Avatar
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2357 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,808 out of 2357
  2. Mixed: 210 out of 2357
  3. Negative: 339 out of 2357

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  1. DaltonO
    Jun 14, 2010
    3
    Eh, yeah its all 3D, yeah its got allot of special effects and costs allot, yeah its got blue alien boobs, but other than that there is nothing here. Terrible cliche, hole-filled plot leaves you bored. Its kind of amazing how you can have such a crappy plot and waste 4 hours on it. After you watch it you think its good at first, but that is just an effect from the CGI and 3D. Soon you will realize how lame it is. "the Eywa sees you!" ugg soooo cheesy.… Expand
  2. MattN.
    May 23, 2010
    3
    Great visuals and effects, but thats simply all that Avatar has to offer. No story, viciously bad overacting and dialogue older than Sigourney Weaver herself. Very boring and far too long.
  3. NunoV.
    Jun 19, 2010
    2
    Absurdely overrated. cgi masturbation with a lackluster plot and ridiculous neo-hippie fairy-tale.
  4. LostOverThere
    Sep 14, 2010
    3
    I legitimately have no idea how this film has been getting so many positive reviews. Someone once said great films were a combination of technical innovation and artistic achievement. While Avatar certainly nails the technical side, it's artistic half leaves a lot to be desired.

    A by-the-numbers cookie-cutter plot with poor writing and awful dialogue.
  5. Kastian
    Oct 17, 2010
    3
    While a beautiful movie to look at, the intense CGI cannot hide the hopelessly derivative story and generally poor acting. While the world of Pandora is nice to look at, it is poorly thought out. All the characters are caricatures of the worst movie stereotypes. We have the badass soldier chick, the angry army commander, the hero who just wants to do the right thing, and the industry crazed maniac.

    It took James Cameron 2h 40m to tell a story that Disney managed to tell in half the time.    … Expand
  6. StevenM
    Jun 6, 2010
    3
    It was fun to watch, but I hated how recycled it is. Great visuals, but James Cameron could have done so much more with the plot line, characters, and general movie. I was disappointed to say the least.
  7. JonathanS
    May 29, 2010
    1
    This movie has terrible dialogue, poor acting, and a plot an 8 year old could write. Go watch Pocahontas if you want to see this movie; same story, better everything.
  8. LarryS
    May 26, 2010
    1
    A typical piece of American shoot up em sensless piece of trash. Cameron has stolen ideas from a range of films and merged them into a silly unbelievably juvenile plot. Lots of violence and a story with nothing to say. Writing and dialogue are amateurish with characters that seem to be taken from comic books. The only thing that makes this film remotely watchable are the special effects. Movie making at it's worst. Shame on the critics who didn't have the courage to pan this gross waste of money.… Expand
  9. thomasno
    Jun 19, 2011
    3
    If Pocahontas was a 3D live action film starring blue people, this would be the result.
  10. DerekS
    Jun 17, 2010
    2
    Cameron was reminiscent of Michael Bay's dedication to special effects in this incredibly clichéd and (with regards to plot and characters) lackluster film. The characters all filled positions of clichés, leaving nothing unexpected through the entire plot. I found myself predicting lines and events before they occurred, a feat which never leads to a good feeling about a movie. The special effects were phenomenal, but everything else seemed less important.… Expand
  11. JoshuaB.
    May 16, 2010
    2
    The visuals were amazing, but who cares? The story went nowhere. This movie is quite simply nothing more than heavy-handed environmentalism under the guise of a lackluster alien romance. The acting was atrocious, the characters were dull, and the middle three fourths of the movie could have been removed and no plot development would have been lost. These things are the calling cards of terrible movies.… Expand
  12. phAtBenJ
    Nov 25, 2012
    4
    Avatar is no doubt my least favorite film of all time for one simple reason: it is everything wrong with Hollywood. Over-budgeted production cost, the lure of 3D to draw viewers, manipulative characters and political messages, and the complete lack of depth in the characters and story plague this beautiful looking film. To say that this film is bad would be a lie, but I despise this film so much due to it's one-dimensional characters and predictable and unoriginal story. James Cameron has done some great work in his career (The Terminator films, Aliens, [and even] Titanic), but Avatar is not among that prestigious list. Avatar only goes to prove that visual effects and action scenes do not guarantee a good film. For example, 12 Angry Men is one of the greatest films ever and it contains no action, CGI, and lacks multiple locations; the entire appeal of the film lies in its strong characters, dialogue, premise, and confrontations. Avatar lacks all these quintessential elements, and therefore suffers.… Expand
  13. AmandaG.
    Jun 2, 2010
    0
    This movie was straight up god awful. The story was consistently boring throughout the movie and it had a totally unoriginal plotline. The characters got on my nerves to no end (especially Sigourney Weaver's character) and we're supposed to believe that this far in the future, they are still using crappy wheelchairs that look the same from the ones in the 70's? Being a person who is not at all impressed by just special effects, I was extremely disappointed in this film and James Cameron.… Expand
  14. PeteG
    Jun 11, 2010
    2
    I didn't see Avatar at the cinema - something about it just said to me it would be all style no substance. So I waited until it was released on DVD and bought it a couple of days after it was released, and it sat on the shelf for several weeks until one quiet evening when there was nothing on TV worth watching. Well, it was exactly as I feared: a visual spectacle with absolutely no substance to back it up. The plot is puerile, derivative and overladen with the kind of crass, heavy-handed environmental messages you'd expect if an eight year old had written the script. Characterisation was paper thin and the actors mostly seemed on auto-pilot, either hamming it up or as wooden as the Na'vi's beloved trees. I'm all for no-brainer entertainment, but frankly I felt insulted. Mr Cameron, spend some of your frankly ridiculous budget on a decent script next time please. The score of 2 is for the admittedly great visuals and entertaining final reel battle only - the rest of the film scores a big fat zero.… Expand
  15. Seamus
    Jun 11, 2010
    0
    Pieac of crap, vidja games have been doing better worlds for years and they don't cost a trillion dollars. Cameron's worst movie to date, totally predictable.
