Yeah ... I know, mosta you lot've already seen it, but I was delayed, all right? But I finally got to see it today, and in the intended 3D, so ...

I've been a fan of James Cameron's work for a while, so of course his return from the decade+ wilderness has certainly been long-anticipated for me. So I was REALLY worked up about seeing this ... but after a year of really impressive releases I couldn't help wondering if it would really measure up. And then there was the 3D angle - inspired, or cheap gimmick?

Well, I think it's safe to say my patience, as with MOST of the long-awaited movies that came out this year, was well-rewarded indeed. This is an EXCELLENT film. I am a big fan of the cinematic experience, and indeed there are times when I can be initially wowed by a big-budget "experience" only to later become disillusioned once I see past the cosmetic glamour to whatever shoddy gimmickry and cheap emotional manipulation there was underneath. Certainly that was the case with Cameron's LAST extravaganza Titanic ...

Not so here. There's a REAL STORY here, not some flimsy, candy-floss lite love story tacked-on to a larger, more impressive backdrop. Okay, so there IS a love story, but it's so unique and FRESH that it actually works really well. And it's actually INTRINSIC to the story too ...

Granted, on paper it probably shouldn't work. A paraplegic marine goes to a remote mining planet and falls in love with a ten foot tall blue alien through a remote-controlled body ... but by the time that happens you're so deeply involved you completely buy it. It helps that Cameron the Writer is firing on all cylinders again, reminding us (for example) why the Abyss worked really well in spite of all the flaws ... Neytiri's a real character, not just a digital ... well, AVATAR, to quote the industry parlance. She's got balls, she's courageous and stubborn and you've gotta love that, but she's also got realistic vulnerability (particular in the latter half of the film, when she's "betrayed" when the truth is revealed). You can definitely see why Sam Worthington's marine Jake Sully falls for her even though she's so very alien. (And, to be honest, she is actually kinda hot ... am I a bit weird for admitting that?)

Again, much like with Terminator Salvation in the summer, Sam Worthington's the real revelation here. This guy's got real gravitas, pure talent, easily enough that, even though a good two thirds of the time he's on screen he's all digital like, he dominates the film. And Jake Sully's another brilliant, well-rounded character - he's damaged, and not just physically, in search of a place in his world and finding it in the most unlikely form ...

And as for the effects? Well that could well have been this movie's downfall - we haven't seen a movie THIS full-on digital since the last Star Wars movie, and yet it's done so well that within the first five minutes you're in so deep you don't even realise. The 3D isn't a gimmick at all - it's INTRINSIC to the film, because it totally immerses you in this world, makes you part of it. Weta have done it again, there ...

So overall, just what was promised. It's visually stunning, but also extremely powerful, exciting and surprisingly thought-provoking too. And it probably has one of the year's best villain's too ...

Anyway ... next up, SHERLOCK HOLMES! Which apparently is also very cool ... the year's ending very well INDEED ...