great must have for 2010

Our hero, however, is human - for a while, at least. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a former marine paralysed from the waist down in combat on Earth. Given access to a Na'vi body, which he pilots remotely from an orbiting spaceship, he is sent to Pandora by the military, 100 years in the future. What he doesn't realise is that he may be part of a covert strategy to investigate the planet's potentially lucrative natural resources (there's a global warming agenda to Avatar, no doubt).

There's a moment in the footage I saw this morning, just after Jake has been rescued from a pack of baying, canine types, by a radiant, dread-locked Na'vi lady (who appears to be the flick's romantic interest) when he looks around and takes in his surroundings for the first time. And it's here that Cameron is most successful - not in the action sequences, which are admittedly remarkable and make excellent use of 3D, nor in the superb scene onboard the spaceship in which Jake's brain is first fused with his alien body. I felt completely immersed in the sublime, bizarre beauty of the Pandorian rainforest, both comforted by its warmth, and unnerved by its inherent perversity. And that, certainly, is tribute to the 3D work - the dripping fronds almost seem to lick your face, the humidity makes you feel you should be perspiring.

But will it have the narrative warmth and humanity to transcend its geeky space opera roots and reach out to a wider audience? There has been much hope that the film would follow in the vein of Cameron's last fiction film, 1997's box-office megalith, Titanic, whose enormous success was partly down to appealing to both genders. Avatar, thought it does bear an uncanny resemblance in parts to the early Star Wars films - in particular Return of the Jedi, with its scenes on the forest moon of Endor - still looks to me like a film with a certain type of man in its crosshairs.

"I think it was good; I didn't think it was mind-blowing," said Joanna Davison, a 28-year-old technical director from Kilburn, and one of the few women who attended this morning's screening at the BFI IMAX in London. "I think girls will probably go and see it with their boyfriends, but I'm not sure it's this big romantic epic. They don't seem to be marketing it on the story, they seem to be marketing it on the 3D. But it will definitely appeal to kids."

Student Ali Jawad, 20, from Kingsbury, meanwhile, thought the footage was "very impressive', although he also thought the CGI was "a little blurry at times". He added: "It was nothing like as bad as Transformers though. You could definitively see what was going on. I'll certainly be back to see the film - I'm a big fan of James Cameron, but I'm not sure it should be judged in the shadow of Titanic. It's a completely different genre."

The full version of Avatar doesn't arrive on UK screens until the winter, so there's still plenty of time for Cameron and his team to consolidate the hype required to justify the $250m plus budget. Today's screenings were a big part of that, but the jury remains out on whether Avatar will revolutionise cinema and cinema-going habits in the way Cameron has suggested.

Ultimately, no matter how caught up audiences are in the 3D world of Pandora, they'll also need to feel involved in a romance between two big, blue Thundercat-type creatures, one of which is being controlled by a wounded squaddie. This could yet turn out to be Cameron's greatest challenge.

The Top Money Film of All Time is Well Worth Getting

Director James Cameron's smash hit movie is now available for home viewing in this release on BLu-Ray DVD.
The movie stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Zoe Saldana.

This long anticipated movie is worth the wait for those who did not or could not see it in the movie theaters. The special effects are above and beyond anything you can ever imagine and the presentation cannot be matched, except possibly by seeing it in it;s intended 3D format (which will be available later this year).

Some have criticized the movie company for releasing this version but for those of us who could not get to the movies to see it this release is great and I will gladly pay to get it again when it is released in 3D.

If you wish to wait for the 3D release by all means do so, but if you have not seen this movie than I suggest you get it now. It is worth every penny of the price.

The Top Money Film of All Time is Well Worth Getting

Director James Cameron's smash hit movie is now available for home viewing in this release on Blu-Ray DVD.
The movie stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Zoe Saldana.

This long anticipated movie is worth the wait for those who did not or could not see it in the movie theaters. The special effects are above and beyond anything you can ever imagine and the presentation cannot be matched, except possibly by seeing it in it;s intended 3D format (which will be available later this year).

Some have criticized the movie company for releasing this version but for those of us who could not get to the movies to see it this release is great and I will gladly pay to get it again when it is released in 3D.

If you wish to wait for the 3D release by all means do so, but if you have not seen this movie than I suggest you get it now. It is worth every penny of the price.

James Cameron's Most Profound Achievement On Screen Now

If you ever thought that your senses might explode by input, this is the film that will top all films. The world of CGI animation just got the most realistic ever with this film. Avatar still continues to rake in at the box-office and has earned over 700 million dollars worldwide and is still going strong. The 3D imagining is mind boggling and the graphics are as real as you can get. You truly can not distinguish reality footage from CGI in this film.

When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he soon learns plans of the greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's (Giovanni Ribisi) intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodlands. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intelligence for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

This is a must see for any age group.

This is how 3D should look. Cameron rocks!

OK I have seen Avatar a bunch of times, and always liked the look of the 2D version anyway. I own a Samsung 50" 3D Plasma (680)and a Samsung 6800 3D Blu Ray Player. I liked the story, but when I do reviews, I review for 3D effects only. So this review will be all about the tech.

I biught this on Amazon, and paid $125 for it. That's a LOT of money for a movie, and I really hoped that it was all that. Worth every freaking dime. I have NO remorse whatsoever! Consider this movie to be the industry standard. 3D should have effects that leap out at you (like the tracer rounds in the battle scenes. I flinched EVERY TIME!) 3D should have things leap out at you. 3D should have terrain sticking out 2 feet from the TV. 3D should have things float in front of your eyes. 3D should have depth where if you are 5,000 up on a mountain, it makes you want to grab something to keep from falling. the colors should be vivid. The action scenes should NOT BE BLURRY!!!

This film does all this and more. Cameron is known for his visual feast for the eyes with his movies anyway, but any gripes I had with other "converted from 2d-3d movies were not present here. This movie had it all plus some. no ghosting, no annoying flashing with my glasses (which now convinces me that any tech problems is purely format created) seamless action sequences with no blurring, and plenty of "popping" terrain, objects bugs flying at you, animals heads popping out of the screen, and tracer rounds making me move to dodge them!

Now THAT said, I will tell you this. I will NEVER buy a movie that was "up converted" from 2D because they lack many of the aforementioned effects, have "ghosting issues" are blurry in action sequences (can actually cause headaches) and really for what you are getting doesn't make good use of the formats capabilities.. I have a 2d-3d up converter that enables me to watch regular 2d TV in a 3D format, but it messes with my eyes a bit. its blurry and can cause a bit of a headache. For some shows it pretty cool, but really it's better to watch real actual 3d movies made with 3d equipment for the best experience. This movie made me feel like I was 10 years old. (I am 45) I will never buy anything 3D that isn't specifically made 3D. Waste of money and inferior.

There will be an "Avatar 2", and Cameron is promising it to be even better. I would buy anything he makes in 3D in a heartbeat. My other recommendation is to look for anything Sony makes in 3D as well. Your eyes will love you fr it!