Avatar

Here are my thoughts on James Cameron's latest movie, "imported" from another forum

I saw the 3D version, which made me a little dizzy. Awesome special effects and beautiful sceneries and flora/fauna of Pandora. My jaw was dropped for most of the movie. I could take any random screenshot of the movie and made it my desktop wallpaper

The story, though was quite simple and cliche. Actually, it could have been set anywhere on Earth. One could imagine an identical story taking place 200 years in the past with British Imperialists. That was slightly disappointing for me, since I liked James Cameron movies for his great storytelling (Terminator, Alien2, Titanic). It appears like for this movie, he started with the "Avatar" concept and wrote a story to support it - instead of the other way around.

My favourite was Sigourney Weaver's scientist character. A strong female character capable of talking down a Marine Colonel (Actually that shouldn't be surprising since this is the same woman that fought Alien Queen). I think she portrays a scientist in a realistic (non-stereotype) manner. Her quote is added to my list of favourites: "must take samples". No spoilers - you'll need to see the movie to understand Ironically, all other characters seem stereotyped. A douchebag corporate executive, blood-thirsty marine colonel, good-hearted natives, etc.

Science-fiction wise, Avatar had many familiar ideas stitched together. Without spoiling, I'd say there was one concept suspiciously similar to a planet in Asimov's Foundation universe. Then there's the armor suit mecha from anime. Their helicopters look very similar to the HKs from the Terminator series (another Cameron movie).