Avatar was interesting. For one: I saw it in 3D which made me think of the red and blue glasses that gave me a headache as a kid. Yet this was a different kind of 3D, apparently the director of Avatar, James Cameron, developed an entirely new camera in order to film it. This actually made it seem like arrows were coming at your face, a singularly alarming experience.

Which is what Avatar’s really about. The story itself is bland and you’ve no doubt heard it before: Human beings forcefully colonizing alien planet with primitive indigenous species are ruthless oppressors and eventually one of the infidels is designated as a savior, joins the natives and leads them to victory.  Sort of a District 9 meets the lovechild of Dune and Dancing With Wolves. The overt references to American imperialism I could have done without (“A shock and awe sort of thing” really?). It’s simplistic and cliched but nevertheless provides the framework for what is really a epically visually stunning film.

When George Lucas made the prequel episodes to Star Wars it was obvious that he was attempting to put all the technological innovation his pet project, Industrial Light and Magic, had come up with over the years. The problem is that the original Star Wars were awesome because it was seamless whereas the newer films had CG characters jumping around like fleas on a rabid dog. They contributed little, were very distracting and, in the case of Jar-jar, almost single-handedly ruined the moves. Which is about what I was expecting out of Avatar: sure it’s a technological feat but it makes me want to tear my hair out.

Surprisingly this didn’t turn out to be the case. The CG characters were seamless and believeable, the world itself was beautiful and I can forgive the clunky dialogue for the fact that they invented a language for the Na’vi. It is impressive all around and if forking over $13 to see a movie doesn’t send you into cardiac arrest I highly recommend watching it in 3D.