What Avatar Is

1. Avatar is every bit as mind blowing as you expect to be. I spent a large part of my car ride to work determining if it was the best movie I HAVE EVER SEEN IN my life! Repeat viewing will tell.

2. Avatar is pretty much fanboy/geek/nirvana

3. Avatar is like living inside a psychedelic black light painting that your roommate had one their wall in college for looking at when he was "bored".

4. Avatar is an epic narrative that feels welcomingly familiar yet magically new at the same time.

5. Avatar is full of performances that are surprisingly good for a movie like this. Zoe Saldana in particular really shines, which is astounding because she's a motion capture character the whole movie. Oh yes, by the way, these motion capture creatures look completely real*, you will feeeel for them.

6. Avatar is so visually breathtaking that it I worry that the next 2D action movie I see (Yes even Iron Man 2) will seem like some simple VHS dub copy that someone recorded off TNT at 2:36 AM on a Tuesday night. In fact, from a special effects standpoint is greater than the WOW factor of the special effects of the combined face melting power Jurassic Park, ID4, District 9, and everything else you ever thought was cool in your entire life.

7. Avatar succeeds in foreshadowing every single cool thing that happens in the story. For example, when one character says "Someone will come who has the power to wield the super badass mega spear of truth destiny power and enlightenment," you damn well know that our boy is going to be regulating on space marines with the super badass mega spear of truth destiny power and enlightenment.**

8. Avatar is so insanely epic in it's scope that it makes the final battles of ID4 and Lord of The Rings (sick link there by the way) look like warm-up training videos for the final battle of Pandora.

9. Avatar is a movie that works on some deeeeeeep Bob Thompson levels. On one level, It's a film about a person who goes into a stationary position, turns his mind off, and occupies a new reality. On another level, technically, you as the viewer, watching in 3D IMAX (Gotta see it that way) tune out and get into a new world. Just like the protagonist in the movie, you'll find yourself waiting to get back into the virtual world and having a hard time telling what's real. I've been out of the movie for not even 12 hours and can't wait to see it again.

10. Avatar, finally is, what happens when a brilliant creative mastermind perfectly melds old fashioned story telling with cutting edge 21st century technology. It's a masterpiece of filmmaking and shining testament to the power of movies!

*You can kiss the Robert Zemeckis garbage (Beowulf, Christmas Carol, Polar Express) goodbye.

** This doesn't happen in the movie