Avatar - A Review

On a blustery cold evening, the hubby and I decided to watch Avatar with my cousin and her fiance in Rhode Island. I was not very enthused about the idea because I had heard mixed reviews though some aspects of the movie were really hyped up and it has generally been my experience that the more the hype the more the disappointment plus the weather was such that you would want to sit indoors - so I just went along with the plan because the others were keen on it. Boy was I happy I did! Move over Robert Pattinson, hello Sam Worthington.

But first, the plot of the movie - simple story with some romance and action blended in. The flick is set in the planet Pandora, inhabited by the Na'vi. They have this rare mineral/metal aptly called 'Unobtanium'. A big Corporation run by humans is after this Unobtanium and will stop at nothing to get it. As a ploy to infiltrate the Na'vi, they have designed these 9-feet tall beings with human DNA blended in to look and act like the Na'vi. These beings called Avatars are controlled by the human mind and take on the 'driver's' personality. The movie starts with Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine who is offered his dead twin brother's spot to go to the planet Pandora and operate one of the Avatar's that can only be driven by him since he shares his twin brother's DNA. Thus begins the adventure. Jake Sully finds himself on the planet and befriends Neytiri, the daughter of the tribal chief after she saves his life in the forest. The Na'vi decide to teach Jake their way of life. As he is educated in the Na'vi way of life, he begins to start to empathize and identify with them rather than with the humans that want to destroy and take over the planet.

The story is simple and uncomplicated - the special effects out of this world (pun unintended) and mind-blowing. I would highly recommend that this movie be watched in 3D - if its an IMAX 3D combination, even better. Pandora has been painstakingly designed and developed by James Cameron and crew with great attention to detail - what with the plantation, the animals, the Na'vi characteristics (apparently they even developed a language for this movie), the mountains etc. James Cameron has revolutionized film-making for the ages and I read that he literally had to build tools and equipment to enable him to shoot this movie to match his vision. Here is a link to a youtube video that talks a bit more about the making of Avatar.

Regarding the cast and crew, the casting is spot on. Every one of the actors has been cast perfectly in their role. Sigourney Weaver does an able job as Dr. Augustine, the Research head of the project. She initially clashes with Jake but eventually becomes his biggest supporter. Zoe Saldana is an actress to watch out for. I have liked her since her Center Stage days. She does a great job as Neytiri. The chemistry she and Sam Worthington share is palpable. Again, initially she is not a fan of Jake Sully but eventually she falls in love with him. She has portrayed her character's disbelief at the betrayal when she finds out that Jake Sully is actually an infiltrator, with sensitivity and emotion. Now to comment on Sam Worthington - he is an actor who has been pulled from relative obscurity (he starred in a few Australian movies) and catapulted to world fame. He has the right attitude and defiance needed to pull off Jake Sully. You can feel his confusion as he starts to identify more with the Na'vi way of life and comes to stand as one with them. I loved the movie and the inherent message to stop the plunder of Mother Nature. The effects as I mentioned before are quite awesome. They have captured the mannerisms of the actors into the Avatar bodies to the T. All in all, my recommendation is 2 thumbs up - but watch in 3D.