Today’s Prayer Focus
Oscar®Oscar® Winner for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects / Nominee for Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Music—Original Score, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing
MOVIE REVIEW

Avatar

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.

Reviewed by: Daniel Thompson
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Thriller, IMAX 3D
Genre: Teens, Adults
Length: 2 hr. 46 min.
Year of Release: 2009
USA Release: December 18, 2009 (wide—3,300+ theaters)
DVD: April 22, 2010
August 27, 2010 (limited re-release with 8 min. added)
Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporationclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

EARTH’S ENVIRONMENT—Should Christians be concerned about the environment? Answer

What is man’s responsibility to the environment? Answer

How might rain forest destruction affect our weather? Answer

Aliens (extraterrestrials)

What does the Bible say about intelligent life on other planets? Answer

Are we alone in the universe? Answer

Does Scripture refer to life in space? Answer

Questions and Answers about The Origin of Life


The Rainforest: People, Animals and Facts
Learn about the rain forest by meeting some native peoples, seeing where and how they live, and more! A cross-cultural photo-rich journey that will leave you with a lasting impression.

Fish

Insects


War in the Bible

What is the Biblical perspective on war? Answer

Featuring Sam Worthington (Jake Sully)
Zoe Saldana (Neytiri)
Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine)
Stephen Lang (Colonel Miles Quaritch)
Joel Moore (Norm Spellman), Giovanni Ribisi (Parker Selfridge)
Michelle Rodriguez (Trudy Chacon)
Wes Studi (Eytukan)
See all »
Director James Cameron
Producer Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Dune Entertainment
See all »
Distributor Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Trademark logo.20th Century Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company

Expectations for James Cameron’s “Avatar” have been through the roof for several reasons. Claimed to be more than ten years in the making, Director Cameron came out at this year’s Comic Con and made the statement that the film would be a ‘game-changer’ for movies from a technological standpoint. Also, rumors circulated that it’s the most expensive film ever made, with budget projections anywhere from 250 to 500 million dollars. Add to that Cameron, the director of the highest grossing film of all time, “Titanic.” The fact that he only directs a film every ten years or so adds to a hype machine that’s already at full power. Unfortunately, while “Avatar” dazzles on a technical level, it falls woefully short on a dramatic one.

On Pandora, a planet light years from Earth, there is a substance called unobtainium that is so valuable that humans have traveled to Pandora to retrieve it. The Pandora natives are called the Na’vi, and a group of them are living directly on top of the biggest unobtainium deposit on the planet. Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi giving the best performance of the film) is in charge of removing the Na’vi from the area and retrieving the unobtainium. Militarily, war crazy Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) thinks the best course of action is to remove the Na’vi by force. Conversely, scientist Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) suggests a more diplomatic solution. She has developed a method that takes human DNA and creates Na’vi avatars that are basically humans in Na’vi bodies. Augustine feels that if these avatars can earn the trust of the natives, they can talk them into moving off of the wanted land. One of the avatars is former marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who successfully infiltrates the Na’vi population and is able to learn their ways.

While this sounds quite dense, it’s actually quite the opposite. The plot for “Avatar” is a basic one that’s been injected with a few new elements, as well as some Sci-Fi jargon. It boils down to Jake originally learning from the Na’vi solely to make them move, only to find out that he has a connection with the people, realizing that it’s the humans who are really in the way. He is specifically drawn to their way of life, love of nature, and their belief in the deity Eywa, who is in charge of balancing nature.

From a technical aspect, “Avatar” soars. Created specifically for 3D viewing, the world of Pandora comes to life. Rich colors and creative creatures fill the screen and wow the eye. The Na’vi were created through extensive motion capture and green screen filming. For the most part they look real, aside from a few moments where they come into contact with humans or make sudden movements. It’s only then that they look animated. But overall the film, which is 60% computer generated, looks and feels like the real thing, and for this Cameron and crew should be applauded.

It’s a shame that the movie itself didn’t nearly live up to the visual effects. Several big problems keep “Avatar” from being the epic masterpiece that Cameron envisioned. While the performances are mostly good across the board, they suffer greatly from the script. It’s not a good sign when there is loud laughter in the theater during emotional moments in a movie. Some of the lines are downright absurd and create some of the worst dialog this side of a George Lucas film. Also, the length of the film was an issue to me and seemed to be with almost everyone in the sold out theater. Clocking in at almost three hours, the visuals only take the film so far before things start to get tedious. Several people left early. While there is definitely an epic feel to “Avatar,” the characters just don’t resonate enough emotionally to sustain the film over the entire running time. While a massive battle scene at the end is quite a sight to behold, it’s just too little too late.

The content in “Avatar” fits safely within the PG-13 rating and does not push any boundaries. The language is heavy, but fairly standard for a movie involving the military. God’s name is misused a number of times as well as some other profanities. The violence is heavy in some parts of the film, but mostly bloodless. The Na’vi wear very little clothing, and while their bodies do resemble that of humans, there’s nothing graphic, explicit, or even really sexual about their appearance. Also, the Na’vi religion is very naturalistic, as their god Eywa is basically mother nature, and this is lauded in the film.

Special Effects in movies have come quite a long way, and “Avatar” is another giant step forward from a visual perspective, but a disappointment otherwise. While other epic films like “The Lord of the Rings” or “Star Wars” films have indelible characters and great story to go along with the effects, “Avatar” does not. If you must go, you’re better off paying the extra money to see it in 3D, as the visuals alone are almost worth the price of admission. But if you’re looking for some substance with your style, don’t believe the hype and steer clear of “Avatar.”

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive—I realize that some of the scenes were completely against scripture. There is no mother Earth, and their way of praying was not correct. However, that said, this movie was very well made, was a good escape for the day, and the special effects were marvelous. If someone was offended by the lack of bible in this movie, I could understand that, but sometimes a little fantasy does not hurt anyone. I went with my hubby and my 2 older children, and we all enjoyed a day in another world.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Teri, age 51 (USA)
Positive—…Great sci-fi adventure, not for little ones, for sure; the visuals are WOW! and the storytelling made me shed a tear or two, it has action and a very touching love story, I won’t spoil anything!! you must watch it by yourself. In my childhood and early teens there were movies which impressed so much my imagination and led me to be fascinated with science fiction; STAR WARS, E.T., FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR, JURASSIC PARK… now I could add “Avatar” in the list… I liked, I didn’t find nothing anti religious, although some swearing words, for me it just a good sci-fi fantasy, in fact there are far worse movies which directly attack Christianity.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Daniel, age 31 (Panama)
Positive—I saw this tonight with my husband, and we both enjoyed it. I was offended by 2 things… -They use the Lord’s name in vain a lot, I lost count at how many times. -The way the tribe people prayed was a bit weird, and I didn’t like it. That being said, I did like this film despite those issues. The effects were awesome, and the storyline was very good.

Also, being physically disabled, I appreciate the fact that even though one of the characters was also disabled, it was shown in a positive light. I really liked that this movie was about defending those that you love, at least that was part of the message to me. You will enjoy this movie if you like action flicks. It’s one of the best (effects wise) that I have seen this year, and I am glad that we saw it.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Sarah, age 26 (USA)
Positive—I thought this was a technical marvel, the first big screen movie to make intelligent use of the new “real D” technology. The story is simple but effective with some excellent set pieces. I disagree with this reviewer over the issue of dramatic thrust, as the film kept me gripped throughout. The viewer gets a real sense that this beautiful world of Pandora is in danger, and the death defying feats that Jake is put through are nothing short of thrilling.

The main issue of concern for Christian audiences is the New Age spirituality that underpins the film (I’m surprised the reviewer didn’t pick up on this.). The concept of a collective cosmic consciousness is strongly emphasized amongst the Na’vi and their deity is basically the “Gaia” of New Age spirituality.

This should sound alarm bells in the mind of discerning Christians. Having said that, the basic ecological of the film is (I believe) a positive one. The virtue of self-sacrifice is also powerfully extolled in the movie, making this an ultimately uplifting and exhilarating experience.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Ben Tabberer, age 30 (United Kingdom)
Positive—After having viewed this movie in its entirety twice, both in 3-D and normal, I must say it is one of the best if not the best new movie I have seen this year. It is an aesthetically beautiful movie and truly moved me. While there is much with which I disagree in regard to theology and ideology, one must remember that this is not a “Christian” film. I would not recommend taking children to see this movie—it is rated PG-13 for a reason.

Though some have said that the script and story are poorly done, I would disagree. I admit the story is predictable, but I never felt cheated or disinterested in this movie. The second time through simply revealed aspects I had previously missed. The characters are not forgettable or cheesy, and they gained my heart or my disdain as the writers and directors intended. Honestly, I cried multiple times throughout the movie, and I am not led easily to tears by films.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Aleisha, age 24 (USA)
Positive—First, I would like to say that I am a firm believer in Christ, as a born again Christian. Secondly, I am also a science fiction fan. I was anticipating “Avatar” from the time the first teaser came out, and now, after having seen it I was not disappointed. “Avatar” is an exceptional film from a CGI standpoint. James Cameron felt that he could make the film, but only after seeing what Peter Jackson and WETA did in The Lord of the Rings with Gollum. For me, this is the only film SINCE The Lord of the Rings trilogy that I felt had the same life-like qualities. You, as the viewer (especially with 3D), become a part of the story. You feel the elation of the characters, the grief, the beauty, and the life that you are viewing. Pandora is a beautiful imaginary planet, teeming with exotic and yet somehow familiar flora and fauna. James Cameron takes every single person in the audience on their own tour of this alien world… From a moral standpoint, there were some issues. There was cursing, mostly the s-word and occasionally both b-words, and taking the Lord’s name in vain. The latter was more offensive to me, in being a Christian.

