A diverting and fun effects-driven film by James Cameron who hasn’t directed a narrative feature in 12 years since Titanic. On the positive side of things, it’s good to know that Cameron knows how to not make people feel dizzy during a 3D film (he still films things without the handheld-documentary fad of today) and that he has certainly pushed the boundaries for visual effects and working in a very effective third dimension with a proper shallow depth of field. And essentially this is how this film should be viewed-- imaginative escapism where this planet Pandora becomes the most interesting character in the whole story. This leads to one of the more pressing in my mind (--parallel intended), but hardly discussed issues is that the alien Na’vi homeworld, culture, and characters are far more interesting than the humans in this story.
I’ve gotten the impression from Cameron throughout most of his films that he’s never had much hope for people in general in that any man, handicapped or not, can find more solace in being away from humans than trying to live with them. Trying to deal with people is an understandable hardship, but it is unavoidable despite what this story says. On the other hand, I suppose the Na’vi are a projection of what humans used to be: spiritual and one with nature as opposed to always relying on technology. Regardless of all of this, I think Zoe Saldana did an excellent job in her motion capture performance (her facial expressions and emotions really came through amazingly!) that she topped everyone else in the film. Not the most original film (yes, Dances With Wolves & Ferngully), but it is blissful fun.