  16. NF123
    Aug 11, 2010
    4
    Looks good but painfully cliched. I for one would recommend a rent just to see lovely it does really look, but it doesn't take long to find how shallow the charachters truly are
  17. GarethCritic
    Dec 19, 2010
    3
    Nowhere near as good as people make it out to be. The storyline is average, the characters aren't very well developed and the acting is poor but, apparently, this doesn't matter to anyone because in these modern times a movie seems to be able to get around based on special effects alone and Avatar is a prime example of this. It made a lot of money because it was visually great despite how bad it was a movie. I'm very happy that this crap didn't pick up a Best Picture Oscar, it didn't deserve it.… Expand
  18. AI88
    Nov 27, 2010
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie is the most overrated piece of politically correct, anti-American garbage I've ever seen. This movie is about a man who betrays his own country! How is that "heroic" or worthy of admiration???So, it has cool special effects. Whoopty-f***ing-do! I can't believe this piece of crap movie was so beloved by everyone. Apparently, pretty colors and cool explosions are all the typical modern consumer cares about. How sad.… Expand
  19. Iswearimsmart
    Aug 13, 2011
    3
    Avatar is an agonizing movie with amazing visuals and incredible use of 3-D and motion capture technology. In the purely technical sense, this film is a masterpiece; however, in terms of story, characters and ability to develop the plot, the film fails miserably. Every single character in this film is not only uninteresting but undeveloped. Think about it... what do you REALLY know about Jake or Nyteri? The dialogue is also horrendous. At times my jaw dropped at how uninspired the lines were. "I see you" in particular feels cheesy and overused. Then there is the awful love story. It is without a doubt one of the worst development of a couple I have ever seen in a film. We go from Nyteri HATING Jake to them occasionally nudging each other and laughing to...well them doing under the tree of souls or whatever it's called. I know months have passed in the story, but only 45 minutes have passed to us, and nothing in the film explained or showed how their feelings grew for each other. Giving someone a meaningful look once doesn't count as developing a couple. To top it off, this movie is excruciatingly long. By the time you see it for the second or third time you will be constantly checking your watch. It just won't end! The film could have easily cut 20-30 minutes. While there are a lot of pretty images, the plot and characters are pretty ugly.… Expand
  20. imthenoob
    Jan 24, 2012
    2
    Visually, Its extremely impressive and I was shocked that James Cameron didnt win the oscar for best director because of the visual effects in the film and the ground breaking use of CGI as well. However, The film sucks. The acting is terrible, the plot not only sucks but is a complete rip off of Dances With Wolves, and its incredibly boring (I was only entertained in 3 very short parts in the entire film). Sorry but the visuals can only get you so far in my book and this film just doesnt cut it imo.… Expand
  21. JasonW
    May 15, 2010
    1
    Cool visuals, but awful acting and a horrendous plot. I couldn't even make it through the entire movie. I walked out of the theater because I was so bored and could predict the entire movie after the first 10 minutes.
  22. doorgo
    Jun 19, 2010
    4
    Are the visual effects breathtaking? Of course, but it's absolutely unforgivable to give credit to a near scene by scene re-make of Disney's Pocahontas. No one in all of Hollywood could come up with an original script for what was to be potentially a breakthrough in 3D filming? I refuse to believe there are no ideas left in Hollywood, but obviously you can't get a screenplay made unless it came from a graphic novel or is outright stolen from a previous script(whether it was good or not). It's just a sad shame.… Expand
  23. phil
    May 15, 2010
    0
    This movie was a piece of crap. A predictable storyline that plays on some of the most racist character archetypes I've ever seen in a modern film. People say, OMG, the film looks so realistic, who cares about the plot? Yea, so did Jurassic Park, and that film came out 17 years ago, but still managed to have a unique story, with great characters, and a good Aesop. Industries give consumers what we demand. If we are complacent with the tripe they give us, that's all we will get. If all we ask is a film look really good, and nothing else, that's all we will get. A film that looks good, and nothing else. I enjoy seeing films with good stories, and if we don't continue to demand such films, we won't get them.… Expand
  24. ThomasG.
    May 3, 2010
    4
    This movie was pretty to look at, but was nothing more. The story was copied and not very good. Besides, the acting was nothing special.
  25. brandons
    Jun 15, 2010
    0
    Very poor story line up,copied action sequences and early buzz that " director took 4 golden years to make so called visually epic and eventually a very very high budget film", its just a shame that a very well known director had to do all above things to gain the #1 spot once again in highest gross all time. I would rather choose to watch the dark knight once again.
  26. Peter
    Aug 18, 2010
    0
    the only reason i kind of enjoyed this movie is because my brother was repeating the lines in engrish, yes engrish. i really hated how they portrayed the marines, and when i heard that some people in the theaters clapped when they watched the marines getting killed, i felt like shooting james cameron in the face while saying "yea get some mofo!!!!" seriously i want to enlist in the marines, and i have a friend in training right now, i do take offense to that. this movie also rips off so many different movies such as dances with wolves. unfortunatly my brother bought this movie on blu ray instead of hurt locker which was a much better movie. to all you obsessors, dont get mad at me, because the critics agree with me!!!!! hell yea!!!!!!!!!!!… Expand
  27. scbrother
    Feb 26, 2011
    0
    james cameron, stop trying to shoving life lessons down my throat and wow me with visual effects, make a good movie without sam worthington your boyfriend.
