In terms of the Oscars, James Cameron’s  Avatar is like the favourite horse that leads all the way through the Grand National only to fall at the last fence. For all its massive budget and magnificent "shock and awe" spectacular effects, it now looks as though The Hurt Locker, directed by his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, will defeat it come the big night.

When I first saw Avatar I nearly dropped my popcorn at the beautiful images, courtesy of 3D. That’s not to disregard its powerful message about human greed and the nobility of supposedly "inferior" races. Not that the diatribe is particularly original. Recent films such as Dances with Wolves (1991) and the Last Samurai (2004) – as well as the classic A Man Called Horse (1970) –  all had similar themes: warrior comes to embrace the culture he has come to destroy, after gruelling rite of passage induction, that is, in which he wins the trust of the people.

Warrior then becomes a turncoat and, of course, nobody is hated more than an apostate. "You betrayed your own people," one of his own side tells him. Yet there’s no doubt where our sympathies are supposed to lie. It’s a warning that morality should triumph over racial allegiance.

Its visual impressiveness aside, Avatar is rather like a fairground ride, fun and thrilling while it’s on but it fades a bit in the memory after a few weeks. I can’t recall a particular scene that really stands out; the human/alien spectacle and love story is trumped by a great deal of noise and massive machines and idyllic jungle settings.

Sigourney Weaver’s character is a complete throwaway (one wonders if she was included because she’s appeared in all the Alien films) and Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully was far from overwhelmingly charismatic. Perhaps the most impressive figure was Lang’s Colonel Quaritch. One suspects that Cameron may regret having killed him off at the end of Avatar given the inevitable sequel no doubt already in the pipeline. With his wiry, muscular physique he was one of the best martinet figures since Lou Gosset in An Officer and A Gentleman.  

Overall, Avatar offers a great ride and a sumptuous setting, but if I were voting for the best movie, I’d be looking elsewhere.