Cast: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Zoe Saldana
Running time: 161 minutes

Avatar was one of the most hyped movies of all time. It also was the most expensive to make and the highest grosser of all time so I guess the Hollywood hype worked. I saw the movie in its theatrical release in all its 3D glory. While I wasn’t hugely impressed, largely due to the inclusion of innumerable Hollywood clichés, cardboard acting and a hodgepodge plot cannibalised from a variety of movies (think Dances With Wolves, Pocahontas), what I was impressed with were the truly captivating 3D imagery and the detail that went into creating the alien planet Pandora but even this astonishment diminished the longer the movie went on.

So what does that say about watching a 2D version of the film on DVD? Not much I’m afraid. Without the benefit of 3D, all that is left of the movie is the tired plot, the clichés, etc. To be fair, the film still looks pretty good in 2D and a lot of the detail is still evident but the immersive feel of the 3D version is missing. You don’t feel as if you’re in Pandora but looking at it.