Avatar takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. We enter the alien world through the eyes of Jake Sully, a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. But despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where corporations are mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth's energy crisis. Because the atmosphere of Pandora is toxic, they have created the Avatar Program, in which human "drivers" have their consciousness linked to an avatar, a remotely-controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air. These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with DNA from the natives of Pandora... the Na'vi.

Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na'vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a beautiful Na'vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake's life, and this changes everything. Jake is taken in by her clan, and learns to become one of them, which involves many tests and adventures. As Jake's relationship with his reluctant teacher Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na'vi way and finally takes his place among them. Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads them in an epic battle that will decide nothing less than the fate of an entire world.

It’s been a long time since James Cameron has directed, written or even produced a film and it is very fitting that his first film since he won best director a dozen years ago is a sci-fi film. Sci-fi films are what made him famous and where he had shown the most talent back when he was actually making movies and the dozen years off did not take anything from the talent he once showed in this genre. Avatar is a beautiful, moving, wonderous science fiction story filled with breath taking new worlds and a very in depth and compelling story. It mixes wonderful breath taking special effects with a complex story about emotions and alien races and sheer survival at times. This is everything you would have expected and more from the once brilliant director who has taken a very long leave of absence.

This film probably couldn’t have been made a dozen years ago because it does lean heavily on modern computer FX as the entire story takes place on an alien world filled full of wonders, beauty and danger. But Cameron doesn’t forget to intertwine a moving and superb story into the action shots and the beauty the film displays. It is the tale of a lost soldier who finds his humanity amongst and alien race that at first tries to kill them, then befriends him as he betrays them only to find redemption in the end by helping them fight off the alien hordes that once were his own people. The characters are rich and in depth and easy to sympathize with or hate for their lust and their greed. The story is complex and moving and though out all there is much beauty and so much to look at as the movie unfolds.

I did have two complaints about the movie and these two complaints are what ruined the movie from being absolutely perfect for me. The first being the usage of 3D, I understand this movie is so beautiful that it does deserve the 3D at times but at other times I just wanted to watch the story without all the gimmicks of 3D. I didn’t need everything to be so eyepopping that after awhile you grow weary of it. And secondly at times the movie almost seemed preachy. Most of it was done in backhanded kind of way like mentioning that our world is no longer green and that we killed our mother. It was a subtle preachy kind of effect but after awhile just like the 3D it starts to wear on you and you grow weary of it.

Sam Worthington does a fantastic job not only as crippled marine but also as a blue skinned half alien enjoying the use of his legs again, falling in love, betraying his own people and the people he falls in love with. His character is complex and deep and he pulls it off masterfully. It was also nice to see Sigourney Weaver return to our sci-fi roots as the somewhat edgy scientist given the task of juggling both worlds. The characters are rich and deep and the actors don’t let you down with their performances of them as the movie is a spectacle and well worth seeing. This is the kind of film that needs to be seen in theatres and on the big screen to fully enjoy all that it has to offer.

Grade: B+