Who's in it? Sam Worthington (the half-man, half-machine guy from Terminator 4), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek's Uhura) and Sigourney Weaver (Aliens).

What's it about? A paraplegic marine replaces his dead twin in a seemingly innocent mission to the mystical planet of Pandora where he ends up questioning both his duty and his loyalties.

Five minutes into the James Cameron-directed Avatar, I turned to my movie mate and said "Man, I wish I could see this in 3-D." The film was widely released in 3-D and I quietly prayed to the Antigua cinema gods to really, really consider bringing this much-needed equipment to our fair island. For Avatar is not just a movie, it's an experience that should be enjoyed in its natural state. Having said that, an overseas relative complained about needing to wear the special 3-D glasses over his own, which caused some distortion and discomfort, so maybe we in Antigua aren't so bad off after all. Still, there are technological elements of the film never before seen by humans and that much is a given — after all Cameron had to somehow top the monster hit Titanic — but to the extent that this project has completely rewritten the way we look at cinema, that I did not expect.

The central plot device centres around Jake Sully (Worthington) a marine who has lost the use of his legs and tries to find some sense of life purpose by filling in for his dead brother on an interplanetary science mission. Of course the movie wouldnít be 162 minutes long without a few twists and turns, and we soon find out that his diplomatic sojourn - infiltrating a pacifist society of Navi, very tall, very blue aliens, so that Sullyís "avatar", a human/Navi hybrid, can bring about peace — is more militaristic than altruistic.

Outside of the visual feast before us, the plot is relatively basic: the Army dudes desperately need the unobtanium energy source buried beneath the Navi homebase, American colonel "bad", cute sassy alien "good", the grass actually is greener over there, and a people united will never be divided. Cameron has fun with the viewer in the process: the blatant foreshawdowing of "obtanium", naming the planet Pandora is certainly no accident once the Army tempest is unearthed, Sully literally "sullies" his name by betraying his newfound friends, Giovanni Ribisi's developer without a conscience is referred to as Selfridge (selfish?), and Weaver's benevolent anti-war character is called Grace. Still, the humans are at least as interesting as their computer-generated counterparts, which say a lot about the complex, yet fully understandable dynamics of the film.

Not since the Lord of the Rings trilogy has a film blown me away with such jaw-dropping special effects. Actually you can't even refer to them as effects, as what transpires on the screen is real, tangible. These aren't Polar Express or Scooby Doo plasticene CGI characters. You truly forget you are watching non-humans in a realistic everyday existence - even as they swing through giant trees and fly sylph-like on prehistoric birds - and immerse yourself into a different world. Ultimately, that is what makes Cameron so successful, inviting the audience into his insanely creative mind if only for a few hours, and making sure it is an experience never to be forgotten.

Avatar: Rated PG-13 for violence, scenes of war, some language, kinda sorta brief nudity. Playing now at the Deluxe Cinemas at High & Market Sts. Call 462-3664 for showtimes.

5 popcorns out of 5!