  28. Ambrosine
    Aug 20, 2010
    3
    When I sit down to watch a movie, I'd appreciate not being beaten over the head with political agenda bull. Storyline was not only thin and shallow but also extremely distasteful, and purely immature. To me it felt like liberals vs. war-mongering conservatives; childish name calling and finger pointing. Again: when I watch a movie, I find it insulting when it's attempting to brainwash me with political agenda whether it be extreme right or left. On to the next point. The distasteful bits would be the fact that we're supposed to cheer for the aliens---While they slaughter human beings. Now this could have worked if say a large portion of the marines rallied together (representing the audience) to protect Pandora, and the bloodthirsty Corporal (and why is he so bloodthirsty? Any reason?) could have his group of evil followers. And at the end, the humans find negotiation with Pandora and 'wisen' up to their ways (because we violent humans are utterly stupid according to the story. Yes, that means you). No, the movie didn't even do that. It gave no room for redemption, and practically insults you on a personal level. Next Point: If the evil business man was really after wealth, he would've stopped the operation to gather ore. He would've gone after the wealth of medical, biological, and sociological knowledge which would have made him insanely more rich than mining would. And finally, there is the point that many people have brought up: It's a total rip-off. Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, Fern Gully, Aliens, and Storm Troopers have all been brought up which means the storyline is over used. Movie was highly overrated, critics either don't know their sh*t, are politically biased, or are too gutless to truly critique the film. A great big middle finger to the message of the film, and much love to the artists who made such a beautiful world. Shame on those who shallowly rated the film based upon appearances.… Expand
  29. OneWhoKnows
    Jan 4, 2011
    0
    If I wanted to watch cartoons I most definitely would watch ROBOT CHICKEN. One or two of my in-laws INSISTED that the characters in this were REAL (not computer generated real but REAL!!!) That is the type of intellectual hooraying for this gigantic waste of my time that makes me squirm. OK the effects were decent. But I DO NOT watch movies for their effects. The story was adolescent and the "camera work" was marginal at best. Try watching cinema and not a 3d cartoon, you might find your artistic integrity improved.… Expand
  30. tycho32
    Aug 26, 2010
    4
    The special effects, CG, and sound were awesome. Beyond the eye candy there is simply nothing here. As other reviewers have stated the story is cliched, and the director was trying to make an obvious political statement. I thought this detracted from the overall story. My wife was predicting plot lines and actor lines, and she never does that. The only part of the story that was not predictable were the huge plot holes throughout the movie.… Expand
  31. deltapatrick
    Sep 8, 2010
    1
    Man when i first went to the theater i though it was going to be great people told me it was one of the best movies of all time so i went and check it out but in the end of the film it turned out to be **** all that was good of the film was the cgi and i dont care for 3d the story was **** the acting was **** the writing was **** the screenplay was **** everything was **** and sadly to say the directing was **** i love james cameron growing up but he has lost his touch… Expand
  32. DGDSN
    Nov 6, 2010
    4
    This movie gets a few points in my book for amazing special effects, attempting (ironically) an environmental/anti-corporate message, and a handful of exciting scenes. It is otherwise a trite and pointless exercise in box-office money making. Not only is it a pastiche of many other (better) films, but it is dumbed-down and toothless. The black and white morality, hokey 'spiritualism', and PG romance set to horrible adult contemporary music, screams "Disney!".
    On a purely technical note, some of the 'camera' work is suspect, especially those 'quick-zooms' or whatever they call them.
    I do not recommend this film to anyone above the age of ten.    … Expand
  33. TheGorilla
    Aug 26, 2011
    4
    Congratulations to the special effects and the graphics and the 3D! But, the movie itself is so ridiculous and cheesy. It's terrible. James Cameron can't write a good script. This could have been done a lot better. And, honestly, I'm not interested in watching sequels.
  34. TheWhiteMamba
    Mar 18, 2011
    1
    Absolutely hands down, the most over hyped/ over rated movie in history. I saw this movie when it came out in theatres and i hated it so much i had to vent as soon as i became a member of metacritic. sure the special effects are good, but thats not enough to salvage the terrible acting and dreadful script. the entire story is borrowed from other hollywood movies. it disgusts me how much people love this movie. to me this shows just how simple and shallow movie goers are. the aliens were just friggen annoying to listen to and to look at. Ive never fallen asleep in the theater, but this got me pretty close. just a boring, eye candy laced, piece of **** movie.… Expand
  35. Mrsoandso
    Apr 9, 2011
    0
    this movie is garbage. and whoever thinks that it is the "Best movie of all time" remove the special effects and see how holds up to the title of "best move of all time". as for the special effects... the 3d was good in some parts but overall unnecessary, it could have got by without it. as for story... could be wrapped up in an hour rather then three hours. the action only showed up at the "big battle" at the end other then that it was useless filler. overall: not worth the money or time



    (on a side note why did it look like all the aircraft look like it was ripped out of Halo?)    … Expand
  36. spadenx
    Dec 8, 2011
    3
    Easily the most overrated film of all time. Visually it loses its impressiveness rather quickly into the film and while it may look great in 3D, In 2D is rathers boring. Not to mention the film's plot is a rip off of Dances With Wolves (Seriously check that out). Also the acting is rather disapointing and sometimes terrible. Overall its visually impressive in 3D but thats it.
  37. AnnieW.
    May 22, 2010
    3
    The best movie ever made.
