There is only a very small number of films which, just shortly after their theatrical release, can be characterized with superlatives such as revolutionary or matchless. But if there is one film that these attributes are really applicable to, it is certainly James Cameron's space fable "Avatar". Even though critics have not yet grown tired of branding the shallow story as too simple, the film has accomplished something no other film has been able to do within the last thirty years: it has re-defined the idea of cinema and lured the masses back into the movie theatres. In a time which saw declining box office takings, an identity crisis of cinema as a medium and sinister forecasts predicting the end of the silver screen as an instrument of mass entertainment, James Cameron, along with 20th Century Fox, has heralded the start of a new era of cinema. Not quite unexpected, but enormously successful. One can criticize "Avatar" as regards content, but even the most blistering critics cannot deny the following: the film is a cinematic experience never seen before. Even the greatest artists of the movie industry could not dispute on that. Steven Spielberg said, "Avatar" was „the most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since Star Wars“. His long-time friend, the producer Frank Marshall, agreed just as euphorically („Audacious and awe inspiring. It’s truly extraordinary!“). Ruben Fleischer, director of "Zombieland" was positive that it was „So next level. So awesome. Avatar is a game changer.“ - and he was proved right. "Avatar" was indeed a game changer, which changed cinema for good. Some say it changed for the better, but some say it changed for the worse.

There is only a very small number of films which, just shortly after their theatrical release, can be characterized with superlatives such as revolutionary or matchless. But if there is one film that these attributes are really applicable to, it is certainly James Cameron's space fable "Avatar". Even though critics have not yet grown tired of branding the shallow story as too simple, the film has accomplished something no other film has been able to do within the last thirty years: it has re-defined the idea of cinema and lured the masses back into the movie theatres. In a time which saw declining box office takings, an identity crisis of cinema as a medium and sinister forecasts predicting the end of the silver screen as an instrument of mass entertainment, James Cameron, along with 20th Century Fox, has heralded the start of a new era of cinema. Not quite unexpected, but enormously successful. One can criticize "Avatar" as regards content, but even the most blistering critics cannot deny the following: the film is a cinematic experience never seen before. Even the greatest artists of the movie industry could not dispute on that. Steven Spielberg said, "Avatar" was „the most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since Star Wars“. His long-time friend, the producer Frank Marshall, agreed just as euphorically („Audacious and awe inspiring. It’s truly extraordinary!“). Ruben Fleischer, director of "Zombieland" was positive that it was „So next level. So awesome. Avatar is a game changer.“ - and he was proved right. "Avatar" was indeed a game changer, which changed cinema for good. Some say it changed for the better, but some say it changed for the worse.