1.3 billion dollars. That’s the result of the latest sale report for James Cameron’s Avatar. Although many debate that the sales have been boosted by the IMAX ticket pricing, the movie’s popularity makes it without a doubt one of the shiny successes of 2009 and the town’s talk for 2010. Yet there are plenty of naysayers out there calling it common, boring, a run of the mill. Compared to the Avatar fan boys/girls their number is insignificant, but their voice must be heard and it is as important as anybody else’s. So I decided that a review based on their opinions would be at least a good idea.

Their first complaint is about the story, which in a highly condensed version goes like this: on a distant planet called Pandora humans find a rare material humorously named unobtainium; on top of the largest deposit of this raw material lays a native settlement populated by a tribe of Na’vi; humans use remote controlled hybrid organisms (avatars) resembling the indigenous population in the attempt of convincing them to leave their homes; in the process one of the avatar “pilots” falls in love with one of the natives. I don’t want to spoil the rest for you: it’s sufficient to say all hell eventually breaks loose. If you compare this with the story behind Pocahontas you will discover a tone of similarities so shocking that condemning Avatar for ripping off the Disney’s animation does not feel exaggerated at all. So yes, the story lacks originality, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful for any child at heart individual. Moreover, in its defense, how does this sound: boy meets girl, they fall in love and they face a set of unimaginable challenges before their love is finally fulfilled? Trivial, boring, predictable? Still, it represents the core of over 90% of the romantic movies out there. And don’t even get me started on action movies or Christmas stories…

Continuing down the list of complains we reach acting. I’m sorry, what acting? There are only a handful non-CGI scenes in Avatar so if the complain is about voice-acting these are groundless accusations as the actors’ performance is close to flawless. But if we are indeed talking about real acting for that added up total of ten whole minutes, then again pointing fingers is exaggerated. Talented Sigourney Weaver fills the shoes of Dr. Grace Augustine with great ease and it’s a pleasure to see her again transformed under Cameron’s magic wand. I have no complains about Sam Worthington who is playing the role of Jake Sully, the veteran marine immobilized in a wheel chair who controls one of the avatars and eventually falls in love with Neytiri. He made me believe in his character and in his emotional baggage, and that’s all he had to do. So, mission accomplished marine, good job! For Stephen Lang and Michelle Rodriguez the action hero roles fit like a glove and the ones they had in Avatar made no exception. And intentionally overlooking a few tiny cases, this is the full cast of the non-CGI scenes and I can honestly think of no slip ups to add to their record.

Finally, some went so far as to saying the SFX/CGI and the art directing was far from being impressive. In this case I can only lower myself to their level and ask them the already classic “O’rly?!”. If you saw the movie on a 5 inch screen, although it would be interesting to find out how you managed to do that, then it’s entirely your fault that pixels blended together into nothing more than mush. Avatar is not a psychological thriller with brilliant dialogs that can be easily turned into a radio play. It’s a unique visual experience, with brilliant art concepts and stunning CGI. So this makes it another case of size does matter – of the screen of course: the bigger the better, the wider the merrier, the… 3D-er the more suitable for Avatar. So if you’ve already seen it on a normal theater screen, get a refund (if you manage to do that, tell me how) and go for IMAX and I’m sure you will not regret it.

I am aware that after all the above I may seem to be a fanatic, brain washed supporter of Avatar. I can guarantee that’s not the case. I originally refused to go see it because I naturally resent any product that is backed up by so much marketing and advertising as was the case of James Cameron’s latest movie. I believe there is a limit of common sense when it comes to advertising, and I suspect all that goes beyond that line is trying to cover up flaws and lack of quality. So I went to see Avatar determined to tear it down brick by brick and then laugh sardonically at its scattered pieces, but now all I can do is recommend it to everyone else. It’s a movie that will remain imprinted in my memory for many years.