The Na’vi are a fierce, beautiful, and yes, somewhat primitive race. They wear primarily what native tribes used to wear: loincloths for everyone, and for the women, feathered necklaces or beaded belts on top. From a woman’s standpoint, though, I was probably more offended in The New World or even the new Indiana Jones (the ancient Mayans and their loincloths), since those were actual people dressed like that. The Na’vi do not share complete physiological similarities with humans, and for me, at least, it was not intrusive. But everyone will have to judge that for themselves …There is a minor scene of sensuality between a male and female Na’vi, which I took to mean as a wedding bond (it is mentioned that they are now mates for life, and like the eagle, will only ever take one mate).See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Caitlin, age 20 (USA)
Positive—This is going to be the new way to see a movie! James Cameron outdid himself in this one. The old style 3D used to make me nauseous, but this was outstanding! If one doesn’t mind allowing themselves to be immersed into the story and the concept, they will have an excellent movie viewing experience. The colors, imagery, the story, the concept and the outworld beauty will be nothing like one would see except in an art magazine or gallery. Thing is, what some might refer to as “pagan” seemed to be more spiritual in my perspective.

The belief of “Mother Earth” has been a part of, and still is in many cultures, ever since man felt there was something bigger than him. It is something I didn’t have a problem with, even as a believer in Jesus Christ. After all, what is so wrong about having a “connection” with everything and everyone in your world? But that is just me. Having some kind of connection with our world, rather than stripping it of resources makes more sense. Even as a believers, shouldn’t we work for a connection with our world and each other? See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Jesse Combs, age 56 (USA)
Positive—I went with a bunch of our kids (ages 12-17) from church, yes, there was swearing, cussing whatever unfortunately. We loved it though. We didn’t take it all too seriously. Most sci-fi or fantasy flicks can’t be taken too seriously, and I tell the kids that. It’s just a movie but wow, this one was an amazing, imaginative one. It was long, but it flew by, no one in our theater left and no one laughed at inappropriate times. I recommend it!!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Kimberly Johnson, age 49 (USA)
Positive—While the movie makes strong strides toward the cosmic humanism category in that God is in all, all is one, everything and everyone is connected together, coming from Hollywood… this should not be a surprise to anyone. The real reason for seeing the movie is the special effects, vivid colors, and imaginative universe… in 3D. If you go see the move… see it in 3D. The storyline is extremely predictive and the movie, I believe, would receive a lot higher reviews if the profanity is left out.

My wife and two sons loved the movie and we discussed the nature of “worship” of the tribe and compared it to how some people actually think in the real world. If language is a reason not to go see the movie, then don’t go see it. But if you know what you believe, why you believe it, and how this movie departs from the Christian faith, then the special effects will surprise you if you see it… BUT… you have to see it in 3D or you’ll waste your money.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Terry, age 44 (USA)
Positive—“Life is but a dream.” James Cameron finally delivers, giving us action that’s not over the top violent, just enough romance without nudity (though the Na’vi are scantily clad) and a script that isn’t overrun with profanity… but there is some. The plot is not complicated, another planet has something Earth’s humanity wants so we send our military to get it. With a “give it to us or we’ll take it” attitude, it makes some of Earth’s humanity (“sky people” in the film) appear the same as our real spiritual enemy who comes “to kill, steal, and destroy”.

The only peaceful solution is to get a section the Na’vi inhabitants to move away from their massive sacred tree so the military can destroy it and get the valuable “unobtainium” from beneath the ground below it. Having figured out a way to become like them, the military sends Sully, a disabled vet, to infiltrate their tribe and try to get them to move. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Jeff Leslie, age 52 (USA)
Positive—Everyone else has addressed the language, the National Geographic-style nudity and new age religious aspects of this movie. I wanted to call out several aspects of the movie that I haven’t seen discussed. The New Age religions today are totally and completely void of relationship. Those that worship the Earth do so with no reciprocity. The Earth doesn’t communicate back to its adherents. James Cameron took Earth worship to a new extreme by creating a planet and race that lived in harmony that had real communication.

To me, this is a point to use in discussing the movie for evangelical purposes. Cameron himself is so desperate for relationship that he creates a world where it actually happens. We are all longing to communicate with “The Divine,” yet all of the religions man engages in are one way—except Christianity. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Kevin, age 40 (USA)
Positive—…This was one of the most visually astounding and quality movies I have ever seen. The 3D experience immerses you in the movie. It seems folks leaving Negative reviews here have the expectation that a PG-13 movie will have nothing bad in it, and something out of the very secular California movie studios won’t be Christ-centered.

Language: There’s language. Nothing terrible, but there’s language to be expected in a PG-13 movie. It is not as bad as war movies or some crude comedies. While they could have done without it (ANY movie can do without language), I wasn’t overly offended by the language. There were a couple times where I thought it COMPLETELY unnecessary, however I can walk down the street and think the same thing. I’d say it’s light for what other PG-13 movies contain. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Zac, age 20
Positive—This movie was fantastic. Sure, there is the aforementioned foul language and sensuality, but for someone to give this movie a negative review because of that, or because these “aliens” have their own belief system is just ludicrous. You knew going in that this wasn’t “The Life and Times of Christ”. Oh, and that it was rated PG-13.

It boggles my mind how you folks can get so wound up when no one forced you to see this movie and you knew of its rating, etc. beforehand. I also can’t wrap my head around the fact that someone praised every aspect of this movie, yet gave it a negative review because the 3D effects made them dizzy afterward. Let’s get our reviews straight please. That’s like me saying I just ate the best steak I’ve ever had… but it was terrible because my fork was bent.

To Mr. Roberts: I can’t wait to see your new movie coming out. I mean, I’m assuming you have some epic creation in the works with all the bashing you gave this film. Lighten up! Can such bitterness truly give you a satisfying life? There comes a point when negative comments are just that: Negative. There is nothing positive in your hearts. I suppose “Star Wars” plagiarized “Star Trek,” in your mind. To use a word that severe, I think perhaps the definition should first be learned. Lastly, how this movie can have a 2½ star rating in moviemaking quality blows my mind. At this moment, this movie is the PEAK of quality. Let’s be realistic.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Aaron, age 30 (USA)
Positive—This was the best movie I have ever seen in my life. Unbelievable. I tried to see this movie through the lens of the bible. There are the “sky people” the “bad” world, where people have lost their “mother” (They have forsaken their God.

They have traded Yahweh for what feels good and take whatever they want.). Then there are the people that live in Pandora—where everything is beautiful and connected—the ones, who in their “world” are born twice. Once from their mother’s womb and twice when they connect to their God and become part of their kingdom… a unity among all “believers”—in this movie, she is female. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Claire, age 40 (USA)
Positive—My wife and I wanted to see this movie and we saw lots of Negative reviews but decided to go anyway. First off the 3-D is AMAZING. I am usually not that big of a fan of 3D but this movie is perfect it was made for 3D rather then making a movie as 2D then adding a few 3D elements as a gimmick. WOW the visuals on Pandora are amazing the trees when they walk on them they glow and at night many plants glow like night lights its just beautiful.

Yes, the Na’vi worship Mother Earth or I guess to them Mother pandora. But its a movie. And I guess if you wanted to you can take the war against the Na’vi as some have as a symbol of the war in Iraq and how we need to leave Iraq alone. I don’t see it as such but then again I enjoy movies. I don’t go to the movie and sit there for 2 hours thinking how this is moral or not moral. Now I don’t like language in a movie and I wont see nudity in a movie. This movie has some strong language but I have heard worse from PG movies and Die hard 4 movie. It could have been easily done without and no one would have missed it.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Jason, age 33 (USA)
Positive—This film was a masterpiece, both visually and in terms of plot. It was affecting, it was relevant, and it was simply beautiful and heartbreaking to watch. Throughout the entire thing I was involved, and felt as though I were present in the film, observing and participating in the issues the characters found themselves in.

Though this film clearly takes place in a sci-fi future, it had extremely poignant ties to our world’s history—the destruction and assimilation of many cultures, aboriginal and not. For those who believe this is not relevant to Christians, lest we forget many peoples have been killed and destroyed in terrible ways in the name of our Lord.

I would like to address a few things that a lot of people seem to find negative from a Christian standpoint. First, is the nature of the “Mother Earth” deity. More specifically, Eywa. I would like to point out that “Eywah” is an anagram of “Yaweh”. This in and of itself leads me to interpret this Na’vi culture as one that knows God (if we’re looking at this in a non-alternate world way), loves God, and believes full-heartedly in God. I saw nothing wrong with their method of prayer—in fact, it reminded me of speaking in tongues, which is a Biblical practice. They shared a relationship with their God—is this not what we strive for as followers of Christ?See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Joy, age 19 (Canada)
Positive—Hero’s tale, told eloquently, with wonderful wildlife and an especially beautiful understanding of male and female energy. I laughed, I cried, I cried while laughing and laughed while crying. If I get a chance I’ll see it in 3D, but there was so much, at so many levels, I don’t feel like I missed anything essential.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Tom Jeffries, age 61 (USA)
Positive—I went to see this movie just because of James Cameron. The movie far surpassed my expectations and helped increase my knowledge of God. It helped me realize how our body is this vessel for our soul, and, in this movie, the soul was easily transferred into another body, just as God will give us a new body in heaven.