  38. JoeC
    Dec 21, 2009
    3
    One small step forward for filmmaking technology, one giant leap backward for writing, acting, directing...oh you know.
  39. Calexican
    Aug 29, 2010
    0
    It looks great and there is enough here to support video games and theme parks for years to come. Shame they forgot the story, script and acting. Cameron hasn't made a decent movie since Aliens (neither has Weaver). What a tragic waste - no wonder it was completely overlooked at the awards nights
  40. MarcelloM
    Nov 11, 2010
    0
    A complete waste of good earned money and time. I would have rather watched a racoon cross the street for 3 hours . FINAL: a deliberate piss of trash
  41. simplex
    Nov 11, 2010
    4
    8 is for the graphics
    0 is for the absolute lack of story originality

    It's a all visual and no story.
    Would not recommend this movie, and am glad I got it for free.
  42. Sixella
    Feb 13, 2011
    4
    Save yourself some money. Blow the dust off of your old Pocahontas V.H.S, plug that baby in and TADA! Without all the glamour its the exact same thing, whithout even spending a dime! Don't be fooled people.
  43. GamerinHarmony
    Feb 5, 2011
    2
    Everything about this movie is cliched and boring other than the half-decent CGI. I actually hated it. I highly advise you never to rent or even skim through this movie on television...it's a pile of ****
  44. MagicSquid
    Mar 5, 2011
    2
    Dances with Wolves meets Fern Gully The Last Rainforest with a dose of white arrogance. Yes, it's pretty to look at sometimes, but past the fluffy eye candy visuals there's very little substance to this movie. I found myself rooting for the supposedly "evil" colonel halfway through the movie and hoping he would just blow away Jake Sully and his tree hugging friends and end the movie. At least the Colonel is honest and does exactly what he says he's going to do, and isn't a double talking snake in the grass like Jake Sully. This movie does a horrible injustice to fans of James Cameron, serious movie goers and manages to fall short of all the hype and positive reviews that proceeded me seeing it. So badly does it fail at being the cinematic masterpiece that so many people seem to hail it as, that I would consider it to be the most disappointing movie I've ever seen. This isn't a cinematic masterpiece, it's cinematic dreck.… Expand
  45. Civerts
    Jul 18, 2011
    1
    Good visual and sound effects, however Avatar has a weak screenplay, which seems to be a mix of Dance with Wolves, Pochahontas and Alien. James Cameron was giving so much attention to the visual and sound that he did totally forget about the artistic part, mainly the script. Received 3 Oscars: Cinematography, Art Direction and Visual Effects, but in Avatar, the Art Direction and the Cinematography are Visual Effects. So it received 3 Oscars for the same thing: Visual Effects.… Expand
  46. charredrelik
    Dec 14, 2011
    0
    God i hated this movie. it was stupid, boring and stupid. it didnt make sence in so many areas. its only endearing quality was when we left it running at home with the sound down. it makes a pretty screensaver!
  47. Josh_47ra
    Mar 19, 2012
    2
    This score is totally for the visuals and nothing else. I admit they were amazing and groundbreaking. The plot is stupid. The characters are stereotypical. There is way to much 'environment is gud' message shoved in your face. I will never watch this movie again.
  48. TheZapper
    Jul 3, 2012
    0
    AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT HASN'T BEEN LOBOTAMISED?
    Technically good but other than that it was a cowboys vs Indians movie and you know it, I'm just desperately thankful James Cameron's only working on doco's (which I won't have to care about), or unfortunately the sequal to this....
  49. Kamal_Voltaic
    Oct 30, 2012
    4
    Yes. The visuals were amazing... but that's about it. I seriously don't understand how people can call it the greatest movie of all time, the plot is weak.
    It's like a cardboard cut-out of a chocolate cake.
  50. Neving
    Jan 2, 2010
    2
    yes, the special effects are amazing in this movie, however the '3d' seemed unnecessary, they are very 'flat' for what they are, nothing flying at your face or dancing around the cinema, would have been better to watch in 2d. the movie uses its visual brilliance as a crutch to support the poor script, plot, acting, and casting that made up the rest of the movie, unfortunately with no success, the limited script gives the cast nothing to work with. however the fundamental mistake in this film is that because of the terrible script and plot it creates one dimensional characters that the audience dont particularly care about at all, not to mention the poorly disguised 'human-ness' of the alien species. the movie is seeped in irony, pushing themes of environmentalism and anti-technological sentiment, funny then that this is the most expensive movie ever made.… Expand
  51. chads
    Jan 2, 2010
    2
    Gets 2 points for some okay graphics. That much of the hype is true. But beyond that this is a TERRIBLE movie. Main problem is the obvious anti-American tree-hugging liberal agenda. The military is bad, the environment is good. Corporate expansion is bad, pagan tree-love is good. Etc and so forth, spitting out one liberal lie after another. Maybe next time they should get a real American to write the script and not some atheist French gy.… Expand
  52. JoshM
    Jan 20, 2010
    4
    A very pretty, shallow film. It was Ferngully with CGI. It felt like Cameron was trying to cram in every single story cliche he could think of. Extremely generic and boring. Every single thing that happens in the movie can be seen from miles away. Worth a watch to check out the graphics, otherwise, pass.
  53. AlexC.
    Jan 3, 2010
    3
    While Avatar's $238 million budget delivers beautiful visual effects, to be sure, it feels like not a single nickel was spent on creating believable dialogue or likable characters. On these grounds, it may be the most uneven film ever created.
