… change your mind. At this posting it’s made a billion dollars. (Imagine how much it would have made if we weren’t in a recession).

I was among the many that dismissed seeing it after seeing the previews. It looked nice but so do many other wannabe epic movies. Then I would hear Michelle Rodriguez’s voice while flying that weird helicopter and say, “You should see your faces.” When she betrayed us on Lost, she betrayed us forever. (After watching this movie, I am working my way towards forgiveness but if she somehow appears in another Fast and Furious movie, it’s off again.)

Anyway, the previews didn’t appeal to me. Even knowing that James Cameron was at the helm didn’t convince me. What changed my mind was my twitter friends. Granted, there were some who didn’t like it, but majority did and their tweets changed my mind.

While I like some sci-fi movies (like Star Wars, Matrix, etc.), I’m not a real sci-fi person. I just don’t have the energy and lack the proper skills of remembering how to pronounce the names of all the foreign races, planets and characters. Undoubtedly this is why my Arabic suffers as well and probably why Greek was my poorest performance in undergrad. Anyway, I really liked this movie. Typically, this would be the type of movie that I would make fun of but what can I say, I’m a fanboy on this one.

As simply as I can put it:
It’s beautiful and visually stunning.
Like most epic fantasy movies, it is not the “most amazing plot ever” but I found it to be a much better than expected story line.
I was pretty intrigued about the avatar concept.
While there are some intense serious parts, a lot of it is pretty fun.

We saw it in 3-D because the theater needed to make a few extra bucks off the holiday crowd. When we looked, there were only two showtimes available that were not in 3-D. Cameron insists that 3-D is the only way to see this movie but the skeptic in me says, “You’re just trying to make us come to the movie theater.” Whatever, while it was fun and there are some cool things about the 3-D experience, me and my movie-watching friends left wishing we’d been able to watch a the regular showing.

For those considering taking children, know that the movie contains mild profanity and some sensuality. Remember the blue Na’vi characters are cute but the movie is PG-13. I have heard some call it borderline pornographic but frankly, I found that to be ridiculous. In fact, I think the moviemakers showed a lot of restraint. Should one finds themselves lusting over these blue creatures, they got some real problems.

The value for Avatar for me was that it allows the viewer to see important themes in life from a safe outside perspective. That’s not to say that you will agree with them and it’s not to say that the movie gives a fair or completely accurate analysis, but I think you will feel more than what you did before you entered in. And that’s always a good thing.

Lastly, for those that like to be culturally relevant and speak the language of the day, I think this is an obvious moment to be a part of. I don’t know how many conversations I’ve been in now where this movie has come up.

There are some solid themes and it takes a solid 2.5 hours to give them. I happen to like long movies if they are good.  Remember, i walked into the theater with pretty low expectations (I wouldn’t have had any unless I was on Twitter.) If you do the same, I think you may like it.