Last Ticket to Avatar

Last night I became probably the final remaining person on the planet to see Avatar. This was the last week it was playing, so I wanted to see it before the Oscars on Sunday since it is up for multiple awards.

I wasn't sure what to expect, since I was seeing the movie 2 1/2 months after its release and long after the hype and a gazillion articles had been written about it and it had become the #1 movie of all time. So, I guess my expectations were rather low.

But I was very impressed and loved the movie. For being nearly 3 hours, it never slowed and I thought the storyline (criticized as being weak) was just fine. Then the technical aspects of the movie were truly astounding. Much better use of CGI than Lucas did in his newer Star Wars movies. The 3-D effect was not gimmicky. There were maybe only a couple shots where something comes right at you (which is typically what 3-D movies go after). Instead, there was just an amazing depth and clarity to all the scenes. I often looked out over the top of the 3-D glasses to see the difference and it was huge. If you saw this movie in 2-D, then you really didn't see it as was intended, because you missed out on what James Cameron had been perfecting for the past 14 years.

This movie and The Hurt Locker are supposed to be the top contenders for Best Picture. I thought The Hurt Locker was very good, but which of these two movies will stand the test of time? No contest, there. Cameron shouted out he was "King of the World" when we won for Titanic a while back, and he may get to do that again.