  54. SoroushA
    Jan 3, 2010
    4
    Special effects simply made me more unintrigued in the 3D film as it seemed too much was fed to the graphics that the characters themselves! Questions were not answered especially for a 3 hr movie (how did he lose control of his legs, how did his brother die? etc.) which limited any character building. Special effects: 10, Acting: 4, Storyline: 6, Dialogue: 6, Character development: 5... please is this movie really in the same league as gladiator?? cos i dont remember crying to this movie at any stage!… Expand
  55. Capt.Shiner
    Jan 14, 2010
    2
    Of all the great things this movie does visually and the expense incurred from it, I cannot believe the dialogue and story were not in the budget. There is no charecter that retains any sympathy at the end of the movie. The Na'vi could have been deaf and dumb and the story would have moved along at the exact same pace. The dialogue continually detracted from the Pandora "experience". And the story was so tired and cliched, they must have been watching The Wizard of Oz, Dances WIth Wolves and some generic war movie simultaniously while banging on their keyboards like monkeys. I wish big-budget movies didn't have assume that everyone has a fifth grade education to gather the largest audience as possible.… Expand
  56. GC
    Jan 2, 2010
    1
    Avatar is visually stunning. For that I give it a 10. Avatar is also painfully unoriginal with the hackneyed themes of corporate greed and an evil military. For that I give it a (-9). It is little more than a sci fi version of Dances With Wolves. James Cameron spent $300M telling the same story Kevin Costner has already told, but Costner's version was much better and most certainly less expensive to make. You'd think for $300M Cameron could have bought an original story. I guess $300M don't buy what it used to buy.… Expand
  57. AndreaK
    Jan 2, 2010
    4
    Liked the animation. Didn't like the story. Yes, natives need white americans to save them from other white americans. It's inconceivable that natives could come up with some strategy to save themselves. Is it because white americans are the superior race? Well, that must be it. Learning to be a warrior took the natives years of training...white american took 3 months. Whatever. And we all know the real end of this story. History has taught us again and again ...white americans return with bigger guns and kill/capture everbody.… Expand
  58. KenG
    Jan 7, 2010
    4
    If all you care about is special effects, and the visual look of a film, you'll probably love this.The movie is superb with these things. But if like me, you also care about plot, script, and characters, you might well be disappointed with this movie, as very little effort went into these things. To give this movie a high grade, would be rewarding James Cameron for being lazy in a lot of ways.… Expand
  59. Kayde
    Feb 18, 2010
    4
    In the love of all that is holy, why does this movie have a score of 88? Yes, it is a visual spectacle, and yes, the technological innovations it employs are nothing short of fantastical, but this is A BAD MOVIE. The story is generic and clunky, in addition to the structure of the script being PAINFULLY obvious as one watches the movie. The characters are flat, and the political overtones are a little overdone. It is a visual dazzlement wrapped around an empty shell, and does not deserve to win a Best Picture Oscar. Star Wars was a technological marvel, and it was hugely entertaining, but did it deserve the highest honor possible to bestow upon a film?? No. Neither does Avatar.… Expand
  60. KateS.
    Feb 3, 2010
    0
    This is the most overrated film from the decade a mediocre movie with poor history (copy of Mayas) with a Pocahontas romance and copy robots from Terminator and Full Metal Panic, really crap movie a stupid things to make money, congrats Mr Cameron, all the world turn stupid with this sh*tty movie.
  61. CharlesK
    Feb 6, 2010
    4
    Had Cameron shot in the Amazon in 3D it would have been just as stunning. Had he written a script that made any sense and didn't have holes to drive trucks through it might have been vaguely memorable, had he seized the opportunity and created a truly alien world instead of Earth with 6 legged horses etc etc and 8 foot lean humans with tails it might have soared but the absurdity of all good/all evil, idiot American administrators but sage scientists (not very) and a military using 17th Century techniques just killed it. Too long by 40 mins, too twee by half. Nice 3D.… Expand
  62. ConnorC
    Feb 8, 2010
    2
    This movie is boring as hell and basically an expensive mix of pocahontas,aliens,and a few others.Looks good but that does not make a good movie.
  63. NoeC
    Mar 10, 2010
    3
    It is a mediocre movie at best. I got bored and couldn't believe any of the characters. Frankly, the special effects weren't all that much.
  64. EladioM
    Mar 6, 2010
    4
    This movie is Dineye's Pocahontas on steroids, nothing more. Excelent FX? Hell, yes! But the plot is weak and the story is full of obvius cliches -- most of them came (no surprise) from the above mentioned "source", Pocahontas.
  65. ArielY
    Apr 13, 2010
    3
    This movie had nice animation, but what a waste: the story line felt used. It reminded me of Pocahontas or Fern Gully or something. Also, the characters didn't have enough depth to them.
  66. DonnieB
    Apr 3, 2010
    2
    First, I must say these graphics where groundbreaking and the best I've seen in many years. However, that is the only good thing I can say about this movie. The acting was atrocious, the storyline was neither original or interesting, and the movie just kept going. I did not care about the giant lemers (Navi) at all. The war was unrealistic. It was just a drag that I hated going along with.
  67. AaronJ
    Apr 4, 2010
    3
    I did not enjoy this that much... I went into this expecting an overated, overadvertised crap fest. It was overrated and it was overadvertised and it did look amazing. But i get enjoyment of a good story libe as well. There was more original plot in an episode of Teletubbies than this. It was way too long, way to gimiky, with an overused and cheesy "save the rainforest" interspieces love crap.
  68. SiH
    Apr 6, 2010
    4
    Would you go see a play that had a great set but poor plot, character development, use of language and/or acting? If you would then you'll love Avatar.
  69. BertrandG.
    Dec 20, 2009
    3
    Pocahontas in 3D.
