In Avator, James Cameron has imaginatively conjured up a race of aliens with ancestral roots and a religious perspective that is downright fascinating.
Likewise, the skilled director has weaved and executed his intriguing tale - which is set on the planet "Pandora" - with such seamless skill that the filmmgoer is thrust headlong into the visually-stunning fantasy world for the long haul without much resistance.
Unforunately, the underlying plot line is a stale one which doesn't provoke much thought.
Essentially, Cameron's "baby" mirrors the same old time-honored themes exalted by the suits in Hollywood in recent decades, which pop up ad nauseam in the action-adventure Sci-fi genre perennially.
Imperialist-prone humans - with their eye on a motherlode of valuable resources in a "foreign land' - launch an attack to snatch and grab when negotiations fall flat to mine the precious commodity with the alien's blessing.
But, along the way, Avator is still a thrill ride nonetheless (that is worth taking in).
Filmgoers will marvel at the futuristic technology Cameron (Titantic & Aliens) dredged up, for instance, which totally absorbs and is a nifty sight to behold by virtue of the state-of-the-art imagery techniques facilitated (which give a lot of bang for the buck).
The scripted dialogue is well-written and believable; fortunately, otherwise audiences may start losing interest when the Avatar saga wears thin about half-way through.
Otherwise, discerning movie-goers may be inclined to stay glued to the boob tube at home surfing music videos on MTV.
Die-hard film buffs can not survive on seductive eye-catching visuals alone
In one profound moment, though, Camera manages to cut to the heartbeat of the film.
When one of the human warriors bows to the ancient deity and prays for assistance to defeat mankind's vicious attack on the tribe, one of their spiritual leaders points out that their God doesn't take sides.
She only acts to preserve the balance of life, the alien stresses, in so many cautionary words.
Once the commander launches the attack - and a myriad of species face imminent death - their instinct for survival responds with a primal scream.
Yes, there are a few nuggets of wisdom in Avatar, but the audience has to pan through a lot of fool's gold to ferret them out, to the movie's detriment.
3 stars!
Cameron coaches Linda Hamilton in on Terminator set!
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