In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Tuesday, 31 December 2024

Avatar (2009)


This film is a visual marvel and most people tend to cynically look back on it as derivative of other films (Dances with Wolves or FernGully), but you have to appreciate it for what it was at the time: a technological spectacle that brought about remarkable advances in cinematic achievement. At once an environmental morality tale and a love story for the ages, Jake Sully is a paraplegic war veteran who is given a new lease on life when he gets the chance to try out a new, enhanced engineered body and infiltrate the mysterious Na'vi creatures of an alien planet called Pandora. It's enjoyable primarily because it manages to do what movies do best: take you on an adventure of imagination that is unbound by this world's stringent limits. Still manages to move this viewer and stir the withered heartstrings after all this time. I See You.

4½ hair jobs out of 5

Note: At the time of posting, this is still the highest-grossing film of all time, but it is neck and neck with Avengers: Endgame. It is still remarkable to me that James Cameron is responsible for three of the top four biggest box office returns. Not too shabby for a director who has made less than 10 feature films.

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