The story of Avatar is familiar territory: during a time of war or unrest, an outsider from one “tribe” is welcomed into the enemy tribe, and soon finds himself siding with his former adversaries. Think Dances With Wolves. Think The Last Samurai. What sets Avatar apart is not the story itself, but the way in which it is told. This is a breathtaking ride of a movie.
Rumor has it that writer/director James Cameron spent fifteen years working on the epic film, which utilizes a hybrid of live-action and motion capture CGI to create the world of Pandora, home to the Na’vi people. Aussie Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation) is Jake Sully, the paralyzed marine who, through a sleep-induced brain transfer (or something like that), is able to stretch his legs in the body of a Na’vi male – his avatar. The mission: infiltrate the tribe and convince them to move their home. Why? Because it happens to be situated above the greatest deposit of magic space rock crystals known to man (or something like that).
Jake’s loyalty to the Na’vi is put to the test by the tall, sexy, and very blue Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana, fresh off her stint as the Spock-smooching Uhura in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot. Neytiri instructs Jake in all things Na’vi, and eventually his loyalty to the mission begins to disintegrate. This is all sort of predictable to a certain extent, but it is never boring. Cameron fills the screen with jaw-dropping vistas, exotic creatures, and nighttime scenes of bioluminescent splendor. And fear not, there is plenty of action. The final climactic battle proves that Cameron hasn’t lost his touch when it comes to crafting a good skirmish (Michael Bay could stand to take some pointers in this department).
Now, about the CGI…I was initially skeptical, and the slew of trailers, clips, and images online didn’t help. I couldn’t get around the fact that the Na’vi looked like cartoon characters. So you can imagine my relief when I realized, about halfway through the film, that it all holds up fairly well. Granted, there are moments where it is obvious that we are watching computer-generated characters, but the close-ups are flawless.
If I have a complaint, it’s that the environmental message of the movie is perhaps taken a step too far (FernGully: the Last Rainforest anyone?), but it doesn’t detract from the overall experience (it looks great in 3D, by the way).
