Blu-ray Movie Reviews

"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.

I’ve always been a huge Cameron fan and like so many I eagerly awaited this one. Did it deliver for me? ABSOLUTELY!! Sure the story is a retread of so many films we’ve seen before, but what else is new? But Cameron does an amazing job bringing a story we know so well into a world that we’ve never dreamed of. This is what big motion picture events are all about and this film has definitely raised the bar for production more than any film I can remember short of the original release of Star Wars. The special effects here are beyond anything we’ve seen before and no one (short of maybe Michael Mann) knows how to stage an incredible action sequence like Cameron. I can’t wait to visit Pandora again!

Cameron wanted this to be a completely bare bones release allocating as much of the Blu-ray format’s technical prowess to the presentation, and does it ever show. This is absolute reference material with so many sequences that will be used for demos for years to come. The pictures is mesmerizing in its depth and dimension and trumps even the IMAX digital presentation that I watched twice in theaters. I found even more to be impressed with when it came to fine detail and the layering involved with the unbelievable effects of this film. And the soundtrack, mindblowing. Sensational use of the surrounds, intense bass presence and just a wonderful sound design. It really doesn’t get much better than this.

No extras here, except the DVD version of the film included on a second disc. But you can logon to the Avatar site online and find some extra material that will be added to over the year. Cameron is planning a special edition for the last quarter of this year that will be loaded with supplements and may even include a longer cut of the film.

Love it or hate it Cameron hit one hell of a home run with Avatar. It is the highest grossing film of all time and one hell of an experience in 3D. No film of recent memory has changed so much in Hollywood. Cameron has changed the game once again. Highly recommended.