There is nothing better than going into a movie with the thought that it was praised to the high heavens by even the harshest critics and still come out of the theater saying it was better than they had said.  Avatar simply blew me away. It has been a while since I finished the end credits to a movie, as it has always been a practice of mine to do so when it leaves me in utter awe and applause, and this movie was definitely one of them.

In what was probably the best example of photo-real CG on the big screen to-date, this movie simply blows away anything that has been shown before it. The interactions between the characters and the environment is truly incredible. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so engrossed in a movie and seriously wanted to believe that I was actually part of it, and Avatar certainly took it that far. The world of Pandora was simply amazing and I was in constant awe at how intricate the details were for everything they created in this world.

The storyline is also pretty good. It’s not really a new idea or anything of the sort, but the way the story was developed along with the characters was quite inspiring. The story revolves around a paraplegic marine who was given the chance to walk again through the use of a unique alien body called an Avatar. Fortunately for the main character Jake, his twin-brother had died and he had practically the same bio-stats so he was a perfect fit for his brother’s Avatar.

His job was to gain the trust of the natives, called the Na’vi, so that Parker (played by Giovanni Ribisi) can harvest the precious metal hidden under their lands without having to resort to the destruction of their world. What follows is Jake’s journey as a human that ends in his conversion to the ways of the Na’vi. He learns their ways and realizes in the end that their world is worth saving even if it means betraying humanity in the process.

The portrayal of both Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) at first seemed rather eerie, but as the movie goes on, it seemed to be rather apt for the entire plot. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) was played to a tee by the star of Alien, and there were actually scenes where I was expecting the Alien to come out and kill her, hehe. The cast was great although I’m not a big  fan of Ribisi and he didn’t do anything in this movie to make me change my mind either. The total package still made this movie one heck of a hit. And I have to say, if you watch the trailer on TV and look at the pictures, it does this movie no justice, and is a far cry from seeing it on the big screen. So please, move your butt to the theater as it is well worth it.

Thinking back at the batch of great movies this year, I think this one is the best of 2009. Avatar is simply epic. I would strongly recommend for you to watch this in the big screen as DVD’s played in your flat screen will do the movie, and yourself, a great injustice. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to watch this in 3D yesterday but I definitely WILL. You should do the same Kudos to James Cameron and his crew for creating Avatar! This isn’t a movie you can just talk about, you have to go see it.

Personal Rating (out of 10): 9.3/10
IMDb User Rating (out of 10): 8.9/10
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure
Duration: 162 minutes
Wallpapers: Jake Sully, Neytiri, Stephen Lang, In Flight, Neytiri Pose, Eye of Na’vi, Under Attack
Links: Official Site, IMDB, Pandorapedia