Avatar

(James Cameron, 2009)

Avatar is a fantasy/sci-fi epic that takes place on Pandora, a lush, green planet where a humanoid alien race known as the Na'vi live in total harmony with nature. Humans want to get their hands on some of the valuable minerals contained beneath the planet's surface, but in order to do that, they need to relocate the natives. To gather intelligence and learn more about their culture, the U.S. military creates genetic Na'vi clones that can be controlled remotely by human soldiers using a neural link. When Jake Sully, a wheelchairbound Marine, infiltrates the Na'vi clan, he soon finds himself torn between two bodies and two opposing ways of life.

Cameron came up with a lot of original ideas for this film, but the story was not one of them. Although it was well put together, clean, and everything played out like clock-work, there was little originality to the plot. The film is essentially Dances with Wolves but with blue cat-like aliens. It's every video game you've ever played, ever steamy-action novel you've ever read, every plot line you've seen before in a big budget film. Is it well told? Absolutely! But with all the time and money Cameron put into it, I would expect him to tell an old story well. I get that he took a number of risks, so maybe asking for an original story was taking things too far.

Everything in Avatar is so beautifully detailed that it almost wouldn't matter if there were any story or dialogue at all. The 3-D effect was likewise so subtle and spot-on that you had a feeling of actually being there. In scenes that take place in the forest, you feel as if you can almost reach out and touch the foliage. When there is action on the screen (and there is a lot of action, I assure you), I can't imagine that you'd be able to sit still in your chair.

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