The world of Avatar is beautiful and very well realized.  The 3D is fantastic, encompassing and not at all distracting.  James Cameron did a more than excellent job of creating a wonderful 3D experience.  With that being said, the story itself wasn’t all that fantastic.  Now, before all of the rabid ones and zeroes fans (I have issues with modern critiques of entertainment either being ‘Wow! Amazing!’ or ‘Just Terrible!’ and very little in between) jump on me for saying the story wasn’t that great, let me clarify.  I do think the world of Pandora is rich and has room for a lot of lore, side stories, spin-off, etc.  But the actual plot that James Cameron presented, stripped away from the fantastic visuals, is weak.  If you disagree, I challenge you to watch The Terminator (as I did last night) or just about any other James Cameron production and compare.  And if you still aren’t convinced, step out and watch an Oscar level film, Braveheart for example, then come back to the core story of Avatar and give it an honest critique.

Now, does this mean the film is bad?  Absolutely not.  I feel it is definitely a “must-see” picture.  And the fact that story was lacking actually has a beneficial effect on the 3D film industry.  The film was great, but the story kept it from becoming the “be-all end-all” movie for 3D sci-fi.  It makes for an amazing experience and set the bar high, and I always applaud James Cameron for his ability to do that.  BUT, it didn’t set the bar so high that it is untouchable.  It’s not the last 3D movie that needs to be made.  It is instead, inspiring.  And hopefully ,we will see a plethora of amazing stories combined with amazing visuals in the near future.

Beyond story, the IMAX experience is definitely superior to a regular 3D theater.  It seems obvious, but there is one important item that could affect the perception of the entire industry.  The IMAX experience is more satisfying because of the sheer size of the screen.  It encompasses your vision and reduces the 3D “clipping” on all sides of your field of view.  Our discussion after the movie was about the amplified clipping effect that will occur at home, when 3D televisions are available.  Unless your TV is enormous, or you sit 12” from it (which I don’t advise) you will most likely have the immersion effect of 3D greatly reduced.  As I sit here and stare at my monitor, I think to myself “If I couldn’t watch 3D on an IMAX screen, I’d rather watch it on my monitor because it does a better job of encompassing my field of view than my TV due to proximity”.  (Third Magazine doesn’t have enough revenue for me to have a 100” HDI yet).  Stereoscopic 3D televisions are right around the corner, but will the same types of productions that do well at the theater, do well in a home theater environment?  Maybe not, which will be a huge boon for the theater industry. There will be different shooting philosophies for 3D television and 3D theater.  This is the way things used to function, but over the last decade the line between theater and television as pretty much disappeared.

Another key point that goes in sync with the theater experience is the importance of ambiance.  Avatar did a great job of creating ambient 3D effects rather than just “in-your-face” classic 3D gags (I was so pleased with this).  Ambient effects, such as bugs or ashes falling really enhance the immersion effect.  Along with shots along the ground, so that depth is apparent, these are the things that set 3D apart from 2D.  Without these sorts of visuals, at times the 2D and 3D aren’t that noticeably different.  Again, this plays right into the home theater experience.  With a screen that has a smaller field of view, will these ambient effects be less noticeable?  It definitely won’t give the “fill the room” effect that occurs in the theater.

Overall, Avatar, while beautiful and fun, won’t be winning any Oscars for best screenplay, but it did showcase a lot of what can be done with 3D when thought and care is put into the production.  It also helped set a standard for what could make the difference between the theater experience and the home experience, something that has been missing for the last 10 years.