text: A paraplegic marine sent to a new planet, armed with a virtual body, to ingratiate himself with locals in order to gain their trust and subsequently destroy them? Sounds like the plot of a bad sci-film film. But as it turns out, it's the plot of a highly entertaining sci-fi film – that being, of course, Avatar, one of the most anticipated films of recent years. 
   
   We know a lot about Avatar – that it's James Cameron first in fifteen years, that it's the first to use 3D in this way. But strip the hype aside and what anyone wants to know is – is it any good? And can you watch it without feeling ill? 
   
   The first is easy. Avatar emerged at last night's premiere as rather good. Paraplegic marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a last-minute recruit on a mission to the alien planet, Pandora, which boasts incredible quantities of a mineral that is worth a lot of money to earthlings. The invading humans are led by two factions – the scientists, headed by Sigourney Weaver's Grace, who are seeking to learn and understand more about the alien species in a bid to relocate rather than obliterate the natives, and the warriors led by Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who are looking for all-out massacre. The factions have been brought together by Administrator Parker Selfridge (the ever wonderful Giovanni Ribisi), there for one reason only – to bring the brilliantly named, and insanely valuable unobtanium back to Earth. 
   
   Sully and Norm (Joel Moore) are drivers of the eponymous avatars; bodies that have been constructed out of the more sturdy natives, spliced with humans. The logistics of how it all works takes some getting used to; but suffice to say the scene where Sully awakens in avatar form is a real delight. 
   
   It would be easy to assume Cameron drew inspiration from other films of the same ilk but to generalise like that does Avatar, and Cameron a disservice. For starters, one assumes that he was developing Avatar while other seminal films of the past decade were still on the slate. There are shades of detail, and of background – the nuances of the language the native Na'vi speak; the realisation of the animal inhabitants; the history of the clan – which all reinforce the impression that you get from any film that you know has taken 15 years to make: it is a real labour of love. What's more, his decision to make Avatar in 3D was a risky one – and it's paid off in spades. As with most 3D films, less is more. Surprisingly, for a film this rich in action and this beautiful to watch, Cameron doesn't overegg the 3D-ness of it all, which makes those moments, when they come, even more of a joy to watch. 
   
   However, that's not to say that 130 minutes in 3D isn't sometimes overwhelming. Glasses were being taken off, and eyes rubbed for brief intervals around the cinema. Whether this is simply a product of an audience unused to watching movies in this way, rather than a flaw in the production, will remain to be seen as 3D becomes more and more commonplace. 
   
   What Avatar does mark is a new breed. A new breed of action film, a new hero in Sam Worthington (who delivers a much more believable, and compelling performance than previous outings) and a new cinematic experience. For every cliche – every colonel telling his troops that they're "not in Kansas anymore", every fight beginning with trash talk like "Let's dance", there are myriad moments of beauty and of poignancy. And the final battle is worth the price of your 3D glasses alone. ||||| It has been one of the most hyped movies of the decade: the return of James Cameron with a $230m-plus 3D inter-species action movie that will, some observers say, decide the future of the industry. 
   
   Avatar Production year: 2009 Country: USA Cert (UK): 12A Runtime: 161 mins Directors: James Cameron Cast: CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Zoe Saldana More on this film 
   
   Today it arrived with 20th Century Fox choosing London to launch Avatar, Cameron's sole movie in 12 years – the last being Titanic. 
   
   Cameron said he was just relieved the movie was finally out there. "We can hold our heads high. We got the picture done by the skin of our teeth. It's been a four-and-a-half-year process and it's a relief to let people see it, to quit talking about it, to forget the rumours." 
   
   And there have been a lot of rumours. Rumours that the budget was double the stated amount, more like $500m; that the 3D effects were making people nauseous; that the film, two hours and 40 minutes long, was a complete car crash. 
   
