Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The journey continues with all three movie versions, including the exclusive Extended Cut not shown in theaters, plus an in-depth, feature-length look at the film's groundbreaking production, additional deleted scenes and more. The greatest adventure of all time just got bigger... and better! "Avatar" takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. We enter the alien world through the eyes of Jake Sully, a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost of Pandora, where corporations are mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving the Earth's energy crisis. Because the atmosphere of Pandora is toxic, they have created the Avatar Program, in which human "drivers" have their consciousness linked to an avatar, a remotely controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na'vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. Jake is taken in by a beautiful Na'vi female, Neytiri, after she saves his life. As Jake's relationship with his reluctant teacher deepens, he learns to respect the Na'vi way and finally takes a place among them. Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads the Na'vi in an epic battle that will decide nothing less than the fate of an entire world.

The previous release of the theatrical cut of Avatar was nothing short of pure reference material. For this release Fox incorporates seamless branching to allow you to choose which version of the film you want to watch. The results are no less impressive than the last time out with pristine HD video and an utter sonic assault from the DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The new footage blends in perfectly with the previous cut and there are no signs of issues when it comes to compression or fine detail. The only faults you’ll find here have more to do with the inconsistencies in the quality of the CG used from scene to scene, which probably has more to do with the technology advancements achieved throughout the long production. The blistering 5.1 mix is pure ear candy with phenomenal dynamic range and one of the most immersive surround mixes of recent memory. This is the kind of soundtrack that will truly test the might of your home theater system and give you plenty of opportunities to show off to your friends.

The previous release of Avatar was a bare-bones presentation that didn’t give any real insight into the production of the film. Not so here. You get features for just about every inch of the production of the film. Fox takes advantage of the format’s capabilities with the ability to show different stages of production for key scenes giving you a glimpse at how they achieved the amazing visuals and 3-D effects. You also get insight into the world of Pandora and its inhabitants plus production diaries, interviews and more. Anything you could possibly want to know about the film is probably here.

This collector’s edition is the definitive version of Avatar to own on Blu-ray. The new cuts are definitely worth checking out and add some new action scenes plus some more fleshing out to the characters and story. The presentation is just as good this time around but the insane amount of supplements will have you busy for hours learning about the film and its lush world. Highly recommended.