Going into Avatar I had a lot of faith in James Cameron. The original Terminator has delivered for me, yes as it exists as a movie, but mostly in my mind, as a movie that is entertaining yet provides a lot to sink your teeth into, mentally, emotionally and intuitionally, especially as it concerns the human condition. Yet, for some reason I’d set my expectations low for Avatar. I guess I was guarding my heart a little bit…Could this movie really match the hype?

We saw it the way it was meant to be seen, at the IMAX, in 3D. From the first moments of the movie Cameron brilliantly pull us in. He doesn’t waste any time convincing you that the 3D aspect is going to be worth it…He shows you right up front what you can expect, and it is going to be spectacular. This is not the same old 3D film you remember.

The visuals are spectacular, there is no doubt about it. You are part of Pandora, the “alien world”, and its beautiful, diverse, extreme, dramatic ecosphere. As you become so immersed in the movie sensory-wise, it becomes oh-so-easy to fully live the story. Have we witnessed the birth of a new kind of movie technology, akin to the shift from silent to talkies? A great big YES.

For a movie experience, it is in the same realm and may even surpass Star Wars. It may be more appropriate to say it expands and deepens the age-old light vs. dark myth so brilliantly played out in Star Wars, clothed in the language of the spiritual struggle of our times, enhanced by spectacular multi-sensory effects. There are shades of the Matrix here as well. Spiritually and emotionally, it hits on a lot of levels.

On Pandora, the avatar is the genetically engineered body our hero Jake Sully (that’s his Na’vi girlfriend above!) uses to enter and understand the aliens and their world. Yet, why do I have the feeling this title is also the none-too-subtle reference to the true purpose of the film? Jake Sully is our avatar for entering and understanding ourselves and our world.