Avatar (2009 film) Dean sought damages of $50m. Dean's case was dismissed in 2014, and "The Hollywood Reporter" noted that Cameron has won multiple "Avatar" idea theft cases. "Avatar" received compliments from filmmakers, with Steven Spielberg praising it as "the most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since "Star Wars"" and others calling it "audacious and awe inspiring", "master class", and "brilliant". Noted art director-turned-filmmaker Roger Christian is also a noted fan of the film. On the other hand, Duncan Jones said: "It's not in my top three James Cameron films. ... [A]t what point in the film did you have any doubt what
Avatar (2009 film) the "Chicago Tribune" called "Avatar" "the season's ideological Rorschach blot", while Miranda Devine of "The Sydney Morning Herald" thought that "It [was] impossible to watch Avatar without being banged over the head with the director's ideological hammer." Nidesh Lawtoo believed that an essential, yet less visible social theme that contributed to "Avatar"s success concerns contemporary fascinations with virtual avatars and "the transition from the world of reality to that of virtual reality". Critics and audiences have cited similarities with other films, literature or media, describing the perceived connections in ways ranging from simple "borrowing" to outright plagiarism. Ty Burr of