I am tired of people giving Satan credit for this movie. Our God is big enough to make anything positive and good for the kingdom. Use this movie to teach older kids and believers about God and the wrong about the nature worship. We are in this world, not of it.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Ryan D, age 19 (USA)
Positive—This film was a great way of showing the consequences of economic exploitation that occurs daily in a capitalistic society and how they affect the indigenous culture. The only offensive aspect was that the conquerors while being accurate are extremely hostile and violent in order to extract the raw resources. There is also a sensual scene between the two main characters without them being married. I also like how it relates to the extraction of oil in the Middle East and “Operation Shock and Awe.” Audiences should keep in mind that exploitation occurs everyday with American brand names. So just remember that your pair of Wranglers are made in Guatemala by young women with no other jobs to choose from are being paid a few dollars a week.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Ronnie, age 21 (USA)
Positive—As I was watching this movie, I kept trying to figure out why Cameron chose ‘Sully’ to describe his Messiah/Savior figure. One thing I was certain of was, that he just didn’t randomly choose some meaningless name for our main hero—for a movie of THIS magnitude. (Recall his movie 'Terminator', the savior/character “John Connor” (J.C.) Then it finally hit me: (Jake) Sully is very similar sounding to ‘Soleil’ (‘So-Lay’), meaning (in French) ‘Sun’ or in our case, ‘Son’! He is the Chosen Son of Eywa (Yahweh)! (…and it’s obvious Eywa did ‘Choose’ Jake, by way of those floating ‘pure-spirit’ globs). And then there’s that “Rebirth/Born Again” scene at the end…
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Steve, age 44 (USA)
Positive—The spirit of the “Avatar” movie was good. There is one scene that I had to close my eyes, because I don’t believe in lust of the eyes. The same scene (for me) fit the Bible, but can be viewed as unbiblical by others depending on what character you judge and their motives.

There were many interesting life issues brought up that reflect historical reality. Some of the aliens reminded me of cultures in other parts of the world in their choice of dress. I feel in my culture that the choice of dress would be not modest at all.

This tribal choice of clothing may cause others to stumble in their walk with the Lord. If that is not the person’s issue, then I would give the movie a score of Good (except the one scene brought the score down to Better than Average). I would rate it Average ,if the barely clothed aliens causes lust of the mind and heart through the eyes. So, give or take the nakedness stuff, I give it an overall rating of Better than average.

I am not rating it average because the spirit of the movie and the reflection of real life was really good and many interesting view points were expressed.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Sara D, age 31 (USA)
Positive—This film is a ground breaker technically, hats off to the film crew—the 3-D wow effect is awesome, made me think about the wow factor when we get to heaven. The theme is pro nature, with a good stewardship message. Anti corporate greed, and sadly anti American military (which was uncalled for and could have been handled better in order to honour those that give Mr. Cameron the freedom to make his films).

Loved the… you have to be born twice message—some really good loving and caring principles. Have never done this before, but will go and see it again—after I’ve seen “The Book of Eli.”
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Lynn, age 55 (Canada)
Positive—Avatar is worth seeing in 3D for the graphics of the alien forests. It is good entertainment. I don’t find the religious overtones of the pagan worship of the Mother Goddess offensive. I think the “animals are my brothers and sisters” may be Native North American philosophy. The science stretches the imagination.

The search for exoplanets is current science. Pandora is supposed to be revolving around a Jupiter-like planet with a metallic hydrogen core emitting magnetic fluxes causing the obtanium (Neodimium?) Hallelujah Mountains (Huangshan lookalike mountains) to float. Has anyone done the math to see if it is possible? There’s no mention of what technology was used to transport people from Earth to Pandora. That makes Pandora more of a mythical place.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4
Keith B., age 55 (Australia)
Positive—This movie is probably the best movie I will ever see. Everything about this movie was awesome. Unbelievable experience from a movie! I was left astounded from it for a while.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Matthew, age 24 (USA)
Positive—I really enjoyed this movie, being a science fiction fan. The visuals were stunning, but I won’t say much about that. The plot was no brain-bender, being pretty straightforward without much in the way of surprises. But it was incredibly watchable. Yeah, there were a lot of doo-doo words, but I think it’s standard fare for a movie with so many soldiers in a hostile environment. So for this PG-13 flick, the strong language was justified. (At least from a thematic point of view.) Still not necessary, of course.

Another thing I noticed about this movie was the fact that unlike so many other humanoid aliens in movies (I’m looking at you, Star Trek), the Na`vi had more than just ridges on their foreheads to distinguish them from “us.” Not only are they 9 feet tall, they are blue, rather than a human shade of brown, and have feline features without looking too “catlike”—not to mention the nerve cord they braid into their long hair. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
JT, age 22 (USA)
Positive—I thought the reviewer was a little harsh in giving “Avatar” an Offensive rating. Yes, it’s unfortunate, but there you are, a really big movie about contemporary (or futuristic) times will have this sort of thing. Realize it, and prepare yourself and family, if you want to see a film experience of your life. You, too, can be captivated by the movie’s visuals, which, even without 3-D, alas, are impressive. Still, it was incredibly beautiful, and the story was particularly clever, I thought.

For entertainment, you cannot beat a good idea, creative approach, excellent visuals, AND here is the key: a story true to the ideals of right and wrong. “Avatar” seemed, to me, to make abundantly clear what is really right and what is really evil; in doing so, “Avatar” championed what is best in people, including being able to give one’s life to protect the innocent and the good. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Maria, age 51 (USA)
Positive—Okay, if anyone made it all the way to the bottom of this page… , I need to ask you to open your minds for a moment. The one big objection I’d have to this movie is that the Nav’i worship another god (and that this god is shown by the film to actually exist, in the story). But I’ve looked deeply into this film, and I think there are some gems for Christians.

Yes, there are similarities to Buddhism, which does have some brands of wisdom, but there are also similarities to Christianity/Judaism. As my mother pointed out, there may be different worlds out there, and who’s to say how God would appear to the beings in them? Notice that the name Ey’wa is basically “Yahweh” mixed up.

I also discovered that the word “Na’vi” in Hebrew means “prophet”. A Na’vi is a visionary or someone who communicates directly with God. Its pleural “Nevi’im” refers to the prophetic books of the Bible including Judges, Kings, and Isaiah (directly quoted from IMDB Avatar movie trivia).See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Jennifer, age 26 (USA)
Positive—Once you get past the not so nuanced play against the capitalistic mindset, the movie is really a remarkable feat. You have seen movies where the computer generated characters are a bit wobbly and fake looking, but this movie almost has it down to a believable point.

As a matter of fact, since the alien race is supposed to be much like the Native Americans, expect to see some implied nudity. Past all of that, the movie, in my opinion, ranks as one of the best sci-fi action movies. And I suspect AVATAR is really the first of a new kind of film where computer generated characters and scenes will dominate. I even suspect in the near future, live actors will give way to computer generated actors. …
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Rodericke, age 42 (USA)
Positive—Ok, I am a Christian, and realize this is a Christian Web site for movie reviews. That being said, yes, there are some violent scenes in the movie, and there are some choice words used throughout the movie that Christians should not use in their language. When I watch a movie that has profanity in it, provided that it is not an overwhelming amount of profanity, then I filter the bad words out. This movie does not go overboard on profanity. This is a Science Fiction movie, for entertainment only.

It was very well written. Phenomenal and breath-taking visual effects. You are taken away to another world filled with completely different life forms, and culture, and the movie accomplishes that. Even the air on the world is different! You watch the movie and feel like you are transported there. Everything is alien. Brilliant! See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Anthony, age 56 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—Okay, so I am not sure exactly where I stand on this film. As a Christian the use of God’s name in vain is bad, but lets face the facts here. Cameron did not make this to be a Christian film. It is what it is, so to speak. It is military in some nature, and, yes, depending on the military issues, there is good and bad. I am a U.S. Air Force Veteran, so I do understand the concept here. It was not unusual in any way for the language to be off in that setting. It is in real life. There are some who are bad and some who are good. It is also a corporate setting. These thugs were not the military but hired guns, they were mercenaries in every way. So don’t get confused on that fact.

Now it does have a real comparison to the nature goddess. So again, let’s face the fact that this is not a christian movie. It was not meant to be. So as I took my sons to this I explained that the faith portrayal here was not what we believe and why.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
David, age 41 (USA)
Neutral—Imagine “Dances with Wolves” set in a galaxy far, far away, and you will have the basic plot of “Avatar”… except that in this case the natives win in the end. There is the physically and spiritually damaged veteran, the noble and admirable native culture, and the evil and exploitative military-industrial complex. It’s all there—and all very predictable.

The CGI is definitely cutting edge; however, I was never “drawn in” to the alien world. It’s great 3-D, but one doesn’t lose sight of the fact that it’s just great 3-D. Still, a lot of imagination is clearly in evidence, even from a 2-D perspective. The commentator who mentioned the two-way aspect of the nature worship depicted was spot-on. Probably all the deceived Gaia worshipers out there wish their god was as responsive as good ol’ Pandora.

