Movie review - Avatar
This is the most expensive movie to date. A lot of high expectations were created. And the director James Cameron, who also did Titanic (another epic movie), Terminator 2 and Judgement Day, managed to live up to those expectations. The special effects are absolutely amazing. The planet Pandora, where the story is set, is colourful and beautiful beyond belief. It’s so spectacular, I’ve read reports of people getting depressed after seeing it, for not being able to ever visit Pandora.
The theme of the movie is a classic one, forbidden love. It starts when the paralyzed Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) comes to planet Pandora to help in a project his twin brother started. The natives, called the Na’vi, are of a different race, and the humans have managed to build some avatars looking exactly like them. Jake is to mentally control one, and learn more about their world. But as an ex-marine, the military commander asks him to tell him everything about the natives and their settlement too. His interest lies in a mineral worth a lot of money, which is only found on Pandora. The only problem is the native settlement is right on top of large quantities of this mineral. On the first mission Jake loses his team, and gets rescued by the Na’vi. The daughter, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) of the leader is assigned to teach him everything about them and their ways.
But then the question of loyalty arises. Does he choose his own people and his own body, paralyzed from the waist down. Or does he choose the natives, with his new healthy body, and the chief’s daughter. And will either side still accept him or label him as a traitor.
The story closely resembles that of Pocahontas. Foreign invaders trying to take over new land, without any respect for the natives. But then one of the invaders falls for the chiefs daughter and everything changes.
The movie has a little something for everyone. The perfect date movie too. It has plenty of action and special effects. With all the fighting between the humans and the natives and trying to escape and control the enormous animals (or monsters) on Pandora. The special effects are absolutely amazing, and the fact that everything is 3D only adds to the viewer experience. And then there is of course the romantic entanglement and the age-old question of loyalty. James Cameron really outdid himself and it will be hard to top this one, because the result is truly amazing!
