I) Art and Animation wise, obviously this is one of the films strong points. The film's 3D animation was flawless honestly you did not feel that you were sitting through a three hour movie until you left the theater. The animation itself was stunning. The only bit of criticism is that in the various Avatar art books and original concepts there were many more creatures of the native planet that I felt could have been incorporated in to the film. However probably due to budget and timing they might not have been able to do so. Overall animation and visual effects I rate it 10/10

II) Voice Acting/Acting: Again the acting was pretty much spot on. Neytir, is played by Zoe Saldana, was just awesome. She truly bought Neytiri to life. Throughout the film you could feel her love and her sorrow as the plot progressed. The male lead, Sam Worthington, also was very good at playing his role. My only real complaints were of the two characters, Dr. Grace and the Colonel Miles (aka Over stereotyped war veteran, survivalist, macho-man). In some of Dr. Grace's scenes her acting was a bit awkward. There would be scenes in which her walking/pacing was out of sync with the animation/shot. With Colonel Miles, I felt he over-dramatizes his role in the film. Acting receives an overall 9/10

III) Plot: Now here is where it gets tricky. Plot wise, honestly, the concept has been done before. Throughout the movie I just kept thinking of Africa and Europeans coming for the diamond trade. Also the fact that the Na'vi were extraordinarily tribal and had many African aspects, such as the African based music, witch doctors, tribes, tribal leaders, etc... I felt that perhaps due to the ordeal of the animation they were a bit lazy with the plot. The movie though truly felt like the taking over Africa by Europeans however this time the Natives win and get to keep their land/planet as well. Besides the plot, there was little to no character development, after the first 30 minutes you could guess that the Tribe's Princess would be another Pocahontas falling in love with the outsider etc, and that he would have a change of heart from his original mission and fall in love. Also many of the characters were a bit stereotypical; from the Colonel being overtly macho and very narrow-minded, to the Commander of the whole operation who's lack of intelligence on his part caused him to not even consider utilizing the planet in a way that would profit him more, to Jake Sully, a rather stereotypical protagonist, who goes out on a journey finds something new and develops a soul of sorts, even Neytiri, who epitomizes stereotypical tribal princess, perfect and most revered (This has been done in numerous novels, especially in the Dragonlance series as well as Dungeons and Dragons). Overall the movie was a lot like the Disney film Pocahontas. Finally I'd like to address the plot holes. The backstory revolves around the human race and our planet dying. Yet the earthlings go to Pandora for these chunks of earth/metal which contain extraordinary amounts of energy. Essentially everyone on the base is looking for more of it. However, it is never clarified where or how it will be used. These plot holes also affect character development. At the very start of the film, it was clearly announced that this was not an operation financed by the military and that all soldiers were not really soldiers but rather mercenaries, working to make a living or finding a way to survive the dying of base planet Earth. Along with that, the plot holes call for poor character development. The scientist's support and care for the Na'vi while not caring about their original planet is kind of odd, usually in these cases even the scientists are affected. However the scientists are portrayed as the"good guys", as people who just want to learn, yet they never have to deal with the guilt of leaving behind a planet where the rest of their people are dying. With all of these plot holes, and rather stereotypical characters I would give the plot and overall development about 5/10. However, most do not notice these problems because they are overshadowed by the vivid animation and strong emotion.

Overall Avatar is an amazing film, animation-wise and the acting-wise. The plot may be lacking in some areas but it's truly not noticeable unless you're a stickler for plot details. I will say this though, it is one of the better movies being aired/screened at this time. Also the film is a break-through in 3D animation and so it is truly astounding. Overall my final rating or average is a solid 8 with a +.5 for a total of 8.5/10. The extra .5 for the uniqueness of this film as well as the animation quality compared to the other films at this time. I did like the movie a lot and plan to see it again. Perhaps several more times... perhaps not, but at least one more time. Also folks when you go to see this movie spring for the 3D... It's worth it.

-Signing out

Your dirty dirty
Lewd Alien