   The Guardian can reveal that the last two are untrue. The film does not make you feel sick and it is not a disaster. All journalists watching the movie in Fox's Soho headquarters had to sign a form agreeing not to publish a review or even express a professional opinion online or in print before Monday. So by saying Avatar was really much, much better than expected, that it looked amazing and that the story was gripping – if cheesy in many places – the Guardian is in technical breach of the agreement. It is not a breach, however, to report that other journalists leaving the screening were also positive: the terrible film that some had been anticipating had not materialised. It was good. 
   
   There is, though, a certain amount of suspension of disbelief needed when watching Avatar. Cynics might sneer at the plot. The film, set in 2154, revolves around a paraplegic marine assigned to a planet where brutish humans are forcing the natives from their homes to mine a precious mineral, unobtanium, which is the only thing that will keep Earth going. 
   
   To get it, they need to blast away an agreeable species called the Na'vi, blue humanoids about 12ft tall, with tails and pixie eyes. Sam Worthington as the paraplegic marine pretends to be a Na'vi through avatar technology. At first, he is on the nasty human military side but he falls in love, gains a conscience and so on. 
   
   Perhaps most surprising was the politics. At one stage the deranged general leading the attack, with echoes of George Bush, declares: "Our survival relies on pre-emptive action. We will fight terror with terror." Cameron agreed there was a connection to recent events, but there were also references to Vietnam and to the 16th- and 17th-century European colonisation of the Americas. "There is this long, wonderful history of the human race written in blood. We have this tendency to just take what we want." And that's how we treat the natural world as well." There's this sense of we're here, we're big, we've got the guns, we've got the technology, therefore we're entitled to every damn thing on this planet. That's not how it works and we're going to find out the hard way if we don't kind of wise up and start seeking a life that's in balance with the natural life on Earth." 
   
   The film will open at cinemas next week and was given its world premiere in London tonight with Cameron joined by his the actors Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldano in Leicester Square. 
   
   Audiences will be able to watch in normal 2D or in what Cameron called the "turbo-charged" version, 3D. Some industry observers are hoping that audiences will be so blown away by the effects that 3D - already being used - will start to become the norm, and a line will have been stepped over. 
   
   "We need something that kick-starts public enthusiasm for cinema as an experience as people start watching on smaller and smaller devices like iPhones. We need something to reverse that trend so I've set as my goal bringing the movie theatre back to it being a sacred experience and 3D is part of that." 
   
   If it does well – and there seems little doubt that it will – then can we expect more? "We'll see," said Cameron. "But yes, I have a story worked out for a second film and a third film." 
   
   • Read Andrew Pulver's two star review ||||| London --- Just left the 'World Premiere' of "Avatar," and while the standing ovation the film received at its conclusion is probably just the requisite politeness; I can report that this is another rare example where the quality of the movie does indeed exceed the hype and "Avatar" will most certainly be among the 10 'Best Picture' nominees for the Oscars; and James Cameron will also be a Best Director nominee. I think it is also possible that actress Zoe Saldana, who has the most challenging of roles in the film, may rack up an additional acting nomination as well. 
   
   The movie may owe more than a few plot points to the story of Pocahontas, and there may be some grousing at a fairly heavy-handed treatment of corporate greed and our lack of American energy independence; but the key question, is Cameron able to deliver a movie that packs the entertainment value and emotional punch of 'Titanic.' The clear answer is 'Yes.' The Oscars will not ignore this film. ||||| THE last time James Cameron directed a movie he broke all box office records. 
   
   Now — 12 years after Titanic — he has sunk £300million into Avatar to produce the most dazzling film of the decade. 
   
   See a trailer for the epic film, below... 
   
   Click here to download the latest flash player. Video: Avatar - trailer Exclusive look at James Cameron's sci-fi fantasy 
   
   It’s a 3D movie people will look back on in years to come to comment on how it transformed cinema. 
   
   In recent 3D releases such as Beowulf, the effects were impressive but the computer-generated humans looked far from real. 
   
   In Avatar, everything feels real — and it’s as if you are immersed in the action. 
   
