A for "Avatar"

At the age of 22, after watching George Lucas’s “Star Wars”, director James Cameron was inspired to rise above Lucas’s special effects. Cameron had always been an avid science-fiction fan and began working his way up the Hollywood ladder building miniature spaceships for “Battle Beyond the Stars”. Within a matter of a few short years, Cameron earned a position as a director. While directing some of his earlier films such as “The Terminator” and “Titanic”, he became known for always pursuing “risky ideas” in cinema. This characteristic became true in his filming of “Avatar” as it took over 300 million dollars to make. However, “Avatar” was an idea Cameron had been brainstorming for over 12 years. Thus, to Cameron, “Avatar” was fully worth the risk.

Australian actor Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully, an ex-marine outsider who finds himself searching for a new identity throughout the film. He meets the Na’vi tribe on the moon of Pandora and falls in love with Neytiri, played by actress Zoe Saldana, while learning their way of life. There is not only a struggle within Jake’s personal identity, but also between worlds: the competitively hostile “real world” and Pandora’s incandescent “dream world” as both have contrasting end goals in the film. The valued relationships and strong bonds among the Na’vi tribe creates a loyal community atmosphere, while in contrast, the characters of the “real world” have power-hungry and machinegun-happy resolutions to any problems or obstacles they face in overtaking Pandora. Overall, the breathtaking scenery created by up-scale special effects makes this film excitingly unique, however, the storyline proves very much like a predictable fairy-tale.

“Avatar” exceedingly offers audiences heart pounding excitement and dazzling pictures. The cinematography is extraordinary. The glowing and illuminating aesthetics in this film bring forth a warm and serene mood throughout the dream world of Pandora. In addition, the 3-dimensional enhancements not only effectively place the audience in both worlds, but also bring each of the worlds’ surroundings alive: water looks like glitter and flies stick to the back of your neck. The close camera angles create an intimate relationship between the audience and the movie characters. The music of flutes, drumbeats, and whistles seems to move simultaneously with the feelings and movements of the characters, allowing audience members to feel empowered alongside the characters.

All of this combined makes this film even more realistic and compelling. Audiences step into the beautifully unknown yet highly imaginative world of Pandora involving brilliant colors and creativity, which makes audiences resistant to waking up from the “dream world”. Dr. Grace Augustine says it best when she advises Jake to “just relax and let your mind go blank”.

Aside from the beautiful lights and sounds this film portrays, the dialogue and computer-generated characters seem to touch merely on a surface level rather than a deeper level. The script was unoriginal following a similar storyline to Disney’s Pocahontas and the Avatars’ tight face expressions proved very inexpressionate and more creepy, making it hard to connect with both the character as well as the actor.

However, “Avatar” is still a “must see” in theaters for the full experience. By the end it comes down to machines versus nature and a cutthroat battle is fought between both worlds. Although the storyline was a bit of a disappointment, this film’s fast-paced, spiritual journey and magnificent luminosity is sure to capture the attention and compassion of audiences of all age groups. As Colonel Quaritch puts it: “You’re not in Kansas anymore. You’re on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen.”