Unfortunately, the only true God is not found in trees or any other aspect of the created universe, and those who seek Him there will be gravely disappointed. Because of the over-the-top animism portrayed in the film, I must give it a neutral rating—great visuals, terrible theology. Just know in advance what you’ll be getting if you decide to go see it.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Chris, age 46 (USA)
Neutral—“Pocahontas” meets the ultra-libs’ view of the Vietnam war meets “Aliens” meets “Dances With Wolves,” delivered with astoundingly effective visual effects. A visual and visceral feast of brilliance and expense in service of a typically loony, idiotic liberal worldview.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Jeremy Klein, age 54 (USA)
Neutral—I saw this film and was wowed by the visual effects, the colors, the various plant and animal life displayed, etc. There was quite a bit of swearing in the film and subtle nudity. I did think the Na’vi having to “link” up with the animal creatures was odd, even slightly disturbing. Also when they showed them chanting while in some hypnotic state to assist in the transfer of Grace to her Na’vi host, was a bit unsettling.

The main plot that depicts the humans being focused on financial gain at whatever means necessary was typical of unregenerate man (someone that is not born again). The movie displayed the attitude man has projected on to people and cultures deemed to be inferior for centuries. From the Roman Empire crushing all in it’s path, to the eradication of the Mayan, Aztec, American Indians, to the slave trade to the Holocaust. I believe that this film in regards to man’s indifference to other races and cultures, was right on.

I was very pleased about the Na’vi’s sheer will and determination to defeat their attackers. I would tell people to use caution when deciding to view this movie; the profanity, subtle nudity and violence can be a detractor from the message that the movie is attempting to convey.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Chaka, age 35 (USA)
Neutral—I loved the special effects and found Pandora, even though it is fictional, to be beautiful. The length did not bother me, but the script could of been better. The religious theme behind the story concerns me. For those who are seekers, it will lead them toward Gaia worshiping. There is a huge cultist movement going on, replacing the “Trekkies” with what they call themselves, the Avatards.

To those who have a hard time believing this, one “Avatar” site, in just three weeks since the first showing, has over 3000 users and a movement called The Na’Vi Movement. There is also a lot of unsaved people who are having a hard time with depression due to what they see as a life and planet that they will never see. Those who are Christians and have seen the movie, choose an “Avatar” site and help those who are hurting, bringing Christ to them. in love.

We all know that what He has prepared for us is more then any imagination, or film, can ever portray. They need to know this too and turn to Him who is the true God. God Bless!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Alan, age 56 (USA)
Neutral—“Avatar” is a three hour spectacle that defies description. Much has been written about the film’s technical aspects—for that reason alone, the movie is worth seeing.

From a moral standpoint, it appears to be a classic fight of good versus evil. However, were we to probe its outer shell, we would discover a message of underlying racism. The movie patronizes Native American and indigenous people, and exudes White guilt. Like “The Last Samurai,” it is a white man who saves the native population, becoming its leader.

“Avatar” thus suggests that in the end only white civilization can aid indigenous people: a subtle racism that many Westerners share. We are given to believing that the Na’Vi lack flaws, and that their way of life is the paragon of excellence. Indeed, the Na’Vi embody the concept of the “other” with their blue skin and catlike appearance. They are foreign, enigmatic, and yet also sacred and holy. This is unambiguously patronizing.

Furthermore, the plot is highly unoriginal.

My biggest complaint about the movie, however, would have to be its main actor: Sam Worthington. Mr. Worthington vacillates between an Australian and American accent, leaving the viewer irritated and uncomfortable. James Cameron should have hired a more talented actor.

This review should not keep you from watching the movie. Rather, enter the film with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and keep in mind its subtle racism.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Cornelius C, age 22 (Canada)
Neutral—The writers must have borrowed the basic story from Al Gore but the film is way to creative for him to have been too involved. The computer graphics are very good, however, you’re essentially paying for a two hour and forty-five minute ad telling us how bad we humans are compared to the fictional race depicted. Earth worship, the ancient religion of witchcraft, is very favorably shown, of course.

Wait for the DVD, so you don’t waste your money and help Hollywood’s stats. Why can’t they make a great film like this without an agenda, which is here immediately obvious to anyone with open eyes?
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Bob C, age 46 (USA)
Neutral—First off, I want to say that the special effects for this movie was simply amazing. From the landscape, the sky, the trees, the animals, the natives, everything down to the blades of grass on the ground, looked so realistic, it’s hard to imagine that they were computer generated. Artistically, the film was excellent and the special effects were definitely top notch in quality. If special effects alone is your thing, then you are in for a real treat should you decide to see this movie.

That being said, from a moral standpoint, I just want to caution Christian moviegoers that this is not a Christian film, but in all fairness to the film’s creators and producers, it never made such a claim, so one cannot argue that there was any hint of false advertising on their part.

The questionable content of this film lies with the religion of the natives of the film called the Na’vi who inhabit a distant planet that people from Earth have named Pandora. Resembling Native American Indians down to the dress, hairstyles, face paint, and weaponry, the Na’vi worship a Mother Nature like deity known as Eywa that inhabits all aspects of the planet. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Les, age 39 (USA)
Neutral—Before judging this movie morally I think the viewer has to ask themselves how would they view life on other planets and their relationship to God. The movie heavily focuses in on the creatures the Na’vi who have a religion that focuses in one a goddess who is creator and connector of all. Not so different from God, the Na’vis seek closeness with this goddess through her creation, through closeness with each other, and through prayer.

The culture of the Na’vi is community based, with 2 leaders-a male leading the government and military and a female leading the church. Most humans in this movie are symbols for military, science and corporations-ultimately the routes made by people to gain power, knowledge and so forth… a handful of humans in the movie move their consciousness between their bodies and a Na’vi body made from them. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Megan, age 21 (USA)
Neutral—Really people …I read all the comments and reviews. Let’s be realistic, if we only want to see movies that have no swearing in it or some form of sex (which was actually pretty well done as far as I’m concerned—no obscene scenes or sounds or even suggestions—unless your imagination takes you there), or no violence…then go and watch “Finding Nemo” or something…and even there some will find some form of violence or something.

Yes, sure, for us as Christians/Followers of Jesus is should always be a concern when His name is used in vain, but unfortunately that is also how Hollywood seems to make movies now a days. As far as the spirituality aspect goes …I have heard so many different versions and views from different people, and sure there is a strong New Age vibe going on the whole time, BUT it is a fantasy movie (and I love sci-fi/fantasy) and we should see it as that.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Ulrich, age 32 (South Africa)
Neutral—A great technical achievement and visually stunning, tho the 3-D did give me a mild headache. But, in the end, it’s just a high-tech re-make of “Dances with Wolves.” Bad white people, good Indians, technology = bad, living with Nature = good. Been there, done that.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Bill A, age 63 (USA)
Neutral—I liked this movie. I believe that James Cameron outdid himself with the movie “Avatar.” It is much better than his 1996 hit, “Titanic.” I agree with the reviewer that the dialogue could use some work, but the film was incredibly well done (cinematically speaking). All the special effects were in sync with the rest of the movie. Other than the dialog, my other gripe is the sensuality and the profanity, which could’ve been eliminated, or at least, mitigated. The violence wasn’t too terribly graphic.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Shannon H., age 28 (USA)
Neutral—“Avatar,” honestly, was an extremely well made movie. The special effects were fantastic, the acting was good, and James Cameron is a fantastic storyteller. Morally wise, the film had several obscenities, scantily clad alien natives, a lot of war style violence, but no blood and gore, and the aliens worship Mother Nature.

Also, Jake Sully, the main character sides with the aliens and kills his own people with no sign of remorse or guilt. This is not what ruined the film for me. I did not care for the political pandering James Cameron felt he had to put in the movie.

There were eco-friendly plugs, a blatant smearing toward US military (our veterans in particular) and to big business. This, in my humble opinion, was very obvious, and Cameron did not even try to be subtle. I have read comparisons to “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last Samurai,” but this came off more like a remake of “Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest.”

All in all, if you like good sci-fi movies, this is for you, but if you don’t want to get preached at, then this is not for you.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Jacob Airey, age 22 (USA)
Negative
Negative—“Avatar” is a highly glorified rehashing of pagan environmentalism and the reverence of mother Earth (Gaia)… all in dazzling and mind blowing 3D IMAX Even the goddess mother of the planet they worship is called Eywa… something way too close to Gaia, our Greek name for mother Earth. There is a little sexuality and some foul language. Nothing too explicit. Some violence and frightening creatures. Yet this theme of worshiping the goddess Earth is highly prevalent.

All things are attributed to this mother Earth and as a play on the Native American story Cameron once again manages to portray the white man and his advances as vile and loathsome. To some degree the Na’vi, protecting their environment and being courageous is beautiful and virtuous… something we should likewise do. Seeing as we have been entrusted to be stewards of the Earth. Yet Cameron insisted on blending in this nauseating pagan theology of Gaia worship at every turn. Thumbs up on the visuals. Thumbs down on the propaganda.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Gary, age 23 (USA)
Negative—“Avatar” is the “carnal mind” feeding the fantasies of the Utopians; it is fun, very fun, and it grips you from the beginning straight on through to its pantheistic hand-holding conclusion. Many of the same people that did not respect the masterful accomplishment of “Star Wars” will downplay the accomplishment of “Avatar” to transport the groping hearts of people to believe in a kind, but neutral, universe that is obviously quite violent in nature, but reveals the grace of God through life on the Earth and the “Image of God,” though terribly deformed, to make its way through yielded souls to make a difference.

