Avatar is an amazing, mesmerising, stunning, beautiful, incredible film. James Cameron can give himself a huge pat on the back because this is movie making at its very best. I watched this at the cinema like many other people and I was stunned at the beauty of the film. It was my first 3D film, and if anyone hasn’t seen a 3D film yet, you must! Apart from wearing the 80p 3D glasses, which weren’t very comfortable, and my dad grabbing at all the plants that would look like they were jumping out at you, it was a great experience and worth it. Avatar has also become the highest grossing film of all time, surpassing the iconic Titanic, another one of James Cameron’s masterpieces. James Cameron began work on Avatar after Titanic, but the necessary technology to start filming wasn’t available.
The film is set in 2154, where humans are mining a very precious and expensive material called unobtanium. The origin of this material is on a Earth-like moon of Polyphemus, called Pandora. The atmosphere of Pandora is toxic to human, making them wear oxygen mask whenever they visit. Pandora is inhabited by a ten foot tall blue humanoid species know as the Na’vi, who live in peace and harmony with the nature and wildlife of Pandora, and they worship their mother goddess, Eywa. The scientists have produced a human-Na’vi hybrid known as the Avatar, which are controlled by a mental link from the human that is genetically identical. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, who is disabled, has replaced his murdered twin brother who was trained as an avatar operator. The reason for the Avatar is for research on the native Na’vi clan that live on a rich source of unobtanium. And like humans are, they want it for themselves. But above the rich source of unobtanium is the Home Tree, the Na’vi’s home. Jakes purpose is to infiltrate the clan and persuade them to move from their home, but to do that he must learn to become one of them.
The film is stunning to say the least. The special effects and visual effects are incredible and the scenery is mesmerising. Everything about this movie is perfect. The landscape of Pandora is a thing of beauty, from all the plants and animal species that light up the world with fluorescence, to the floating Hallelujah mountains of Pandora, to the tree of souls, to the seeds that float down from the trees. Similar to the landmark film, District 9, it shows a dark and greedy side to humans towards another species, they destroy the peaceful and tranquil world of Pandora just to cash in on the precious metal. It makes you think is that what we are really like greedy, destructive people. Sam Worthington has fast become one of my favourite actors, every movie I have seen in him he has given an incredible performance. From the Australian horror, Rogue, to Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation, and now one of his best roles as Jake Sully in Avatar. I will be looking forward to anything else he does. Another popular actress in the film is the legendary Sigourney Weaver, who can add another great alien flick to her list of films. Zoe Saldana also gave a moving and stunning performance as the main Na’vi protagonist Neytiri. All the actors and actresses all deserve recognition for the performances in the film.
And there is some really great news for fans of the film, James Cameron has officially stated that there will be a sequel to Avatar. But no date has yet been set. Itunes needs to start thinking about giving its UK customers HD films, Avatar is one film that needs to be seen in high definition. And even though Avatar lost out on the best film awards at the Baftas and the Oscars to The Hurt Locker, it is the best film I have ever seen.