Avatar

Avatar

In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.

  • Released: 2009-12-10
  • Runtime: 162 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
  • Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi, Laz Alonso, Dileep Rao, Matt Gerald, Sean Anthony Moran, Jason Whyte, Scott Lawrence, Kelly Kilgour, James Patrick Pitt, Sean Patrick Murphy, Peter Dillon, Kevin Dorman, Kelson Henderson, David Van Horn, Jacob Tomuri, Michael Blain-Rozgay, Jon Curry, Julene Renee, Luke Hawker, Woody Schultz, Peter Mensah, Sonia Yee, Jahnel Curfman, Ilram Choi, Kyla Warren, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Kyle Dryberg, Larry Rew, Dina Morrone
  • Director: James Cameron
 Comments
  • ShipScrewUnscrewer - 27 June 2024
    More than just a masterpiece
    For me, Avatar is the greatest piece of Art ever created.

    Every frame exists for a reason, nothing is there by accident.

    The performances by Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are terrific. The performance capture system brings all the depth of their acting to the screen, and they make use of it. Not for a second do you doubt their perfomances as Jake, a soldier who is determined to brave every challenge and learning the Na'vi ways, and as Neytiri, a fierce warrior defending her homeworld.

    The supporting cast is awesome as well, with, among others, Laz Alonso giving a remarkable performance as powerful warrior Tsu'tey, Joel-David Moore bringing us the curious scientist Norm Spellman, industry legend Sigourney Weaver giving life to the seasoned scientist Dr. Grace Augustine, Steven Lang portraying the big bad Quaritch, and Michelle Rodriguez becoming good-natured pilot Trudy Chacon.

    The Special Effects in Avatar are impeccable. There was so much technology invented or refined for this movie, some by Cameron himself, like the performance capture system or shooting with a virtual camera system, which have revolutionized the industry.

    No one needs suspension of disbelieve for this film, because there is nothing that is unbelieveable. The fantastic acting, writing, CGI (courtesy of Weta FX) and sound design made sure of that.

    Thanks to this, Cameron lets us escape for about 2.5h to a world more beautiful than you could ever imagine, which is at the same time alien but also familiar.

    Cameron does not start the story at a point where the main protagonist, Jake Sully, is already acclimated to Pandora, but instead lets the audience share his journey from his arrival on Pandora until he feels at home there. Thanks to this, the viewer is invited to see Pandora not from the eyes of a Human, but from that of a Na'vi; the Humans are the real aliens in this film, and that makes the audience subconciously evaluate their actions more objectively than if we would identify with them.

    Throughout the film, Cameron maintains a perfect mixture of gripping action, deep emotions and wonderful scenes in the breathtaking pandoran environment.

    The Score by the late master James Horner is the best I've ever heard. Like with his other scores, he excels at writing recognizable themes for different characters/factions, with the RDA getting a violent theme full of metallic sounds, while the Na'vi and Pandora get a heroic theme that sounds like it was recorded with instruments you would find on Pandora, without drifting off into western stereotypes of tribal music.

    One reason why Avatar became the most successfull film of all time is the universality of it's story. Humans losing our connection with nature, as well as the damaging profiteering of megacorporations are something that everyone can relate to, be it in cinemas in the US, China or the Phillipines. This has made this movie a worldwide cultural phenomenon. No matter where I am in the world, I can talk to people about Avatar. Maybe they don't know it by name, but as soon as I say "the movie with the tall blue people", they know what I talk about.

    Avatar is still incredibly relevant, even 15 Years after its first release, with its core messages of environmentalism, anti-colonialism and overcoming our differences.

    I do not care what you are doing right now. Driving a Car? Operating a Nuclear Power Plant? Climbing Everest? Conducting open heart surgery?

    Stop it. Go Watch Avatar now. At least if you have never seen it before. Otherwise maybe finish the open heart surgery first.

    Then go on and watch Avatar: The Way of Water.
  • sherwoodbandit-1977 - 15 March 2024
    Not the Last Airbender...
    Avatar is like a video game. The visual effects are beautiful and it is much more entertaining when you are stoned. Sadly it is also like a video game that you don't get to interact with. It is entirely populated with cut scenes that you wouldn't really watch again after playing that level once. Like all James Cameron films, the attention to detail is unparalleled and the writing is terrible. Not sure who ever convinced him that he was a good screenwriter. His dialogue is always bad. The storyline lacks subtlety, and instead chooses to beat us over the head with its obvious message. He made two really strong casting choices in Sigourney Weaver as the proverbial Matriarch and Stephen Lang as the villain. They are always good and they essentially saved this from being a poorly acted mess. The visual effects are groundbreaking and paved the way for many CGI driven films over the past fifteen years. There is no questioning its greatness in that regard. I'm sure that and not its powerful message or performances are the primary reason for it being the biggest box office film of all time. I'd still take Endgame every day of the week and twice on Sunday.