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Avatar (2009)

tomatometer

83

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 283
Fresh: 235 | Rotten: 48

It might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron's singular gift for imaginative, absorbing filmmaking.

95

Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 2

It might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron's singular gift for imaginative, absorbing filmmaking.

audience

92

liked it
Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 622,949

My Rating

Movie Info

A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in this ambitious digital 3D sci-fi epic from Academy Award-winning Titanic director James Cameron. The film, which marks Cameron's first dramatic feature since 1997's Titanic, follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a war veteran who gets called to the depths of space to pick up the job of his slain twin brother for the scientific arm of a

Apr 22, 2010

$760.5M

20th Century Fox

Cast

All Critics (283) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (242) | Rotten (50) | DVD (21)

Cameron's 'Avatar': Brainy & Beautiful

July 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Passionate Moviegoer | Comments (27)
Passionate Moviegoer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The narrative would be ho-hum without the spectacle. But what spectacle! Avatar is dizzying, enveloping, vertiginous ... I ran out of adjectives an hour into its 161 minutes.

December 21, 2009 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comments (13)
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

I had the feeling coming out of this movie that I haven't felt since maybe I was eleven years old in 1977 and I saw Star Wars for the first time.

December 21, 2009 Full Review Source: At the Movies | Comments (47)
At the Movies
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's a remote-control movie experience, a high-tech "wish you were here" scribbled on a very expensive postcard.

December 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Salon.com | Comments (174)
Salon.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The most-hyped movie of the year just about merits it.

December 18, 2009 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comments (5)
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Big money, big risk, pretty big reward. That's been his consistent pattern, and it's high time to give credit where credit is overdue: James Cameron delivers.

December 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment (1)
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Planet Pandora's plant and animal life is done with a wonder that has been often absent from fiction screens.

January 6, 2012 Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | Comment
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

It's both wildly original and hauntingly familiar, like Dances With Wolves in a galaxy far, far away.

September 30, 2011 Full Review Source: American Profile | Comment (1)
American Profile

It is far too long and the romance is half-hearted. Still, you'd have to travel very far to feel so fully immersed in another world.

July 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Digital Spy | Comment
Digital Spy

It's good. It should have been better.

March 11, 2011 Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | Comment
Needcoffee.com

It may not change the world, but it'll certainly provide enjoyment to many millions of people all over it.

February 3, 2011 Full Review Source: What Culture | Comment
What Culture

As a fantasy epic, Avatar is an undeniable victory ... but outside of the narrow confines of immersion he's managed, it's also quite limited.

December 28, 2010 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | Comment
ComingSoon.net

The nature scenes are nothing short of magical in this film.

December 7, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Spiritually moving, visually daring and emotionally stirring, Avatar is classic storytelling at its very best.

December 4, 2010 Full Review Source: IGN DVD | Comment
IGN DVD

If you shoot for the moon and miss, it's a long way down. Now that Avatar has moved to the home video market, that plummet may have finally begun.

November 23, 2010 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | Comment (1)
Sci-Fi Movie Page

"Avatar" looks amazing on Blu-ray. If the plot wasn't so pedestrian, it could have been a great film. Paul Chambers, CNN.

November 20, 2010 Full Review Source: CNNRadio | Comments (27)
CNNRadio

Avatar looks more like a cartoon on the small screen than it did in theaters, but anyone who owns a Pixar film on video knows that isn't meant as a slam.

November 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

I did not like Avatar and I have no interest in any bonus features that prolong the agony of the 160 film.

November 16, 2010 Full Review Source: KPBS.org | Comments (14)
KPBS.org

Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition follows in the wake of James Cameron's other terrific special video editions - and even puts them to shame.

November 14, 2010 Full Review Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune | Comment
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

If you ever wondered what a live-action Hayao Miyazaki film would look like, Avatar is a damn good approximation.

November 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI) | Comments (7)
Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

You can feel Cameron's anger and his passion every time a Na'vi roars. The most exhilarating moments are those when you can feel the director urging his actors to let go completely, to become furious, and to unleash hell.

October 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Quickflix | Comment
Quickflix

For all the justifiable knocks on James Cameron's writing, his personal investment in any project is never in doubt. With "Avatar," his passion for pushing the very possibilities of film as a medium pays off. Here's hoping we see him again before 2021.

September 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comments (3)
Suite101.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Avatar

Visually stunning , amazing on the IMAX 3d screen. As many have said the story isnt anything new but it does not have to be. This was an incredible feast for the eyes. If your going to spend 400 million on a movie this is the way to do it.

December 21, 2009
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

What a great time to be alive! A time when James Cameron is back on top of his game, and when the magic of special effects and CGI have become as breath-takingly flawless as it is. And breath-taking is truly the word here. Because not only is Avatar a fantastic sci-fi film, but it's taken movies in general to a whole

July 29, 2007
CloudStrife84
Mike S

Super Reviewer

    1. Col. Miles Quaritch: You are not in Kansas anymore.
    – Submitted by Jed G (14 days ago)
    1. Jake Sully: I see you.
    2. Neytiri: I see you.
    – Submitted by Jed G (14 days ago)
    1. Col. Miles Quaritch: How does it feel to betray your own race?
    – Submitted by Jed G (14 days ago)
    1. Col. Miles Quaritch: Let's get this done.
    – Submitted by Jed G (14 days ago)
    1. Trudy Chacon: [to the others on the airship while flying by the Hallelujiah Mountains] You should see your faces!
    – Submitted by Lorenzo V (23 days ago)

Latest News for Avatar

May 7, 2012:
James Cameron Solely Focused on Avatar Sequels
He says he's disbanded his production company, and could take the "Avatar" series out to "Avatar 4."

December 15, 2011:
Five Favorite Films with Roger Corman
Movies as we know them just wouldn't be the same without Roger Corman. Sure, filmmakers like...

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Foreign Titles

  • Avatar - Aufbruch nach Pandora (DE)
  • Avatar: Special Edition 3D (UK)
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