Avatar

Wow...wow! To be honest, I went in not expecting much. It has been a long time since I saw a movie that really lived up to expectations. I mean ever since the Star Wars reboots, which I really wanted to be more than they were, Directors have been given the tools to wow us but I am convinced that even with all of the technological wizardry you still have to have a story.

Which brings us to Cameron. Cameron has an incredible ego and he is an arrogant SOB. This attitude can really grate on people and I think it can translate to their view of his movies. Thing is regardless of this opinion going in, his movies tend to work. I mean looking at his resume, Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2, and Titanic. I mean these four movies were epic. T2 trumped Terminator. He pushed the special effects and advanced effect expectations for years. Liquid metal terminator...awesome. Aliens from the opening to the end was just a roller coaster. I mean Sigourney Weaver got an Oscar node...for a scifi movie! Of course he has had some flops...remember Abyss and True Lies? All the same I think you have to consider Cameron to be truly one of the best American directors of all time. Spielberg is probably the best but I think Cameron comes in second behind Lucas.

Anyway back to Avatar. At over two and half hours I came out of the movie drained. You can look at all the underlying messages, read the criticism (Alien Dance with Wolves), anti-imperialism, Earth Day message, blah blah blah but come on movies are supposed to make you laugh, cry, and take you away to someplace else. Sure you can read it into but I think it is simply easier to sit back and let the movie take you someplace. This movie takes you to a dream. Who wouldn't want to visit Pandora? Sure the story has been told a dozen times...couple weeks ago I listened to Connie Willis and she simply said that all of the great stories are either based on Shakespeare or Dickens. Point is that every story plot is a take off of something but the key is put it a new spin on it. It doesn't matter that Avatar has been written before the point is that his spin along with great special effects makes a hell of a movie. Sure the movie is kind of corny but it is was made for popcorn. It is the essence of what makes a great movie.

Cameron's quote in Wired magazine sums it up pretty well, "If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success." Avatar certainly doesn't fail and any movie studio is shaking in its boots for any movie coming out this summer or due in the next year. The bar has been set so high now that rest of the movie world is going to be playing catch up...