   And what action. 
   
   Awestruck 
   
   The final battle scene is 20 minutes long and absolutely mind-blowing. 
   
   Alien nation ... Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as Na'vi aliens 
   
   Avatar, out next Thursday, is truly an event movie. 
   
   The Sneak still recalls sitting in a cinema 12 years ago watching awestruck as Titanic slipped beneath the Atlantic waves. 
   
   And your critic is sure that, even when he is pushing a Zimmer, he will remember the moment the main spaceship of the baddie corporation goes down in Avatar. 
   
   It is overwhelming, and that is because you are emotionally tied up in the characters and the story. 
   
   The plot is set in the next century, with humans trying to take vital resources from a distant planet called Pandora. 
   
   A paraplegic soldier called Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) gets the chance to walk again when he is transformed into the local species, the Na’vi. 
   
   This 10ft-tall elegant blue creature is his “avatar”. 
   
   Thrill ride ... film's all-action air battle 
   
   Jake is supposed to spy on the Na’vi for his company, but his mission gets complicated when he falls for a local girl. 
   
   The romance between Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) shows that Cameron has not lost his ability to evoke emotion. It will bring tears to your eyes. 
   
   Aussie Sam is totally compelling as Jake. It is easy to see why he is now such an in-demand actor. 
   
   James Cameron has described his new filming process as “emotion capture”. And it’s a boast he lives up to. 
   
   Even when Jake is a strange blue creature, you can tell it is him by his mannerisms. 
   
   A voiceover from Sam leads the audience through the alien world in a soothing, laid-back way. 
   
   Star power ... Sigourney Weaver with Avatar cast 
   
   One of the most amazing scenes comes when Jake and Neytiri are walking in the dark through a forest on Pandora. 
   
   Suddenly, she puts out her torch and you see all the vivid, fluorescent plants. 
   
   Some people — who have only seen the photos and not the film — have commented that it looks a bit cartoonish. 
   
   It doesn’t. Everything feels real. It’s as if Cameron has happened upon this alien world and got his camera out. 
   
   Zoe, who played Uhura in the recent Star Trek remake, also displays star quality. 
   
   You don’t need A-list names to make a great movie but it does help having Sigourney Weaver in the cast. 
   
   Brave 
   
   She plays a scientist called Grace, who wants to prevent the plunder of Pandora. 
   
   mpu 
   
   Clearly, there is a message here about mankind’s destruction of beautiful places. 
   
   And Cameron’s story is very black and white, an old-fashioned tale of good versus evil. 
   
   It’s unashamedly populist. Just like Titanic. 
   
   But don’t worry. This isn’t a preachy story. It’s big action. 
   
   The only reason that Avatar won’t top Titanic at the box office is that there are not enough digital screens around the world to show it in all its 3D wonder. 
   
   But you have to admire the film’s backers for being brave enough to take a risk on funding such ground-breaking technology. 
   
   The Sneak’s advice is to make sure you can say you were there when the future of cinema began.
target: – James Cameron's Avatar had its world premiere in London last night, and audience members and critics are sworn to secrecy for now. Based on the inevitable leaks and pseudo-reviews, the 3-D epic is pretty good: Anna Keir, the Independent: It's "rather good. Surprisingly, for a film this rich in action and this beautiful to watch, Cameron doesn't overegg the 3D-ness of it all, which makes those moments, when they come, even more of a joy to watch." Sam Rubin, KTLA-TV: "This is another rare example where the quality of the movie does indeed exceed the hype." He predicts Oscar nominations for best picture and best director. The Sneak, the Sun: "Everything feels real—and it’s as if you are immersed in the action. ... The Sneak’s advice is to make sure you can say you were there when the future of cinema began.” Mark Brown, the Guardian: "The film does not make you sick and it is not a disaster. By saying Avatar was really much, much better than expected, that it looked amazing and that the story was gripping—if cheesy in many places—the Guardian is in technical breach of the agreement."