AVATAR ☆☆☆☆

"Who's king of the world? Go on, James. Say it. Don't be shy. Who's the king of the world?"

"I am"

"That's right! Yes-you-are!"

There are movies that come along once in a while that are made with such vision, such scope, such huge undertakings of pyrotechnics (here CGI), that require such new feats of technology (here new 3D cameras and advanced performance capture), that there are only so many filmmakers who can accomplish it, stomach the pressure and the overwhelming hardship and workload, and who could only pull it off with not just good storytelling, but (excuse me) massive amounts of balls. James Cameron is one of those filmmakers. And after "Titanic," one of the best epic, romantic films ever made, we could have waited another decade for "Avatar."

"Avatar," James Cameron's sci-fi/fantasy genre explosion, is three syllables over WOW and into HOLY SHIT. It's an achievement of scope and CG animation coated as a crowd-pleasing action-packed extravaganza with a final blow-out battle that leaves the audience with a sense of astonishment and ultimate satisfaction. And, more importantly, it's a revolution to the escapist/sci-fi genre; it's a story that hasn't been tackled with this much width and imagination since "2001," or had the same impact as the first "Star Wars." The showing I attended, even at 11:30 in the morning, was sold out (so glad I bought a ticket the night before, though, granted, it was in IMAX 3D), and people were lining up in advance for the next screening. "Star Wars" had the same turnout. Could "Avatar" be the next non-franchise phenomenon? I don't here sequel, but I do hear a high chant culminating from the recesses of thousands of cinemas worldwide, "CAMERON! CAMERON! CAMERON!" It's a well deserved victory for him, and audiences are showing how willing they are to throw down their gold coins (or cash) to carry him to the winner's circle. Cameron could prove again that he is the king of the box office, and "Avatar" could go down as the highest grossing film of all time. The numbers are already impressive with $73 million domestically adding to over $200 million worldwide. I know "King Kong," Peter Jackson's big opus after the phenomenon of his "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was expected to top 'Titanic" for all time box office honors, but wasn't even close with less than $200 million at home. It may be Cameron has that certain magic that other films lack, or more hype than any other film could ask for. "Avatar" was a movie long in the making, for Cameron over a decade, and was predicted by critics as his next great masterpiece, and fan hype exploded over a still young internet, not to mention after "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" proved so worthwhile, everyone was screaming for more escapist fantasy, and after the end of "Star Wars" there was still hungering for the next great epic science fiction/fantasy film. The call was answered, and answered like a supernova explosion.

Now, "Avatar" isn't a masterpiece, or Cameron's best film. The movie isn't flawless. Like George Lucas before him, James Cameron's writing in science fiction isn't really the best. The story, though it doesn't lack that breadth, isn't involving enough. It's character's are flat, and their dialogue equally bland and humorless, and the actors are given more room to spread their CG muscles then their acting chops.

"Avatar" isn't perfect, but because of the movie's overpowering hold on our sense of wonderment it's flaws are nothing but pesky nats to swat away when we loss ourselves in the summer breeze. It's the movie of the year.