Name-nitpicking aside, Avatar is a jaw-dropping flick that has to be seen to be believed. Ivan and I were lucky enough to attend Monster Radio RX 93.1’s screening last night. Here are our thoughts!

THE GOOD STUFF:
+ I’ve watched 3D movies before, but believe me when I say that you ain’t seen 3D like this before. Unlike, say, Monsters vs. Aliens, where stuff is just thrown randomly at the screen for a cheap-o effect, the world of Avatar really feels fully 3D. It’s so good that you forget you’re wearing 3D glasses just minutes into the movie…but after, you think, “All movies have to be like this from now on.”

+ The planet of Pandora feels like a real place. I never thought I’d cheer for ten-foot-tall cat people in thong underwear, who — let’s face it — look silly, but the acting and special effects are so well-done that you think they’re real people. They didn’t skimp on the designs of the fantastically dangerous creatures, either.

+ The battle scenes rock! Come on! Futuristic helicopter gunships and mechs versus blue dudes who’ve got bows and arrows and ride flying dinosaurs? AMAZING!

THE NOT-SO-GOOD STUFF:
- The story is predictable. Really predictable. The story can also get annoyingly cheesy at times — ick, romance — but the actors pull it all off and save it from becoming too corny.

ALL-IN-ALL:
By the time the movie ended, Ivan and I had to pick our jaws off the cinema floor and put our eyeballs back in our sockets. The story may be so-so, but the way it’s pulled off is just flat-out awesome.