The hype for James Cameron’s Avatar was about as high as you can get for a movie. 12 years since his last theatrical movie, Cameron is back in the full on sci-fi realm that made him famous. With Avatar, Cameron and his team bring new advancements in 3D viewing tech, which I think this movie will most be remembered by. Not the actual plot, but the tech running it.

The reason being that the story in Avatar brings nothing new. It’s been done before and the plot beats are very predictable. That said, it doesn’t detract from the movie that much because the story and characters presented to us are very well done. Dramatic scenes hit with weight and the action scenes are equally thrilling. Sure you may deduce what happens at every turn, but it’s still a marvel to see it unfold before you. An unbelievable amount of care was put into this movie.

Far in the future, Jake Sulley is a paraplegic marine placed on Pandora to do reconnaissance work on the indigenous people, the Na’vi. His twin brother was set to do the mission but was killed, so they ask Jake to fill his shoes. Literally. An “avatar” was made using a combination of Jake’s brother’s DNA and that of a Na’vi, creating a vessel for Jake’s mind to control on the surface of Pandora. Humans can’t breath unassisted on Pandora, but remote controlling this avatar lets humans walk about freely and integrate into the Na’vi society. Now, Earthlings have been staking out this planet for awhile. There is a extremely valuable mineral on this planet that the humans want and need the Na’vi to move to get to it. And if they don’t want to move then the military is going to take it in full force. So now Jake starts learning and growing with the Na’vi (who look like big blue cats) and Jake’s allegiances start to shift. You can probably see where this is going. The Na’vi are like Native Americans and the humans are the white man, ready to claim the land as their own since “savages” don’t know what their doing and are too dumb to figure it out.

So the CG and 3D tech is really the star of the show. Avatar needs to be seen on the big screen in 3D to really get it. All of the CG work is of the highest quality, Cameron and the 2,000 or so people spent 4 years creating a planet and eco-system. Terrain, plant life, animal life and of course all of the tech that the humans use (weapons, ships, life support, etc). Most of the movie is CG, but after awhile you forget about it and just marvel at what’s in front of you. The blending of real people and every digital creation is masterfully done and the 3D effect is used to create depth instead of “things coming out of the screen at you!” that so many 3D films do. This makes the movie screen look like a window, where all this stuff is taking place. I didn’t think the 3D was going to be this good, but there are some mind boggling scenes all throughout the movie. Cameron’s careful direction is very precise and meaningful, you always feel grounded in the world and never disoriented. Walking through lush, glowing jungles, flying around on the back of some crazy creature or full on scenes of war are all stunning. The very first scene in the movie is a great example. It’s a room where people are being woken up from deep sleep, drawers are being pulled open and groggy people float out of them while being advised on where they are and what to do. It looks like you are looking into a room that extends 200 feet out, the drawers that people are coming out of look like they take up actual space, people are floating in front of and behind various machinery. Another favorite of mine is any scene that takes place in the cockpit of a ship or mech. It looks like you are sitting being the pilot, looking through the canopy of the ship into space. The glass on the canopy looks completely real, like it’s jutting out in front of you protecting you from the dangerous atmosphere. There is some crazy perspective elements for scenes inside mechs too, where parts are out of focus that makes other stuff just pop, like the rearview mirror where you can see the pilots eyes looking back at you.

So Avatar is a solid movie wrapped in amazing special effects. Will it work as well at home? Without a 3D capable TV, I don’t think so. The real problem is that Hollywood is going to shove 3D into everything and it’s going to be a train wreck. Just look at the trailer for Piranha 3D. It looks horrific, as a movie and in terms of 3D. It takes restraint and serious talent to make this new level of 3D work as well as it can. The added ticket price for 3D showings is artificially inflating the box office for this, but the fact remains that a lot of people are seeing this and really enjoying it. Me being one of them.