Director: James Cameron
Release Date: 2009
Running Time: 2hrs 42 minutes
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 12
Synopsis:
A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Set in the year 2149. Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique scientific mission. A mission originally meant for his twin brother Tommy. Naturally, because Jake shares the same DNA as his brother, scientist took it upon themselves to hire him in the hope that he can finish his brothers mission. One could argue that director James Cameron took the idea from Disney's Pocahontas. Although there are a lot of similarities, it is clear there are a lot of differences too. James Cameron took inspiration from several books including The Jesus Incident, Speaker for the dead and Winds of Altair. The story will undoubtedly take you on a spiritual journey.
Pandora Native, Neytiri really takes you on a spiritual journey. Understandably this is where audiences compare it to the likes of "Pocahontas" that of course is romanticised and not true to the original story. The natives believe in a source called Eywa, the source of every living this on their planet. The Na'vi are completely in tune with every little thing and creature. Their home reminds me of the tree in The Lion King, the circle of life as it were. Needless to say their planet is absolutely stunning, especially the floating mountains of Pandora. The special effects can become a little bit overwhelming at times, to the point you can't always focus on the storyline, because your so fixated on the visuals. One can only imagine how stunning this must be in 3D.
Sam Worthington's performance isn't awful, however it's not particularly amazing either. Jake Sully is supposed to be learning their ways, their language. The characterisation could honestly be a lot better, in terms of showing enthusiasm or curiosity towards the natives. One would think humans have come across a planet like this before? Sigourney Weaver's performance as Grace is good, her character reminds me of her character from "Aliens" coincidentally also directed by James Cameron. Is "Alien" and "Avatar" potentially set in the same Universe? No one can fault the work that has gone into this movie, particularly with set design and special effects. Spectacular.
Zoe Saldana delivers the most powerful performance as Neytiri. Her character will take you on a spiritual journey from beginning to end. This isn't just a science-fiction movie, it's also a story of friendship and courage. It's also about confronting and facing your enemies. The acting isn't the most spectacular thing about this film, but it's certainly up there. The special effects are ridiculous as it sounds really are remarkable. So much attention to detail. James Horner delivers a beautiful soundtrack, that's both action packed and emotional. It's clear that director James Cameron has favourites when it comes to his projects. James Horner also wrote the soundtrack to Titanic. There's never been a film on the scale of Avatar since it was made and I doubt until the sequel comes out that anything ever will match this!
4.5/5
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