Avatar

">“Avatar” was written and directed by James Cameron, self-acclaimed “King of the World”, who also directed “Titanic” and other epic action films. The hype that preceded this film made it difficult to be objective in its analysis since it had a $300,000,000 cost, a ten years in the making label and breakthrough 3D and other notable technology. So, with all of that in mind I went to see this film with the highest of expectations and hopes for an exciting 2 hours and 40 minutes of extraordinary viewing pleasure. Unfortunately my anticipations far exceeded the reality. This is a nice film, not a great film, and, as most would agree, a very long film. The “how many times I looked at my watch” test was at least 3 and my shifting seat positions while awaiting the hoped for ending was numerous as well. There is no question that the special effects and 3D (with glasses) adds to the viewing experience but it also adds to the price ($3.50 extra for viewing in 3D). This of course helps in the computation of the general gross revenue by at least 33 1/3%. The dialogue is not very sophisticated and could almost be mistaken for a script from a poor grade B movie. This is basically a western except that the wild west is the planet Pandora and the Indians replaced by dthe orb’s native inhabitants. Other than that, the plot, the clichés and the mundane and trite script are the same as an oater out of the Republic Studios inventory. For all its pre-distribution date publicity, the film is a let down and earns, from my point of view at least , 2 and ½ stars with the special effects giving it that amount on the rating scale. The “king” has left the throne.