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Rating: 4 out of 5
The first time I saw Avatar was during Christmas when it first came out in theaters with my brother. I can tell you that my first impressions of the film weren’t too high. Actually, now that I think about it, I remember the special effects were significant, but the storyline was blah. I just remember sitting in my movie seat and thinking that I’ve seen the storyline before. That was why this film put me off, but I couldn’t remember what movie I saw the story from. I figured it out and will explain later on. After recently watching the James Cameron film, I am more than impressed with the special effects and the environment he created, but the story is still blah.
Avatar comes from the genius mind of James Cameron, who directed, wrote, produced, and co-edited the whole film. That is some significant dedication right there. Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for Avatar, drawing inspiration from “every single science fiction book.” You can probably sit and start pointing out the books and even films that were used. After a few years, Cameron made and introduced the world to Avatar.
In 2154, humans have depleted Earth’s natural resources, leading to a severe energy crisis. A valuable mineral called unobtanium is discovered on Pandora by the Resources Development Administration (RDA). Pandora is light-years away and is a densely forested habitable moon orbiting Polyphemus, a fictional gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. Pandora isn’t friendly to humans. Besides the monstrous animals and atmosphere that is poisonous to humans, it is also home to the Na’vi, a species of 10-foot tall (3.0 m), blue-skinned, sapient humanoids that live in harmony with nature and worship a mother goddess named Eywa. To explore Pandora’s biosphere, scientists use Na’vi-human hybrids called “avatars,” operated by genetically matched humans.
Pandora begins with a voiceover and the introduction of Jake Sully (Worthington). Sully is a paraplegic former Marine who replaces his deceased identical twin brother as an operator of one of the avatars. Sully is chosen because of his identical genetics. Corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge’s (Ribisi) intentions are to drive off the native humanoid “Na’vi” in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. Dr. Grace Augustine (Weaver), head of the Avatar Program, on the other hand, wants to learn more about the Na’vi and come up with a more diplomatic way of doing things. Colonel Miles Quaritch (Lang) promises Jake that the company will restore his legs if he gathers information about the Na’vi and the clan’s gathering place. The Navi meeting place is a giant tree called Hometree, which stands above the richest deposit of unobtanium in the area. After a botched protection, Jake meets the beautiful alien Neytiri (Saldana)and soon begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love. As time goes on, Jake must choose between the human life or side with the Na’vi and fight back against the corporation for the fate of Pandora.
Let’s get the negative about this film out of the way. As far as the storyline goes, it is pretty standard and actually one from another film. It took me a while to think of the film, and then I landed on Dances with Wolves. The whole premise of that movie and this movie are almost identical. The lead character in Dances with Wolves is a soldier that somehow ends up with a tribe of Native Americans. He slowly falls in love with one of the tribe women and then fights for them against the army he used to work for. The same thing applies here, and I think that is why I wasn’t too impressed with the film. It was the same story as that. Also, since the film draws on many other movies and books, you start seeing them more and soon realize that the story is somewhat unoriginal. Even with that, it’s not at all a significant knock against the film.
The film does touch on many themes. One theme is the idea of religion and spirituality. The NA’vi are a very spiritual species that believe in the gods and even have their sacred idol of the Tree of Souls, which I must say looks beautiful. I would lean more towards that the world of Pandora seems to run in perfect harmony of itself. As the great Mufasa said, “They are all part of the circle of life.” The Na’vi don’t kill anything that they don’t have to. The world seems to work with a perfect flow in the circle of life, and that the animal and planet must be respected at all times. This is shown when the animals were like, “We about to whip some ass for Pandora, “during the final battle scene.”
Another theme that is prominent in the film is the idea of Imperialism. In the sense of Imperialism, humans come to Pandora because the resources on their planet have been almost wiped out but also for a mineral that is worth more than the mind can think of. Greed sets the humans on this path, and since they want it, they are trying to get it any way possible. For militarism,
The highlight of the film is the special effects and CGI. Holy shit, were they out of this world literally and figuratively. If you are looking for some crazy animals along with a world that is never seen before, then this is the film. Here is some background that might make you say wow. When filming first started in the mid-90s, Cameron felt that the technology had not caught up with the story and vision that he intended to tell. He decided to concentrate on making documentaries and refining the technology for the next few years. That is a boss move right there to wait until technology catch up with your mind and ideas. Good thing he did wait because there are MANY movies out there with very shitty CGI and special effects. You can tell Cameron, and his crew put in a lot of time and effort into creating Pandora. First, the floating “Hallelujah Mountains” was a sight to behold. These are not just big ass rocks but mountains that float in the sky. How about the reptile-like flying creatures? Those were awesome to see, but I love them because there is always a more giant dude on the block and Toruk, ruled the skies. The overall environment is grand, and I feel like we only touched a small bit of the whole environment.
Another area that is great with this film is the whole concept around the Na’vi. Cameron called upon his Tolkien inspiration and created an entirely new culture and race of aliens. He had a linguist from USC develop a lexicon of about 1000 words, with Cameron adding around 30 of them. That is some crazy time and commitment but what Cameron created was a new world of blue species. Oh, they are blue because Cameron’s mother had a dream about a giant blue woman. You need to say thanks, mom. Also, where does the idea of coming up with a language come from? Does one just sit there and go, “I don’t like this language; I’m going to make one of my own.” Shit is crazy.
As for the cast, at the time, only a few were big stars. Cameron did a masterful job having people with little star appeal. He wanted to keep the budget down, and it definitely worked to the film’s advantage. The main star, Sam Worthington, as Jake Sully, played the disabled former Marine who becomes part of the Avatar Program after his twin brother is killed, very well. Worthington seemed like a great choice because he was unknown but seemed so down to Earth and real. Even though he couldn’t use his legs, he was still a soldier and prided himself on that. Yet, he had to choose between the people he learned about or the human race.
The primary character on the Na’vi side was Zoe Saldana as Neytiri. Saldana character is the daughter of the leader of the Omaticaya. Saldana was outstanding in her role because she was hard on Sully and knew a lot about her home, and it showed in her actions. Also, she was always at hand to tell Sully that he was an idiot.
One of my favorite actors is Stephen Lang. I first saw Lang in the film Gettysburg as General Pickett. In this role, he plays Colonel Miles Quaritch, the head of the mining operation’s security detail. As a soldier, he is the real deal. He is a military man and is consistent in his mindset. If it is not from Earth then it must be killed. The film also stars one of the Queens of Cinema and the Alien ass-whopping heroine Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine. You can always rely on Weaver to bring that tough-as-nails woman who plays zero games with people. Her character is an exobiologist and head of the Avatar Program. She becomes Sully’s mentor and an advocate of peaceful relations with the Na’vi. Also, I forgot that Michelle Rodriguez was in this film. I am so used to seeing her in the Fast and Furious series. In this film, she played Trudy Chacón, a combat pilot assigned to support the Avatar Program who is sympathetic to the Na’vi. If you ever need a tough woman, Rodriguez is always the great choice.
Avatar will always be a monumental achievement in CGI and special effects. Cameron knew what he was looking for and glad he waited years until the technology could catch up with his vision. The acting is spot on with the relatively unknown cast. The only downside to this film is the story. If you have seen Dances with Wolves, you have seen this movie, but don’t let that deter you from this movie. Go and explore the EPIC world of Pandora.