For the movie “trippers” “Avatar” is the real deal, but like all lies, in the end it will never manifest peace; only the grace of God through Jesus Christ can do that.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Setterman, age 60 (USA)
Negative—Went to see the movie with my son after hearing great things about it from family members and friends. The story is really interesting and the special effects are incredible however I would warn people with light/motion sensitivity or epilepsy to stay away from the 3D version of this movie.

The 3D glasses get you so immersed in the movie that when it was over I felt dizzy, had difficulty walking, and developed a massive headache. This has never happened to me before, and I’m almost 40 years old. After searching the Web, I found out that many other viewers experienced the same thing, and in some cases it triggered a seizure. So if you see it stick to 2D only.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Jon, age 36 (USA)
Negative—I have seen many films. I am also a filmmaker and have written for professional filmmakers. I am also a devout Christian. I was hoping for great things from Cameron but instead saw Avatar, the most evil film I have ever seen. Made so evil by the fact that most people, even Christians don’t have a clue. But isn’t that the way of evil?

What were Cameron’s motives? Like with Titanic, he wanted to popularize nudity. He used art in “Titanic” to do it and used animation to do it here. Those creatures had full upper nudity. Let’s not fool ourselves. Mr. Cameron was intent on softening our society to nudity in movies. He has had at least 3 wives and many women. He wants no one to judge him on that. And now he has Christians everywhere helping him. It is sad and sick.

James Cameron also wanted to promote the worship of Mother Earth. This is his stated purpose. Gaia worship is a fast growing religion. This movie will be the call for many youth children to get on board. Watch 10 years from now. It is an intentionally evil and massively destructive movie. Don’t be fooled. This was all intentional. There are many other factors, but this was pure evil in attractive loincloths. And I’m not even naïve.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Dr J, age 29 (Canada)
Negative—Waste of money! If I wanted to get this kind of liberal propaganda, I could just pick up one of the kid’s school books or turn on CNN. The best part of the movie was when I found out my wife was wearing sunglasses instead of the 3D glasses for the first half of the movie!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Brian, age 47 (USA)
Negative—This in 3D is incredible greatest eye experience in moves ever. But the crowd’s don’t comprehend the point of this move is the destruction of what truth. Gaia Worship is what at the heart of this move. Gaia Worship the modern vision of Pagan Religion and the Green movement, global warming all related to each other.

“Avatar”'s planet Pandora is always called mother their God. Also, Liberal overtones like the military bad. Also they have the military calling the Avatar peoples terrorist which is another liberal way of saying in the real world the military calls good people terrorist. The move used the term shock and awe and we know that term related to President Bush. Those that don’t understand the truth of scripture lack knowledge to see truth and a lie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Dan, age 50 (USA)
Negative—Quite frankly one of the most offensive movies I’ve seen. The excessive use of the “GD” word and the extremely over the top excessiveness of the “mother nature” thing was ridiculous. I’m more shocked by people who claim to be believers actually endorsing this movie. I took two of my sons age 17 and 11 to see this and we were all offended by the language. Twenty years ago, this movie would have been rated “R”.

My advice to anyone who claims to be a true follower of Christ is to NOT waste your money on this movie. I wish I had my money back so I could give it to my church instead.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
David, age 47 (USA)
Negative—I must say that I was very disappointed in this movie. Everyone in our church has posted on Facebook that this was the movie to see, that it was awesome. When I kept hearing God’s name used in vain, it almost brought me to tears. Since when is this Okay for Christians? Since when is seeing cat/human like characters mate with humans Okay?

The chanting really scared me! I was not sure what they were worshiping, but it scared me. I have to say I was very disturbed. The visual effects, I guess I could say, were Okay, but it was very hard for me to concentrate on that when all I wanted to do was cry. Sorry… I will not give this movie a good review.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
S Fullington, age 34 (USA)
Negative—Okay, so this is a non-Christian film maker’s vision. When a movie relies on its visual effects to win the day, something is wrong. Yes, there were some cool stunning visual effects. Not enough though to save this movie from its anti-military, pro-mother Earth, circle of life message.

The plot/story was just plain dumb. I would not recommend this movie to anyone solely based on its poor story line. Lame lines and the feeling I’d seen it before didn’t help me like the movie. Yes, there were glimpses of nudity too. You know you’ve seen a bad movie when you compare it to “Titanic” and rethink what a masterpiece that was compared to this tripe.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
scichicx, age 36 (USA)
Negative—Cinematographically speaking, this was the most stunning film I have ever seen. It was a beautifully performed epic myth. Spiritually speaking it was very bad. It had a strong blend of Native American spirituality, Earth mother goddess ideas, and eastern mysticism. Added to that is the whole alien concept, blending of alien and human DNA, and alien/human love. Having read Alien Encounters: the Secret Behind the UFO Phenomenon by Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman, I found that last part particularly chilling. All of these strongly negative elements are beautifully packaged in a very appealing format, that is likely to capture the imaginations of our culture.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Laura S, age 40 (USA)
Negative—I’ll say it bluntly. This has to be one of the most amazing visual and artistic movie I have seen in a very long time. Also one of the most entertaining. A little over two hours long, not once did I glance at my watch to check and see what time it was. It was thought provoking, and one really wanted to cheer the main character on.

That aside, there were some things I thought that could most certainly have been excluded from the film. First off is the swearing. It’s pretty mild, but it’s still there, and most of it is coming from the main character. The other thing is that there is a scene between the main character and another, and they are shall I say, slightly “entwined?” ***SPOILER*** The main character chooses a girl out of the tribe, and it is implied that they had sex together. ***END SPOILER***See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Anna Marie, age 19 (USA)
Negative—So many are missing the subtle, dangerous and truly offensive undercurrents of this movie: Military (which protects us and lays down their lives for us every day) is “bad”. America is “bad”. Of course, it would be wrong to take over a loving, caring civilization for minerals or elements (America does not do that, but did recently try to eliminate an evil dictator).

When we are fighting terror, and cultures that cut off people’s heads for not being the same religion, our military is very, very good. This movie vilifies our heroes, and it sickened me to imagine one of these dear ones seeing this horrific movie. As far as the Pagan, New Age message, this was also dangerous and a very strong message. I wish I could plead with parents not to take their children to see these things that will stay with them for a long, long time. Stick with “Blind Side”. Goodness is good.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Nancy, age 56 (USA)
Negative—I was actually very excited to see this film and took my 14 year old son. The 3D technology was truly amazing and overall the filmography was stunning. That’s where my praise stops. This was “Dances With Wolves”! A guy gets thrust in with a race of “people”, sympathizes with them, shifts loyalty, sees his people as the evil force, tries to convince them to leave, the leader and people refuse… And the New Age spiritism was overwhelming. They paint the humans as ruthless barbarians with no respect for life and stereotype them consistent with the movie industry.

Although the naked aliens were digital, they were very sensual and I was uncomfortable next to my son. The scene where they “bond” was brief, but in very poor taste. Shots at the Bush administration with “shock and awe” and “fight terrorism with terrorism showed another on of the directors propaganda messages. And the story line was completely forecasted. Also, way too long.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Mike, age 42 (USA)
Negative—This movie had excellent graphics; very visually appealing! The jungle and animals are amazing and so lifelike! Besides that, there are not many positives.

This movie was based on “evil humans” trying to destroy everything in sight due to greed. There was a lot of spirit-ism and animism, with evil satanic chanting in a few parts. I could sense the presence of darkness, though the movie tries to portray this connection with nature as positive. Somehow the powers of nature bring the main character back to life again.

God is the one we should worship and pray to, not nature. There was also a lot of swearing in the movie—something that I’d rather not hear or have my husband hear.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Sylvia, age 26 (USA)
Negative—I went to see “Avatar” solely on the recommendation of my son (with whom I saw the movie in 3D, the effects of which I thought were somewhat annoying), who loves sci-fi and fantasy fiction like “Lord of the Rings”. I had no knowledge of any pre-release hype other than seeing a couple of ads for it on the TV.

It appears that Mr. Cameron, whom I noticed as credited with the script, was shooting for the stars with stunning CG graphics and attention to detail. It seems that he mostly succeeded on that count. He failed noticeably on other counts. Needless to say, I’ve never heard anything about Cameron being any sort of Christian, so I had no expectation that this movie would have any positive value for the Christian audience. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Alan Roberts, age 60 (USA)
Negative—This is a terrible film. People who write “It was great, but they used the Lord’s name in vain all the time, so I can’t recommend it” are missing the boat. It’s a dumb story, as well as rehashed, thinly veiled, anti-American liberal propaganda, from Cameron, who, remember, produced a documentary that questioned the bodily resurrection of Jesus (“The Lost Tomb of Jesus”). More than that, it’s just not compelling. I was completely bored for the last hour. The comments about the language are true, but trust me, it’s not a good film by any stretch for intelligent adults. Lots of better choices out there.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2
Bill, age 30 (USA)
Negative—Madness. Sheer and utter madness. Like so many others who stood in line to see the special effects, I was not disappointed by them. Truly groundbreaking. What was NOT groundbreaking was the mindlessly insidious storyline. I saw the film twice. Once in a regular theater and once in IMAX.

