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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

No this isn't The Way of Water, this is the rewatch of the biggest movie of all time. My main takeaway - this one still holds up.

Sure it doesn't have the spectacular visuals I remember from the theaters, but even on my TV at home I felt transported to this world once again. Everyone has heard the plot of movies like this a hundred times, but I think the creation of the world and the genuine heart that has been poured into the details of Pandora make it feel fresh. I felt my heart racing as those dragons dove through the skies! The villain is so cartoonish, but man is it so satisfying to see him get what's coming.

The dialogue is terrible as well, full of one-liners that definitely don't hold up. But on the plus side, I did think the movie moved quite quickly for an almost 3 hour adventure. I wouldn't describe a single scene as boring, and I was in awe a couple times and how fully engaged I was with CGI creatures so quickly. Like, we get a million Marvel or Star Wars TV shows a year now and despite their budget and tech the characters feel hollow. I think that's a real testament to the motion capture acting and the vision of James Cameron. I mean, this movie made $2 billion, I am not saying anything fresh, I was just really impressed with it 13 years later.