  70. HarryP.N.
    Jan 10, 2010
    3
    I saw this in 3D earlier today. I do not understand what all the hype is about....and definitely is overrated. The 3 is a result of the amazingly breathtaking computer generation and animation. The 3d was not very well utilized...most of the time it did not seem like it was in 3d, and could be watched without glasses. Only one part really seemed like 3d, when the sully cripple guy threw the grenade in the aircraft engine, and it bounced by your face. This was the second longest movie i've ever been to, and the most drawn out. the first 2 hours are soooooo boring i almost fell asleep, if it were not for the bright flashy bioluminescence of the plants i probably would have. These first hours were like watching the animal planet or discovery channel, just sit back and look at a bunch of plants. however, every once and a while, there is a cool plant that catches your attention. the cat na'vi people are very strange, and distracted from the movie. everything else was so different and fairy tale like, then they use blue human people with tails, and cat ears. so unoriginal!!!! there are tons of blue alien races. onto the plot: reminded me of one of those movies on the sci fi channel, your macho army commander gone mad with power, an unethical greedy ceo behind it all, nerdy scientists that try to stop army guy and a marine that wants to save the day. the dialogue was horrendous, i could predict every word that was going to come out of their mouthes...and the dry humor was terrible, the retarded kid in the theater that laughed at the jokes and come-backs did not help either. the plot can be guessed when sully teams up with army commander guy (see how bad this is? i saw the movie today and dont even know their names...) to gather info on the cat people. i will not reveal any spoilers, but the plot was very stereotypical. the last 30 minutes, the epic battle scene, was the best part and saving grace of the movie. i dont think the 2 hours of plants was worth 30 mins of action though. in conclusion this review was not meant to discourage you from seeing it, by all means go see it for the animation and try to help james cameron make some of his investment back, but buy a large tub of popcorn and drink, you will need it and may find it more interesting than the movie.… Expand
  71. LeahR
    Jan 1, 2010
    1
    This movie gets a 1 just because it inspired Sam R.'s review.
  72. gunnarf
    Jan 13, 2010
    0
    This movie sucks so much balls its not even funny. I can't really see anything good about it aside from the visuals. It just proves that most people who vote on this website are f***ing retarded.
  73. JohnA
    Jan 14, 2010
    2
    Avatar is basically an overly long, expensive B-movie. The plot is not just simplistic and cliche, but lazy even... apparently audiences won't realize it's mean to bomb the holy tree unless a "daisy cutter" is involved. The movie is littered with cheap references like that, presumably to curry favor with left-wing critics who otherwise would admit the story is awful. So far as the special effects: it really should not enhance the rating in my view because they are only impressive in comparison to today's standards. In 10 years, Avatar won't look like anything special, and the movie will gradually fade into obscurity.… Expand
  74. PabloS.
    Jan 14, 2010
    4
    This hurts. Not ever did I want to say anything negative about a James Cameron film, but that's where this is going. I want to start off by saying that I did not find the effects as everyone else, maybe it's because CGI with detail and human emotion isn't such a big deal anymore. I mean we all knew it was heading this way, but this is not CGI without humans, this was mo-cap and its obvious and it should be mo-cap to achieve the Uncanny Valley. All in all we all play video games now and this was not that impressive in a world filled with CGI. Enough about the effects however, the 3D was very well done in the use of depth and being tolerable for two and a half hours, although nothing mind blowing like debris flying at you. Movie theaters still have not achieved the theme park 3D that everyone really wants to see. Now this is where the biggest knock comes and I realize that people are suckers for a good love story, but do you remember Fern Gully? Yup the animated Fox film in the '90's about the rainforrest and fairies, now imagine the fairies being 12 foot blue Native Americans and Sam Worthington is the shrunken guy that realizes that teraing doen the rainforrest is bad. Hmm....ok lets take that story and add millions more dollars to it and make it a sci-fi opus (which it isn't) and tell everyone that they've never seen anything like this. I have and I want my money back.… Expand
  75. W.Parish
    Jan 15, 2010
    1
    cool images. the movie itself boring in most parts, long and tedious. Lots of social and environmental messages. Did not care for the characters as much as I wanted to.
  76. ml
    Jan 10, 2010
    4
    Watching the media genuflect is really frustrating. I'm a member of the digital generation and this stuff doesn't impress me anymore. You forget about the 3D fifteen minutes in, and there are many movies that put their CGI to better purposes without a $300 price tag or killing the suspension of disbelief. Without the pretty graphics we are left with a predictable, cliched plot, terrible characters and dialog, and a blatant political subtext that is insulting to even Sarah Palin's intelligence and left me, a far-left liberal, feeling very annoyed. This movie is like being hit over the head repeatedly with a heavy blunt object.… Expand
  77. IanM
    Jan 20, 2010
    4
    The film was flashy. That was it. Don't get me wrong I'm sure the technology driving it was revolutionary, but the story is so drab and run of the mill that in the first five minutes I knew what was going to happen. It has a good message, but I fear that this plight was drowned out by loud explosions and glossed over with fancy computers. Also I did not like how in the first six minutes of the film I could tell who the bad guys were. It would have created a much more interesting conflict had the lines between good and evil been blurred as they so often are in real life. We know off the bat that the humans are selfish pigs who are occupying the planet Pandora for nothing more than a monetary greed. Over all I fear this film's quality has been blown out of proportion and the ratings skewed because James Cameron created some new fancy machine that helps us confuse great CGI with great story.… Expand
  78. JH
    Jan 2, 2010
    3
    Excellent special effects spoiled by a recycled storyline and even worse script. Very predictable, another American/human who saves the entire planet and indigenous people. Full of cheesy unoriginal cliches.
