Last Friday, I went to the cinema and watched Avatar together with a couple of friends. It was my first time watching a 3D movie outside of an Imax cinema, and the first time I saw a real feature film in 3D, and not only a documentary or a specially-crafted 3D script. Or perhaps this film has a specially-crafted 3D script? At least parts of it seemed to be perfect for showing off in 3D.

A big Earth corporation has travelled to the planet Pandora, for one reason and one reason only, to get hold of an extremely rare mineral. There is just one problem, the best spot for mining the mineral is right underneath a settlement of the planet’s indigenous population. In an attempt to trying to convince the population to move, they have started using genetic hybrid bodies, “avatars”, which are remotely controlled by humans. These bodies look like the indigenous population, and by using them they hope to obtain the population’s trust and negotiate a move.

The film shows humanity’s brutality, and even if the action has been moved to a remote planet it works as a comment to what we have done to our own planet and our own indigenous populations. Sometimes it goes a bit overboard in visual, three-dimensional special effects, but most of the time they succeed in making the story the important part. Despite the film being almost three hours, it doesn’t feel that long. It is well-made and works well in three dimensions, even if it sometimes felt weird when they had filmed with fuzzy backgrounds, and with a fixed point it is impossible to look around corners no matter how much you try. And having sub-titles floating in the air takes getting used to. It probably works just as well in two dimensions as well, but it is an experience in three, and I recommend it whole-heartedly.