Go see Avatar now!

If you haven't seen Avatar yet, get off your butt & see it now! And if you've already seen it, go & see it again. And if you've already seen it twice, go & see it in 3d!
It is 162 minutes of stunningly beautiful escapism that will go down in history as a landmark in the evolution of cinema and computer animation.
So far the film has grossed a total of $1.424 billion, and for good reason.
Almost every frame is a work of art and there are so many scenes that simply take your breath away.
Plot-wise, the film is nothing special. We have scene this story hundreds of times:
In the midst of a clash of different civilisations, an individual crosses over and finds himself protecting the very people he was sent to destroy.
Normally I would be groaning about how predictable the plot is and that the journey to the conclusion was a boring one, peppered with painfully obvious steps and methods.
As a viewer, I enjoy being surprised, and if a movie can take me through a good plot, develop some good characters and surprise me, then I am thrilled at the end of it.
While you do know what is coming in Avatar, there's still some guesswork involved because the world is so alien and unlike anything you would consider normal.
It's the world and the environment that truly makes this movie spectacular, because James Cameron has displayed its nuances & characteristics to us, immersing our senses in it by paying such acute attention to detail.
The motion capture is incredible, but the biggest difference between Avatar & other feature films that have utilised the same tech is that the facial muscle movements are spot on. The small details are so good that you never find yourself thinking: "the mouths just don't move properly when characters talk" or "small gestures are a bit stiff".
You can read more about how the flawless motion capture was achieved on Avatar's Wikipedia page, as well as some other interesting details about the making of the movie.
Despite the fact that I kept thinking of the struggle between the settlers and the native Indians in North America during the American Indian Wars (1622-1918), I can forget the Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves similarities because Avatar is a true movie fan's movie: it takes the audience on an exciting journey to a place they have never been before.
And that, is what movies should do.