  79. johnd
    Jan 25, 2010
    2
    Unlikeable protagonist, thin characterizations, naive metaphorical comments on Iraq/environmentalism/imperialism, over-saturated colour palette and headache inducing 3D. Avatar is a juvenile, gimmick-fest. Sorry, but it's true.
  80. DJP.
    Jan 29, 2010
    3
    The 3D effects were the star of this movie. It is visually beautiful and amazing. The storyline was good but could have been even better. What was severely missing was the debth of personality of the characters. Any great movie always has debth to the characters - you learn their personality and their quirks, you even begin to feel emotion. You laugh when they laugh and cry when they cry. I didn't really feel any emotion during Avatar. There were many deaths in the movie and I didn.t feel any real sadness, which is odd for me. Even though the 3D was great it really overtook the characters and got in the way. I wanted to see a great movie but instead saw a great video game.… Expand
  81. ArnoldH
    Jan 3, 2010
    2
    A total bore!!! After about ten minutes of this, I had to struggle to stay awake. Special effects alone do not make a movie.
  82. DuaneA.
    Jan 7, 2010
    3
    Scrolling down the list of reviews I can see only really 2 types; educated, informed opinions and dumb people. The dumb people win out by sheer masses and will flood this area with comments like "fantastic" "amazing" etc... These are dumb people after all. They cannot possibly give good advice on films (or much else) because they haven't the werewithal to do so. Thus I encourage anyone who considers themselves to be intelligent (the type that would NEVER see a Micheal Bay picture) to read only the reviews that are under 5 stars. I give 3 because I'm a little generous and because I thought some of the action was okay. Avatar is a really big, bright, colorful, noisy and dumb movie. It is 3 parts Dances With Wolves, mixed with 2 parts Pocohontas and add a generous splash of every cliche action film out there. As a picture - it stinks (the script and dialogue could only have been written by a 4th grader). As a 3d spectacle? Yawwwwnnn.... Hardly revolutionary. After 10 minutes you'll barely notice. Anyway, if you're dumb (chances are - yes) you'll probably love it enough to post your idiotic- 1/4 baked ideas up on websites like this.… Expand
  83. Ant
    Jan 7, 2010
    4
    A stunningly beautiful movie that unfortunately doesn't so much have a plot as a checklist of clichés.
  84. RF
    Jan 9, 2010
    0
    Film was awful on so many levels. District 9 was so much better and cost about $30 million to makev versus $500 million. Dialogue bad, characters cliche, did not care about anybody in this movie. Wanted to see the entire moon blown up in a Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich style apocalypse, because the characters were so boring. The special effects were great, but that does not make up for awful story telling. Besides, District 9s special effects were great too. And the digital FX with live action sequences was not as good as Lord of the Rings did it 8 years ago. This is the movie equivalent of the Emperor's New Clothes. No one wants to admit how awful this movie is.… Expand
  85. HomerS
    Feb 11, 2010
    4
    This would've been freaken amazing if I didn't have some Fat Guy blocking half of my view and giving away the entire ending to me.... Seriously, that guy needs to GET A LIFE!!! anyone who watches this movie SIX TIMES and gives away the entire ending to everyone around him seriously needs to go away to another universe.
  86. ST
    Feb 1, 2010
    1
    Avatar. Avapoo more like. Over-extended toy commercial. Vastly unimaginative and boring. Plot and ideas all derivative. The much-trumpeted special effects looked like all other cgi - would have preferred it if all the aliens were made out of papier-mache. 3D utterly pointless. The 1 point here is actually for performances - the baddy, who was done with gusto, and the hero, who was mildly intriguing at the beginning when not a ten foot blue cat-thing. Utterly unable to fathom why people think this is great or indeed any different from so many other cgi-driven action movies nowadays.… Expand
  87. CS
    Feb 1, 2010
    0
    Awful, formulaic, racist. Tarzan meets Dances with Wolves but come on-its 2010. Can think of 500 mil better uses for the $$ this cost.
  88. NithinM
    Feb 15, 2010
    2
    Liked the movie only for its visual effects. Otherwise, I did not find it engaging or entertaining. The storyline is weak.
  89. JonS
    Feb 1, 2010
    3
    Is it good entertainment? Yes. Is it a great movie? No, not even close. I walked into the movie expecting a great visual spectacle with an average plot and character development. The plot, acting and character development was so bad, however, that it frankly ruined the technological experience. I would recommend seeing it in theaters just for the visuals. This movie is not going to translate well onto the small screen. and after 5-7 years, after the technology is dated, people will look back and think "this is a truly awful movie." There is nothing beyond the visuals to carry this ham-fisted outing. Once the technology is no longer new, this will definitely not stand the test of time. I would think with $250 million, James Cameron would have bought himself a script.… Expand
  90. DarioP
    Feb 21, 2010
    0
    Unoriginal movie, visuals are not the only thing to weight.
  91. TomM
    Feb 6, 2010
    3
    Thought this movie was totally overrated and not original at all. The script sucked and the blue people were just annoying.
  92. AmyC
    Feb 6, 2010
    2
    All I want to say is that I fell asleep (seriously!) after the 3rd time the guy (I can't even remember his name) went into that time capsule. The whole movie is just a joke, and an insult to human intelligence. I didn't like Titanic at all but it was at least better than this one. T2 is my all-time favorite.... but is this the same James Cameron, or a different one?
  93. steveng
    Feb 7, 2010
    2
    Didn't work for me. no emotional connect with the characters. hate the creature design. why do all the animals have six legs? If all the major life forms have six limbs, the blue guys should have too. They wasted the opportunity to use 3d well. It lost its effect for me 20 min in. lame.
