Immersion

So when a film is hyped this much, there can't be any way possible for it to live up to it, right?

Wrong.

Predictable story aside, James Cameron's Avatar might singlehandedly save the cinematic experience. There are films that you simply wait for on DVD, and some that you can take or leave in the theater. Avatar absolutely must be seen in the theater, and if possible, in 3D IMAX. DVD will not do it any kind of justice.

This is the most gorgeous and immersive theatrical experience I've ever seen. Cameron has synched up his story of Jake Sully's immersion into an alien world with the audience's complete immersion in the film experience. The gap between visual effect and visual reality is narrowing to near insignificance, something I thought could never happen. While Avatar is the first of its kind, and represents a foray into brave new territory, subsequent films in its mold will yield more and more visually arresting scapes that will defy human discernment. The virtual reality film is right around the corner, and at that point there will be no appreciable difference between generated worlds and our own.

I'm excited and intrigued, and maybe a little apprehensive.

Go see Avatar in the theater. Watching it on DVD would be like the difference between seeing a photograph of a glorious dawn and actually greeting the sun.