Writer and director James Cameron has been developing Avatar for what seems like eons. At least, it seems that way thanks to the fact the man hasn’t made a narrative film since his 1997 Academy Award-winning mega hit Titanic (and, no, I’m not counting the IMAX documentary Ghosts of the Abyss). It was almost like the auteur behind The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss had fallen right off the face of the planet, 11 Oscars turning him into the action-thriller equivalent of reclusive iconoclast Terrence Malick.

Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington in 20th Century Fox's Avatar

Happily, the wait for this supposedly “game-changing” opus has been a worthwhile one, and while the storyline for Avatar isn’t that novel (think Battle for Terra crossed with a healthy helping of Ferngully) the direction and technical advancements certainly are. Like no other studio product this year Cameron’s epic is beyond belief, and even at just under three hours this completely immersive science fiction stunner is so enthralling the time it takes to watch it feels like it passes in a virtual nanosecond.

The story is simple and straightforward. After ravaging Earth and turning it into a near-toxic wasteland, humans have come to the planet Pandora to harvest a rare and expensive mineral that can help fix things at home. Unfortunately the nature-worshiping indigenous population, a blue-skinned human and cat-like species called the Na'vi, isn’t fond of the devastation the mining of this ore causes to the planet, the bulk of them refusing to assist these newcomers in any way whatsoever.

Enter paraplegic Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington). He’s given the unique opportunity to enter into Dr. Grace Augustine’s (Sigourney Weaver) avatar program, his mind projected into the body of a Na'vi specimen grown from using samples from his dead brother’s DNA. Both company executive Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) and Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in charge of military security want him to get in contact with the natives, hoping he’ll learn their ways giving them an advantage if negotiations ultimately fail and more forceful methods become required.

With Dr. Augustine unsure if she can trust him to remain neutral and follow her research-based instructions, this is exactly what Jake does, taking to his Na'vi avatar like a fish to water. But as his relationship with them grows, and as his friendship with the largest clan’s leader Eytukan’s (Wes Studi) daughter Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) blossoms into more, the soldier starts questioning the validity of his orders. Jake begins to come to the realization the Na'vi are more in the right than his human compatriots, and with Dr. Augustine’s help he and his new friends go on the offensive to make sure Pandora remains an environmental wonder worth fighting for.

There’s a bit more to it than that (but not that much more). The simple description is that the human beings are the big, bad European invaders while the Na'vi are the simplistic Native Americans in their way of conquest and empire, a handful of John Dunbar’s standing with them in hopes of staving off annihilation. In the middle of it all, an interracial romance (in this case interspecies) has the unintended side effect of promoting respect and cooperation, the joining of two souls proving that we really all can get along as long as both sides are willing to sit at the negotiating table in good faith.

It’s actually pretty silly, Cameron’s script heavy-handed and preachy bludgeoning home its pro-environmental and anti-military invasion message with all the subtlety of an attack missile slamming into its intended target. If there has been a bigger, louder statement against the reasons behind the Iraq War and the former political administration’s right wing policies I doubt I’ve ever seen it, and for all the film’s bluster and bravado its belief in peace through communication is without par.

And yet, as far as problems go the ones this project has seem to mean less and less as the narrative rolls on. The love story between Jake and Neytiri is beautiful, the romance so pure and naturalistic it brought well-deserved tears to my eyes. Saldana, her performance animated using motion capture technology far beyond anything I’ve ever seen before, is so magnificent I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The depths she is able to descend, the places she is able to go, are sensational, and if Oscar voters had any gumption or courage they’d leave their prejudices at the door and nominate her for Best Supporting Actress.

Speaking of the effects, this is where Avatar is that game-changer so many have been talking about. While I’m not going to say the CGI is totally invisible, by and large it tends to be, and even as the Pandora landscape explodes into seas of neon colors it all looks so realistic I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. Never has a movie like this looked less like a video game, and comparing it next to films like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is about as fair as having a taste test between Spam and filet mignon.

And what about Cameron’s skills behind the camera? Has over a decade away dulled them? In my opinion, even though he repeats himself a little (elements of Aliens, The Abyss and True Lies are all apparent), the answer to those questions is an emphatic no. He is still the king of action and suspense, the last third such a visceral whirlwind of kinetically staged mayhem my eyes almost popped right out of their sockets. His attention to detail and his ability to make sure that amazingly staged chaos doesn’t lead to haphazard confusion is astonishing, and Ewok versus Stormtrooper comparisons aside not since Ripley’s Marines were confronted with a nest of Aliens has my stomach been tied into such euphorically gut-busting knots.

I’m not going to say much about the 3-D other then to state it is the best I’ve ever seen while still not being completely sold on the fact it’s necessary. I’m also not going to comment at this time on Lang’s hilariously one-dimensional villain as I have this odd feeling the guy is going to grow on me the same way Bill Paxton did after my repeat screenings of Aliens. What I am going to say is that, even with its script shortcomings, Avatar is a stunningly thrilling achievement, Cameron proving again maybe he is king of the world – or at least the science fiction world – after all.