  94. DylanL
    Feb 8, 2010
    3
    I first wanted to leave after 40 minutes. That's when I was certain that there was nothing that rang true in the world being created. As if James Cameron could conceive of a any alternative form of evolution. It was half-baked ideas, one after another, and characters that were simply cringe worthy. The whole cinema laughed when the aliens started a trance dance to some gaudy Enya music to make the simplistic pantheistic god do some magic. The laugh wasn't as loud as when the aliens has sex. Cameron created a big extravaganza. But the world and characters he created lacked any complexity to the point that you could simply not buy any of it. The graphics were nice. The story, by any measure, was embarrassing.… Expand
  95. craigs
    Mar 6, 2010
    1
    What do James Cameron and George Lucas have in common? They've both spent ridiculous amounts of money on over-hyped and extremely over-rated pieces of garbage. The difference is, at least Lucas didn't steal ideas from at least a half dozen other films that tell the same story much better. Pocahontas, FernTree Gully, Last of the Mohicans, The Last Samurai, BraveHeart. I won't bother explaining the plot because if you've seen any of the above mentioned films, then you've seen Avatar. And they didn't require flashy CGI to get their story across. Speaking of which, the CGI is by far the highlight of the movie, but even that was eclipsed by Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. And that movie is 10 years old now. The characters are one dimentional, the acting is fairly poor and the dialogue would surely make Lucas himself cringe. At least he can sleep peacefully in the knowledge that he didn't create the word "unobtainium". How the hell the actors managed to say that with a straight face I'm buggered if I know. Also, the movie makes such a blunt statement about our environmental woes and war in Iraq (we will fight terror with terror) that it is, quite frankly, an insult to the audiences intelligence. If I want to hear people make political and environmental statements I'll watch the news thanks very much. I go to the movies to escape real world issues, not to be beaten over the head with them. Cameron also stole a couple of sound effects from the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Can you pick them?… Expand
  96. EddieM
    Mar 7, 2010
    1
    It earned its single star by terminating. A pandering, cliche-ridden, overblown bore.
  97. ginoM
    Mar 7, 2010
    4
    It escapes me how Avatar is being championed as the standout movie ushering us into a new frontier of film making, when it is nothing more than the next baby step in Cinematography and Cinematography alone. If it were merely a pretty picture, inspiring film makers to create new worlds when presented with the plausible impetus to do so, there would be no debate in my mind. But it's not. This movie has been respected by critics and commonplace audience alike. What did it do beyond it's visuals? It was written unwittingly, seemingly with an intent to do just that. The story inspires nothing more than a cheap nostalgic stroll to the over-spun screenplay graveyard of every Hollywood cliche. Pitiful exploits of corny one-liners, narrow characters and predictable plot twists saturate every moment of Aavatar. It is ultimately mundane in every way beyond the visual stimulus.… Expand
  98. JacobTD
    Apr 6, 2010
    4
    Great visuals, story/been there done that feeling/acting/script were all a D+ at best. This is a C movie. Nowhere near my top 10 for the year.
  99. JaredH.
    Dec 19, 2009
    2
    The CGI is fabulous and truly takes us to a new dimension in movie making. Having said this the rest of the movie was awful. Mr. Cameron takes us to a far away place called Pandora. In 3D we see a world unlike anything found on Earth. So far so good. Then the movie completely disintegrates when a Marine Corporal crippled in war becomes one of the aliens {Avatar} or should I say natives. It is unfathomable that Mr. Cameron can conceive a world we've never seen but his storyline is totally lame and predictable. Somewhere we've seen all this before. The Aliens are in fact thinly disguised as native Indians. The big bad capitalistic Americans {General Custer} invade their land for greed, make no attempt at negotiations, and destroy all their beauty. The American military fights with weapons in the year 2154 but nothing is NEW. The Aliens have just bows and arrows. If Dances With Wolves comes to mind yu now know the story. And the Marine Corporal {where was Kevin Costner} whose manta is to do and die switches sides for moral justice. And somehow this pawn is so brilliant that he's portrayed as the second coming of General Rommel {WW II}. No matter how great the special effects, and they are truly great, there's no excuse for such a paper thin plot in which the ending is known 5 minutes into the movie. $299.999 million spent on CGI animation and about a buck fifty for the script. Anyone giving this movie a perfect score of 10 for dialogue that could have been written by a five-year old must have had a lobotomy or checked their brains in at the door.… Expand
  100. Beatrice
    Dec 20, 2009
    1
    Beautiful colors and sounds but as far as a story it was very poor. I'm amazed that everyone seems taken in by the bells and whistles but no one cares about anything else. Quite a commentary on the dumbing down of America.
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    100
    A fully believable, flesh-and-blood (albeit not human flesh and blood) romance is the beating heart of "Avatar." Cameron has never made a movie just to show off visual pyrotechnics: Every bit of technology in "Avatar" serves the greater purpose of a deeply felt love story.
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  2. Empire
    Reviewed by: Chris Hewitt
    100
    It's been twelve years since "Titanic," but the King of the World has returned with a flawed but fantastic tour de force that, taken on its merits as a film, especially in two dimensions, warrants four stars. However, if you can wrap a pair of 3D glasses round your peepers, this becomes a transcendent, full-on five-star experience that's the closest we'll ever come to setting foot on a strange new world. Just don't leave it so long next time, eh, Jim?
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  3. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    90
    Avatar is all-enveloping and transporting, with Cameron & Co.'s years of R&D paying off with a film that, as his work has done before, raises the technical bar and throws down a challenge for the many other filmmakers toiling in the sci-fi/fantasy realm.
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