Early Critics: Avatar Rocks

What’s the early word on Avatar, James Cameron’s first film since Titanic? The critics at the trade publications loved it. At The Hollywood Reporter, Kirk Honeycutt writes, “Cameron has coolly thought things through. With every visual tool he can muster, he takes viewers through the battle like a master tactician, demonstrating how every turn in the fight, every valiant death or cowardly act, changes its course.” At Variety, Todd McCarthy calls it “a film of universal appeal that just about everyone who ever goes to the movies will need to see.” The Associated Press isn’t jumping on the bandwagon, however. Its critic writes, “It nevertheless feels unsatisfying and somehow lacks the pulse of a truly alive film.”