's been twelve years since `` Titanic , '' but the King of the World has returned with a flawed but fantastic tour de force that , taken on its merits as a film , especially in two dimensions , warrants four stars . However , if you can wrap a pair of 3D glasses round your peepers , this becomes a transcendent , full-on five-star experience that 's the closest we 'll ever come to setting foot on a strange new world . Wendy Ide , The Times : `` Avatar '' is an overwhelming , immersive spectacle . The state-of-the-art 3D technology draws us in , but it is the vivid weirdness of Cameron 's luridly imagined tropical otherworld that keeps us fascinated . At times it verges on the tacky , like a futuristic air freshener advertisement with the color contrast turned up to the max . The ethically accented orchestral score certainly does n't help matters . But mostly , it 's a place of wonder full of exotically freakish animal composites -- iridescent lizard birds , hammer-headed rhinos -- and sentient vegetation . `` Avatar : '' We should n't really be telling you this
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- James Cameron unveiled his much-hyped , wildly-anticipated 3D sci-fi epic `` Avatar '' to audiences in full in London Thursday . Here 's what the critics are saying about the Oscar-winner 's first outing since `` Titanic , '' the most successful film of modern times . Todd McCarthy , Variety : The King of the World sets his sights on creating another world entirely in `` Avatar , '' and it 's very much a place worth visiting . ... delivers unique spectacle , breathtaking sights , narrative excitement and an overarching anti-imperialist , back-to-nature theme that will play very well around the world ... '' Mike Goodridge , Screen International : ... once again takes cinema to a new level of remarkable spectacle ... An epic film born entirely of Cameron 's imagination , `` Avatar '' uses tailor-made technology to create the most astonishing visual effects yet seen on screen and blends them seamlessly into a mythical sci-fi story about an ancient alien civilization fighting the encroaching human menace . It 's an unprecedented marriage of technology and storytelling which is on the whole remarkably successful . Chris Hewitt , Empire : It