiri shows Jake how to pick and fly one of the native dwelling creatures, I couldn't help but think how great the scene looked in 3 dimensions and how boring it must be to those who are subsequently watching it in standard 2-D. Trust me, it is worth the extra wait or the travel to a theatre that provides the 3-D experience.

There is so much to talk about with Avatar - the director, the four year journey to the final print, the cast which includes Sigourney Weaver and a scene stealing Stephen Lang - that a 1,000 word review cannot contain.

So, we will keep it simple. Avatar is an above average - sometimes spectacular - work of art. It is truly an exhibition in both the format and the genre. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star summed it up the best by writing that Avatar's "achievements are evolutionary rather than revolutionary." If this is the future of film, Avatar has helped me, as it will others, embrace it. Sure. It's not perfect, but what film can live up to that type of billing?

What it is is an incredible ride that will win countless technical awards and set the bar high enough that it will likely not be matched for another half decade.