However, the 2nd time through I was no longer dazzled by the special effects, I was nauseated by the fact that people were cheering as American Marines were being stampeded, shot, stabbed, machine gunned and catapulted to their deaths. This was a direct result of complete and utter manipulation by the filmmaker. And it shows how easily we can be seduced by subliminal images on the screen.

Everyone knows the story by now, so I won’t bother rehashing that, suffice it to say that there are only 4 “good humans” in the entire film. The rest of us puny human beings are ruthless killing machines without conscience or remorse. On the other side of the spectrum we have the Lovely Blue Aliens. Who are caring and nurturing, compassionate and tail wagging, kind and small waisted.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Russell Sterger, age 53 (USA)
Negative—Holy cow. James Cameron has taken the whole 3D movie experience to a new level with “Avatar”. Some movies use 3D as a gimmick to lure an audience in and toss props toward them in order to wow the crowd. “Avatar” doesn’t rely on such cheap tricks. Nothing pops out of the screen or in your face, instead, it’s as if the screen itself becomes a window into a whole new world and you are actually sitting there, experiencing it in person. The colors pop and the images will stun and amaze you.

The new world itself becomes a colorful and breath-taking character alongside the blue people. What you see is nothing short but pure special effects art at it’s finest.

But what bothers me about “Avatar”, is NOT what you see, it’s all the underlying messages that are not-so-hidden, but all wrapped up in a crowd-pleasing, science fiction, action-adventure epic story. What Cameron does for Gaia worship is what Narnia does for Christianity. It takes all the basic elements of doctrine and presents it in an entertaining package in hopes to convert unsuspecting viewers.

In fact, I haven’t seen propaganda this bold for tree-hugging, Earth-goddess, re-incarnating, neo-pagan, Gaia-pushing pack-of-lies since FERNGULLY THE RAIN FORREST tried to indoctrinate our children. You TRULY have to divorce yourself from reality in order to enjoy this film, but I kept shaking my head and almost laughed out loud every time I saw another lie unfold.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Scott Green, age 40 (USA)
Negative—Just saw “Avatar”. I have very strong feelings about this movie, to say the least. Never have I left a movie with such a vivid aweness of the spiritual warfare raging in our society, fighting for the minds of our youth. Promoted in this movie is a strong animistic and somewhat pantheistic worldview suggesting that our world is a living being with which we must communicate, love, and protect.

However, our affections and attention should not lie with what is created, but with the One who created it. I do not want to serve a god who is the life force of our planet, but a God who, by the very breath of His mouth, spoke the world into being; I do not want to serve a God who is intricately one with His creation, but a God who is so far above His creation that we cannot even think about comprehending Him, but whose love is so great and so wide that He would behold His dying creation, empty Himself of His infinity, join His creation, and sacrifice Himself for their salvation; I don’t want to serve a God whose life force is partially made up by me, but a God who, being infinitely above me, will have a personal relationship with me. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Jason Clark, age 22 (USA)
Negative—OK, I like everyone, was stunned by the special effects of this film. They really are very good (and I didn’t watch the 3D version). The sci-fi idea of mind melding with a genetically modified alien body is also very clever (although I thought “Surrogates” did it better). The actual story exposition is okay, too, although there is nothing original here. This film is basically a sci-fi remake of “Dances with Wolves” or “The Last Samurai”. Seriously—for Pandora substitute America, for Pandorans substitute native Americans, for Humans substitute “evil and mercenary European colonists”…can we guess where this is going?

From a Christian viewpoint, there isn’t much nudity, sex or swearing and none of it is gratuitous. The violence is more confusing than offensive (the battle scenes are far too fast—I quickly lost track of what was going on).

The real problem is much worse, because it is far, far more dangerous, especially for impressionable young minds. The subliminal message of “Avatar” is very pro neo-pagan and anti-christian in its political stance and morality. The pandorans are healthy, vibrant and innocent worshipers of “the mother goddess”, whose living embodiment is a great big tree. They lead balanced, healthy lives with total respect for the world they live in and the animal life therein. Nothing bad ever seems to happen and everyone loves everyone else (except for the human protagonist, for dramatic purposes).See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Martin Bourne, age 48 (United Kingdom)
Negative—Great movie-making, but… “Avatar” is quite likely Cameron’s take on how the Old Testament might play out allegorically in Science Fiction and fantasy terms, but reversed in message. That is, if it were at all credible for the not-fully-human enemies of some metaphorical space-faring “Israel” to have the righteousness and might of the true god on their side, this fable shows how the futuristic “Israel” is to be defeated.

The humans in the movie who historically represent the one race proclaimed to harbor the true children of God, claim to have superior means and values. They are presented as a rapacious menace from the point of view of their story enemies, a fantastical, figurative version of biblical Anak’s otherworldly children, the Na’vi, giants of renown and heroes of Cameron’s myth-making process.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Benjamin, age 45 (USA)
Negative—I have read most of the negative reviews and I believe that the mother Earth worship is nothing to the nudity in this movie. Yes the avatars are aliens, and that is how my 16-year-old justified loving the movie. But the bodies are female, human female and I didn’t like staring at breasts. I didn’t like my husband staring at them either. With the army of people that worked on this movie you would think that someone would have been like the child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” It was offensive. Uncomfortably so.

I would have enjoyed this movie so much more had I not been teased the entire time as to what I saw or thought I saw. Our American society is sinking into the moral abyss of France where women walk around at the pool and think nothing of not having a top to their bathing suit. There is no way in the world that Jake Sully could have resisted the Na’vi princess’ sensual body for three months, no way.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Rhonda, age 51 (USA)
Negative—After months of hype and all the great comments I heard on the movie my family and I went out and bought the film. Big mistake! I just watched this movie with my family. The movie making quality was fantastic! The story was just Okay. I was very disappointed in the bad language. There were at least 5 GD’s in this movie. I do not tolerate that at all. I give it a thumbs down!!!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Kim Holt, age 40 (USA)
Negative—A COMPLETE waste of movie-making talent and special affects. I would have saved my time and money, if I knew what this movie would be all about. This movie does not portray any real Christian value at all. Rather, it shows the pagan beliefs of mother Earth and how our life energy returns to the Earth when we die and blah blah blah blah.

It also expresses how mankind is just an evil part of nature that is not in balance with everything else—that mankind just rapes the land for greed; basically the main ideals behind every hard-core environmentalist, tree-hugger. Just watch “Pocahontas,” it is the same type of movie with a futuristic look.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Troy Mendez, age 35 (USA)
Negative—I saw “Avatar” a few months ago, and I’ve honestly never seen any other movies that made me so earnestly desire a refund. First, what I liked: Yes, from a technical standpoint, it is quite an achievement. The visuals in it are quite beautiful, many of the performances were good, what I could remember of the score was good, and the sets were nice.

However, “Avatar” was easily the worst movie I’ve seen last year. It’s bad for a number of reasons:

1. Its length. It’s hard enough to sit through a 3-hour film, but made even harder by other problems with the movie I shall list.

2. Poor writing. The writing is poor mainly because it has literally all been done before. The plot rips off too many movies to count—most notably “Dances with Wolves,” “Pocahontas,” and “Ferngully,” just with a sci-fi theme. It, also, somewhat rips off “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” I think.

The characters are all one-dimensional stereotypes, especially the villains: A stereotypical greedy corporate guy who wants to annihilate the Na’vi’s habitat purely for profit (The rare mineral he’s looking for has such a silly and unoriginal name, I’m not going to mention it here, it sounds like something out of a parody movie), a stereotypical brutal and racist American military officer, and his equally stereotypical evil, sadistic redneck troops. The film’s attempt at messages have all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, I’ve seen religious-based films which aren’t as preachy as “Avatar.”See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Adam, age 26 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive
Positive—Excellent movie, well worth the wait. The special effects are mind-boggling, but even more so is director James Cameron’s imagination… The world he’s created has incredible detail and is very fleshed out. It’s full of wonderfully creative images, from the plants to the bizarre and often colorful creatures that inhabit the planet Pandora. The motion capture is brilliant; I will never complain about its use again, as long as it’s done like this. Finally, it’s able to convey the same emotions as an actor on-screen. The storytelling is quite good for the most part, but thin in places—the film’s crucial flaw. Some characters are underdeveloped, but it’s mostly decent and certainly doesn’t ruin the experience. Content-wise, there’s some iffy stuff.

The violence isn’t too bad. If your kids can handle the latter two Pirates of the Caribbean movies or Star Wars-Episode III or comic book movies like “Iron Man,” they ought to be able to handle this. It’s bloodless, and all violence is reserved for the final act—only one character dies prior to this event, and it’s only shortly prior. Some important characters die, though, more than in most sci-fi action/adventure movies, so that might be unsettling to youngsters.

The sexual content is not as bad as the rating might lead you to believe. Two of the alien Na’vi are seen kissing; they then lie down, and are moments later said to be “mated for life.” Nothing is seen; it’s shorter and subtler than the scene in Iron Man. The revealing clothing worn by the Na’vi may also be seen as a concern. The biggest problem is the profanity—there’s plenty of it, and the primary offender is the s-word. A couple of uses of God’s name in vain as well. Overall, though, “Avatar” is quite an experience. I highly recommend it.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Matt Triponey, age 18 (USA)
Positive—First, I would like to point out that people make movies like this to make money. Having said that, “Avatar” was the greatest movie I have ever seen as of this date. I got to the theater fifteen minutes before the show, and ended up sitting on the far right in the very front row during a 3D showing, so I figured the experience would be ruined. WRONG!!! “Avatar”'s language was subtle, the sexuality was subtle, the violence was nothing worse than explosions and a single impaling. WITH NO BLOOD!!!

