Avatar
James Cameron's latest masterpiece will change cinema forever.
Release: December 16
Duration: 162 minutes
Rating: M (violence)
James Cameron’s science fiction-epic Avatar opens with Jake Scully (Sam Worthington), a retired and crippled US Marine, travelling to the distant moon of Pandora. Humanity has established a mining station on Pandora, and has encountered an intelligent species of life native to the moon, the Na’vi. The Na’vi have proven resistant to conversion to the human way of thinking, despite the scientists attempts to teach them English and offer them medicine.
In order to better communicate with the aliens, a scientist, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), has created genetically-engineered creatures called Avatars, vessels that resemble Na’vi and can be intellectually operated by a human. She attempts to use peaceful methods to convince the Na’vi to leave their sacred home so businessman Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) and mercenary colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) can mine a deep vein of rare mineral that runs beneath their home.
Scully, along with Grace and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), use these Avatars to learn the ways of the Na’vi, and unsuccessfully attempt to peacefully relocate them. When they refuse to leave, Quaritch orders a massive military strike against the natives, forcing Scully, the scientists and rogue pilot Trudy Chacon (Michelle Rodriquez) to protect the Na’vi way of life, with the help of alien princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña).
The story sounds familiar, doesn’t it? In fact, you could change the names around and it would be Disney’s Pocahontas to the letter (or even Kevin Costner’s epic Western, Dances With Wolves). There are no major plot twists in Avatar, little moral ambiguity: the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. The hero will almost certainly get the girl. Some of the more likable minor characters will probably die. The story is told in a linear fashion. No flashbacks, shock endings or other twists. It is your basic, vanilla plot.
But under James Cameron’s masterful direction, Avatar never strays into cliché. Running a tad under three hours, the film never once seems bloated, stretched, or boring. Every new story development flows perfectly into the next one. There are tears and laughter, joy and sadness, an epic adventure that can be shared by all ages. The narrative’s simpleness ensures this movie will remain timeless, much like classic adventures such as Star Wars or Lord of the Rings or even Cameron’s own The Terminator and Aliens. It is good versus evil at its very best.
Cameron’s action sequences are, as ever, brilliant. Taking a step back from the current trend of impossibly shaky cameras seen in Quantum of Solace or any Bourne film, the scenes serve to amaze a captive audience. A palpable, visceral sense of awe could be felt in the cinema as Scully dashed through the jungle, escaping from a giant, carnivorous, alien panther, or as Neytiri and Na’vi hunter Tsu’Tey (Laz Alonso) attacked a fleet of military helicopters on the backs of draconian birds. Like the plot, the action fits perfectly within the overall narrative, never seeming out of place, superfluous or exploitative.
Nature is a key theme in Avatar and, by god, the scenery is incredible. The entire jungle is computer-animated, and if I had not told you, you would have believed Cameron flew to an alien world and just set up a camera. Each plant, rock or log is exquisitely detailed, with nothing left untouched. Cameron did not shot the film in some forest outside the studio. During the story’s night-time sequences, every living organism, including the Na’vi, lights up with a bioluminescent glow, and you cannot help but share Scully’s wonder as he discovers plants that gently shine to the touch or the lizards that turn into floating lanterns.
Like the plants, the animals, including the Na’vi, are beautifully animated. As someone with a background in science, I was pleased to see the production encapsulate an entire ecosystem on Pandora. Small insects, scavengers, large herbivores and massive carnivores are all exquisitely detailed. Even if they only appear in the background, the viewer gets the sense that the jungle, nay, the entire world, is alive and real. Hands down, the Na’vi are the most photorealistic creatures ever created for the cinema. Their society too has been researched and detailed in the most specific way possible, yet, despite this research, the film is never bogged down by its stunning details.
As an overall narrative… Avatar works. It excites, entertains and creates an incredible spectacle, the likes of which have never been seen in cinemas before. Cameron does not preach a message; rather, he shows us an ideal, something to aim for in our quest to explore, evolve and find our place within the world. Ultimately, Avatar is pure exhilaration and will remain so for years to come.
