Cameron is flexing his creative muscles, but the film never overcomes the nagging feeling that he's also simply going through the motions.
Avatar (2009)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:218
Fresh:183
Rotten:35
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: 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.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Dec 18, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $77,025,481
Synopsis: Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn... Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. More than ten years in the making, Avatar marks Cameron's return to feature directing since helming 1997's Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time and winner of eleven Oscars® including Best Picture. WETA Digital, renowned for its work in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and King Kong, will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters. --© 20th Century Fox [More]
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: James Cameron
Director: James Cameron
Screenwriter: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron, Jon Landau
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Avatar
Adjectives such as "beautiful" and "breathtaking" have been thrown at Avatar, and they're apt. But I'll throw in a third B: Boring.
Like James Cameron's previous film, TITANIC, there are enough good bits to make a really great film and enough bad bits to make a real stinker. Go for what is good and ignore the bad.
Filmed in mind-blowing IMAX 3-D, the story is so entertaining that I soon paid little attention to the 3-D.
There is plenty of gee-whiz technology to keep the audience marveling over how they did this and that, so that, with any luck, viewers won't dwell too long on the derivative, unimaginative story and the shallow characters.
Audiences will find it to be a brilliantly, stunning entertaining fantasy!
... like the Jurassic Park (dinosaurs)... (believe) the world of Pandora does indeed exist. Then there's the better news: the characters and story are just as believable.
Staggering, spellbinding, a virtual trip to another world. Cameron has created the best film of the year and maybe of the decade
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.
Cameron shows us that in a sci-fi world, creative dimensions are what you devise and, with his skilled and sensual avatars, he has made something to thrill and captivate us--whether audience receipts top a billion dollars or not.
The only film capable of surpassing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the Fanboy Fave of 2009, James Cameron's massively hyped Avatar at least differs from Michael Bay's boondoggle in that it's, you know, entertaining.
What Avatar does best of all is immerse the viewer in this alien world until it seems like home.
A born again, freshly buffed wheelchair warrior turned unwitting capitalist tool in league with a digitalized free spirit princess, takes on forest foreclosure and the military industrial complex, in this breathtaking futuristic identity theft odyssey.
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.
Forget dancing with wolves, howzabout doing the Funky Chicken with aliens?
After a second viewing at a better theater, I feel this movie is more fresh than rotten. The stunning visuals are slightly better than the unoriginal plot and horrendous dialogue.
Avatar is great to look at, often astonishing and sometimes beautiful. But, oh, is the story pedestrian.
This movie feels exactly like watching your friend play the greatest video game ever. It looks pretty, but eventually gets boring.
Latest News for Avatar
December 21, 2009:
Avatar Oscar Predictions Begin ![]()
Now that "Avatar" is officially in theaters, it's time to start handicapping the awards races -- and according to the L.A. Times, at least one Academy voter expects a plethora... More...
December 21, 2009:
Forget dancing with wolves, howzabout doing the Funky Chicken with aliens? ![]()
More...
December 20, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Soars to #1 Spot
This weekend, a dozen years after scoring the biggest blockbuster of all-time, James Cameron returned to his comfortable spot at number one with his most expensive film to date,... More...
December 17, 2009:
A born again, freshly buffed wheelchair warrior turned unwitting capitalist tool in league with a digitalized free spirit princess, takes on forest foreclosure and the military industrial complex, in this breathtaking futuristic identity theft odyssey. ![]()
More...
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