Meh.

After many weeks, broken box office records, and testimonials from countless people including friends, family, and internet denizens we plunked down our fourteen dollars to put on some official Real 3D gear and walked into the theater to watch "Avatar", James Cameron's latest foray into billion dollar properties. After all the kissing up to this movie by the interwebs about the visual splendors contained within the world of Pandora as filmed by Cameron's lens I can safely say that I still feel 3D is a gimmick not ready for prime time. While admittedly it was very neat to see film portrayed in such a manner it never really blew me away, never making me feel like I did with the transition from VHS to DVD, of being on the cutting edge of a technological revolution. Obviously Cameron has pushed the envelope in terms of how cinema can be viewed and there will be a slew of imitators to follow, feeding upon table scraps from the box office king's table (look at the TV industry they're already gearing up to release an army of 3D sets to replace the flat screen Santa brought you for Christmas) and inevitably we will see this field mature into a watchable product. But if I had to do it again I wouldn't mind paying to see Avatar in 2D because it's strength lies in the characters and the actors behind them. Going in both Brynn and I knew the basic storyline which bears a striking resemblance to many stories of misunderstood "savages (who are barely even human)" being swept away in pursuit of the riches they either posses or are in the way of when one of the more "civilized" members gains insight to the inequality and travesty of the situation and determines to be an advocate and fight for the people with no voice. But the cast did a far more impressive job behind their Na'vi masks than we thought possible going into the movie, making the predictable story an easier pill to swallow and holding us in our seats long enough to see the closing credits thus limiting our claim to a refund (*cough* Star Trek on "IMAX" *cough*). Overall not worth the price of admission but definitely a movie you could take in on lazy afternoon.

PS If you look closely at the picture you'll notice old Cliffy has gone "Six Eyes"