The film is well written, well directed, well animated, and an entirely believable scenario, as it takes place nearly 150 years from now. As a youth, you may not respect my opinion, as I am thoroughly subjective… and you would be right to do so. Having said that, again, I am going to see it again tomorrow to get a better seat. This movie may be the best movie I have ever seen …period.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Ethan, age 17 (USA)
Positive—When I first heard about “Avatar” I thought it sounded childish and nerdy. But, after seeing the previews for it and hearing how good it was supposed to be, I decided to go see the 3d version. I was completely blown away! The visual effects were great. The CGI was amazing. The movie would have been great without 3D, but seeing it in 3d made it much better and was totally worth the extra bucks.

The content in the movie was completely within the PG-13 rating; the violence for the most part was not bloody. The story was good and was not too over complicated for a science fiction movie. It was a long movie, but it was interesting enough to keep me interested for the entire film. I would definitely recommend seeing this movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Madison, age 15 (USA)
Negative—This movie was very, very strange. The graphics were not so bad, but, other than that, it was pretty silly. The way that the blue avatar people worshiped there “Eywa” or whatever was somewhat offensive. I say this movie is just a waste of time and money. And it was ridiculously long!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Cecilia, age 16 (USA)
Negative—This movie was very offensive, especially to Christians. First of all the native people had (pretty much) no clothes on …seriously, it was weird. And it wasn’t like… “oh, they’re just creatures, who cares if they are naked or not…” they looked enough like humans to tell if they were naked. The people all worship a tree and all hold on to each other while they chant to it. It’s totally against colonization and makes army people look like crazy, evil, insane people.

The whole purpose, I guess, was to say how horribly evil colonization was/is. But, actually, I didn’t feel bad for anyone… the whole “colonization being bad” theme was just stupid and unrealistic. The special affects were really good though… and the science fiction idea was pretty cool. Other than that, the movie was pretty dumb. Don’t waste your money or time on seeing the blue Na’vi… (something) people.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Katie, age 15 (USA)
Positive—Give me a break, “Avatar” is easily 2009’s best film as well as one of the best films of the decade. The two hours and forty minutes fly by at an unbelievable pace and by the end of the film you care completely about the characters, all of which are extraordinarily well developed. The dialog, quite truthfully, can be rather bumpy at times but no where near bad enough that anyone in the theater was laughing, let alone recalling memories of George Lucas.

The film totally sails on both a technical and emotional level, perfectly blending special effects and storytelling into a masterful whole. The film is easily one of the most epic since Lord of the Rings and has the best CGI work I have ever seen. If there is one film to see this year, it’s “Avatar”, the film manages to create a world, culture and indigenous people successfully as well as totally immerse you into the experience (the 3D also being the best I’ve ever seen).

“Avatar” is another masterpiece from one of the greatest living film makers working today.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Joshua (Undergraduate), age 16 (USA)
Negative—I walked into “Avatar” with a group of friends and low expectations. Only low, because while I was sure it would be a technical masterpiece, fantastic special effects often cover up for poor storytelling, and leave out a heart altogether. This is exactly the case. There was no real emotional connection to the characters, some of the worst dialog I’ve ever heard, plot contrivances and the obvious political agenda. Don’t get me wrong, the visuals were amazing, and negative subtext will not prevent me from watching a movie.

But while I was prepared for the environmentalist propaganda, I was not at all prepared for the barrage of New Age philosophy and naturalism. Other discerning viewers may also want to note the language in the film (also used to cover up poor dialog) and a surprising amount of sexual content and/or partial nudity due to tribal clothing. Visually, “Avatar” is one of the most pleasing I’ve ever seen, so if that’s all you’re looking for, then this is the right movie for you. Just be sure to note all the unnecessary content.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Ben, age 17 (USA)
Positive—“Avatar” is easily one of the best made films that i’ve seen in a while. It is a must see for anyone 12 and up. The PG-13 rating fits because of some violence and language but a 12 year, in my opinion, is old enough.

The Na’vi people are mostly naked but you don’t see anything and it isn’t shown in a sexual way. Two Na’vi kiss and afterward say they are “mated for life”. This movie is not offensive to Christians, at least I didn’t feel offended in any way. The CGI effects were amazing. …
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Nathan K., age 16 (USA)
Positive—All I have to say is marvelous. This movie was one of the most mind blowing movies I have seen in my entire life. Everything about it was enthralling. In many action scenes my hands were sweating and my heart was racing. The animation is definitely the best I have ever seen for a film. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone 12+.

There were however some objectionable parts in the movie, including a “alien love scene”. Nothing is necessarily shown as far as “reproductive organs” etc. … but the general idea was given. This love scene was showing them becoming partners rather than adultery which you might think. In their culture, much like in the old testament, they became betrothed by taking each-other in that manor. It was more implied than shown. There were a few objectionable words such as my saviors name being taken in vain and a few other cuss words. The violence should be tolerable for anyone 10-12+.

Other than those objectionables this movie is definitely an amazing, epic, and spectacular film.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Walter, age 15 (Canada)
Positive—Is “Avatar” any good? Is it worth paying a few extra bucks to see it in 3-D? Does it have anything offensive in it? These questions are probably running through your head right now and you know what, I have the answers. Is “Avatar” any good? Well, that’s a question I’m debating over. The special effects were amazing but the story was a little too predictable. While the acting was fine, it sometimes felt a little too dramatic like the whole love scene halfway through the movie.

Is “Avatar” really worth paying for 3-D? Well, no. While their are some moments in the movie that are cool seeing in 3-D, you can see it in 2-D and have the same experience without paying extra money to see it. Does it have anything offensive in it? Well, the language in it is pretty heavy at times, but most of the language in the movie is used by the colonel. Their is a ton of action/violence in this movie but most of it is during the last thirty minutes of the movie. There is one part where Jake and Neytiri have sex but its is implied and barley shown.

Would I recommend “Avatar” to anyone.? Well, to anybody who loves action movies, of course, but people who like a movie that has a better story I’m not sure. This is what you would call a movie that you have mixed feelings about.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Langston, age 12 (USA)
Positive—Before I start, I would like to say I greatly enjoyed this film and plan on viewing it again soon. I have three main points to make. The first is about the film quality including script. The second is about positive morals. The last is about things I find offensive.

To begin, I noticed no “choppy” moments in the dialog. I found the plot gripping and not at all slow. The three hours of the movie flew by and left me wanting more. Mind that I was not viewing this film with a critic’s eye, but had positive expectations. I was not disappointed. The special effects were absolutely AMAZING. I am surprised at how real they looked. Contrary to what some said, I didn’t notice anything too odd when the Na’Vi were in contact with humans.See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Hayden, age 14 (USA)
Neutral—I saw this movie just recently and I thought it would be bad because I heard other peoples thoughts about it. I loved the plot. I didn’t like how “Jake” fought against his “race.” There was a lot of violence. And the natives believed in spirits so there was a little “ceremony” where they worshiped the spirits. I loved how Jake got to “get his life back.” The language was a Big problem. There was a lot of swearing and curse words like: the s--- word and the b----words and they kept on saying dam—God. This movie was a great movie the graphics where so real and I would see this movie again. I would just be a little cautious.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
lily, age 14 (USA)
Positive—Me and my mom went to see this movie and were blown away!!! When we got out we both agreed that James Cameron had done it again!!!… It is my favorite movie of all time!! It was the best!! I recommend it to anyone, the language was pretty bad. Me and my mom counted like 5 “GD” words, which really stinks, since it was such a great movie. My mom and I are both going to see it again with my dad and sister.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Braden, age 13 (USA)
Negative—While this movie is spectacular in terms of the setting and special effects, it is pure anti-christian, liberal propaganda. Any educated Christian who is able to make connections between biblical truth and political issues (as we all should be able to) will see that this movie’s weak plot is intended by the secular film industry to do nothing more than bash on our fighting men in our military, criticize America’s foreign policy, elevate “mother nature” and the environment to a position of superiority over humans and God, and promote Pantheism and other pagan teachings.

Please do not contribute your money to this propaganda effort and if you must see it, watch with caution lest you be deceived or subconsciously convinced of the blatantly leftist, anti-Christian undertones.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Tyler, age 17 (USA)
Positive—I went to see “Avatar” for the first time about two days ago with my friend and my Dad. My original expectations were about as high as thy could get and all I can say is that I was BLOWN AWAY.

However there are already plenty of people talking about the visual portion of this movie so ill spare you what you’ve already heard and say it was astounding CONFLICTS

Religion 1. Before going in I heard that it had a very Naturalistic or Tree-Huggerish point of view especially in regards to their native “god” called Eywa. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Kwinn, age 15 (USA)
Neutral—I saw “Avatar” this past week with my grandparents, mom, and younger sister and thought it was, overall, a good movie. The visual effects were amazing, as I had read they would be. I most loved the planet upon which it takes place, called Pandora, which was teeming with all kinds of colorful and exotic plants and creatures.

Overall, the story and plot was good and kept my interest throughout the nearly 3-hour movie. If you like action/sci-fi movies, you will definitely enjoy this one. We saw the movie in 3-D, but I don’t think I would recommend it. My grandma said she got nauseous 30 minutes into the movie, and I ended up with a massive headache for the rest of the day. Also, I peered above the 3-D glasses a few times throughout the movie and the colors were so much more brilliant without them! The colors would be worth it alone to see the movie again just because the 3-D glasses were tinted and darkened the colors. So in a way, I feel that we missed out by seeing it in 3-D.

As other reviewers have said, there is a lot of swearing in this movie. God’s name is used in vain countless times throughout the film, as well as plenty of other swear words. There was also a lot of reference to Eywa, the god of the Na’vi people who live on Pandora. I had read this in other reviews ahead of time, but I was actually disturbed by this more than I thought I would be.

Toward the end of the film, as one of the characters is dying, she claims to see Eywa, saying “She really is real.” Basically, there was a lot more reference to this god than I had expected, or would have liked. “Avatar” is an interesting blend of sci-fi, romance, and action/adventure. If you like any of those genres and don’t mind some swearing, you will probably enjoy this film.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Sara, age 16 (USA)
Positive—Wow, the movie was thrilling and vividly stunning! The characters were likable (the good ones) and seemed very real. 3D is definitely the best way to see “Avatar”!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Emily, age 11 (USA)
Positive—…A word to parents: this film is one of the best I have ever watched, even though I am 16 I have strong convictions about explicit scenes, but this movie is very light and the romance is even sweet and touching. and I as a Christian think that violence (as long as it is not over done) is really Okay, for heavens sake the bible is a violent book that God knew would be read young children I don’t think he was worried that he might give kids mental issues if they were to read it.

I still would not recommend this film for anyone under 13, it is an awesome movie!!—much better than Titanic, as far as “sex and sensuality” goes. This is my FAV-movie of the year at least next come “The Bourne…” movies, “The Lord of the Rings,” “Star Wars,” and “Glory Road.” Great directing and script!!!… BTW I saw this movie in the Imax, and it is much better than the regular theater.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 5
Richard Nahigian, age 16 (USA)
Positive—This movie, “Avatar,” was a disappointment to me for 4 reasons…
1. The Na’vi tribe wore little to no clothing. The woman wore tiny coverings to conceal their 'areas', and itty-bitty loincloths.
2. This film had some offensive language in it, and the Lord’s name was used in vain quite a lot.
3. The Na’vi tribe worshiped a god called Ewaya, and a lot of rituals were done.
4. Jake and a Na’vi woman mated together, though it was not really shown, only implied.
Otherwise, if you like sci-fi movies, this is the one for you! The battle scenes are intense yet good! A lot of good morals were in “Avatar”, like when one person gives up their life to save another. I liked this movie, and would recommend it to 12 and above ages.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Catherine Jarrell, age 12 (USA)
Neutral—“Avatar” is a really great movie. And even though we didn’t get to see it in 3D, it still kept us on the edge of our feet. The only problem is that the movie plot isn’t very original, and the movie is long, so the plot kind of drags a little.

Also, in a more biblical point of view, the Na’vi is wears small amounts of clothing often, but it isn’t very sexual, and that also applies to (***spoiler alert***) when the two main characters are sharing intimate moments in the forest.

The script also has some profanity and multiple uses of God’s name in vain. But still, the movie isn’t any thing to worry about, and is a very good source of entertainment.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Camille Conner, age 13 (USA)
Positive—This was a really good movie! That’s all I’m gonna say. True, there was a “scene,” and there was a lot of worshiping, like what almost sounded to me like mother Earth. It was a well thought out plot. I really enjoyed it. I thought that it was going to be a little bit unbelievable, but in the end… I really liked it. Anyone over about 12 or 13, I think this is a must see.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Emily, age 14 (USA)
Positive—Avatar is,in my opinion, one of the best movies ever made. It has a tremendous story line, great acting,and a positive attitude. I would recommend this movie for people between 13 and up, due to brief sensuality, language and violence.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Erik Daniel, age 15 (USA)
Positive—…Avatar’s a good movie. To me, there are two big themes in this new Cameron gem. The first is solely dealing with Mother Nature and Earth worship, etc. I’ll talk a little more about that in a second. The second big theme to me (and much more redeeming one) was that of property rights. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Cherokees in the Trail of Tears when I was watching this movie. It is an almost identical scenario, except the natives win in this fictional flick.

There seemed to be a lot of environmentalist propaganda thrown in, blurring the film’s bigger and brighter message. All the talk of Eywa (the Na’avi’s god, similar to Mother Earth) and the importance of the land got downright annoying at times, and having just read Little Women, was reminded of transcendentalism. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Joseph Hughey, age 16 (USA)
Comments from non-viewers
Negative—I am going to keep this short. The things that bothered me were the partial nudity, implied love making scene, violence (especially the squealing noises of pain), the cursing peppered throughout the movie and lastly and most offensive was the worship of Mother Earth, ancestry worship and the spirit world. I honestly could not wait to leave the theater. In fact, about half-way through the movie I left the room to see if there was another better movie playing but ended up coming back and sitting with my friends and texted/ played solitaire on my phone. I would not recommend this movie to anyone.
Liz, age 29 (USA)
Negative—I have not watched the film “Avatar,” but from what I know about the film, it involves the killing of U.S. soldiers. The viewers are supposed to cheer when America’s soldiers are killed, and that in itself is a despicable notion.

I am proud to be an American, and I appreciate the sacrifices our military make overseas in order to protect our liberties and our way of life. I cannot but do as my conscience dictates, and I have extremely strong moral objections against cheering or lauding the callous murder of our servicemen in any situation—including a theater. I have only but to wonder what this does to our mortal enemies overseas, such as the Al-Qaeda. They must certainly grin and laud the depiction of our soldiers as evil, sinister individuals with unilateral motives who commit heinous crimes against humanity or an alien species.

Additionally, God stated that we are to reflect our Christianity and His work in us by being good examples. One way to achieve this goal is to be law-abiding citizens who refuse to side with evil and have an inherent abhorrence for evil. Please reconsider if you are about to watch this film. May God bless America and all of our brothers in Christ!
Axel Garcia, age 18 (USA)
Negative—I love sci-fi and wanted to see this movie. Then I prayed. This is what God led me to, the definition of Avatar: av·a·tar /'ævə'tɑr, ævə·tɑr/ Pronunciation [av-uh-tahr] –noun 1. Hindu Mythology. the descent of a deity to the Earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god.

Trust me, this was not my own thought or idea, I WANTED to see it. The title of a movie is always specially selected. Let the title speak for itself. I’m listening to the Lord and will not be seeing this movie. Listen to what he tells you.
Deborah, age 39 (USA)
Negative—I have not seen this movie nor do I want to. I had a very uneasy feeling about it from the first time of seeing previews on it and now that the display of DVDs is set up in WalMart I feel a creepy feeling come over me every time and am very uneasy. Now I know. After hearing something mentioned on a radio program about Hindu Avatar I did some research and found this: http://www.hindu-blog.com/2009/12/avatar-movie-similarities-with-hindu.html?showComment=1261469245396 after reading it now I know why I felt such unease. There is only ONE WAY to God and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ—in John 14:6, He says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.”

Someone told me this when I shared this about the movie with her: “I loved the story behind the movie. For me it showed two worlds coming together and looking beyond differences and love unites them!! I loved that part but am not watching it again due to the voodoo and animals and stuff behind!” I replied: “Isn’t that just the enemy’s ploy, though, to see the love uniting two worlds… and making it all sweet and innocent looking and behind it is evil?”
Pamela, age 49 (USA)
Negative—I watched portions and had to walk away. The name of the Lord is taken in vain frequently. My children tell me welcome to the 21st century—but while some of what we listen to is not by choice, watching a movie is—if entertainment is more important than honoring God with your ears—than rent for the cinematography—but if you want to honor God with your ears. Don’t bother.
Concerned Mom, age 44 (USA)
Negative—I tried watching this movie since some of my friends said that it was good, but I couldn’t stand all the swearing and the almost naked natives. It gets really boring half-way in, the parts with Eywa are not too bad as far as I saw. I don’t recommend this movie at all!
David, age 14 (Canada)
Negative—…The movie entertains the death of a soldier, and it is also paganistic and sexist. It entertains the death of the troops by telling the audience of the world that the death of a American soldier (in particular) is not a bad thing; it but is a good thing (which seems satanic all unto itself, based off the fact that when our troops are dying, they die in a horrific way, and the movie is making that into entertainment) for the world.

The movie is sexist because the nude alien girl is a representation of the perfect female. The alien is the stereotype image that men want for the woman but can never find because in movie the alien girl: acts perfect, she has the perfect figure, she’s for some reason falls hopelessly in love with the new guy, and everything she does is perfect.

I don’t need to explain why the movie is paganistic.

Alright moving on!! Nancy, I agree with what you have said about the movie because above all else the anti-troop stuff in the movie is the most offensive to me…

Sylvia I agree with what you have said about the fact that you sensed something like an evil force coming out of the movie when you are watching that, because sometimes I experienced the same thing, as well, when I have watched TV shows and movies in the past…
Jennifer, age 22 (USA)
Negative—This film has an underlying anti-God basis. It is incomprehensible to me whenever I hear someone say that it has a Christian theme. It is masked by a supposed Christian theme, but below is a man (the very director) who is against God.
Haylee, age 17 (USA)