CINEMA: Avatar, part 2

More than 15 years in the making and reportedly the most expensive film ever made, Avatar is not so much the most eagerly awaited movie of the year as the most eagerly awaited movie *event*.

Director James Cameron does not do small or modest, his movies tend to be lavish affairs. They also tend to be overly long and a good half hour could have been shaved off the 161 minute running time without losing any of this film’s momentum or plotline. That said, what is actually up there on screen really is cutting edge stuff; 3D CGI takes you right to the heart of the alien world of Pandora giving you a ringside seat into the action. But this isn’t any old sci-fi movie, this is an eco-warrior sci-fi action movie, with a powerful message about the environment.

The unlikely hero of the piece is disillusioned paraplegic Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who agrees to take the place of his murdered scientist brother on a mission to Pandora, a planet with an environment hostile to humans but where a precious natural mineral is being mined.

Jake has no training for the mission but has something much more valuable — his DNA, which is a close enough match to his brother’s to enable him to link mentally with his ‘avatar’, a laboratory-produced clone combining the best of what is human with what is most useful from Pandora’s indigenous race, the Na’vi. When Jake links with his avatar not only can he walk once again but he can also run faster than he has ever done before and also communicate on a subliminal level with the planet and all its animals.

But Jake’s mission almost fails before it has begun when he becomes separated from Dr Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) on an exploratory trip into the heart of Pandora’s lush but lethal jungle and he is saved only by the intervention of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na’vi who believes he has been chosen for greatness.

Soon Jake is learning the ways of the Na’vi, communicating with its strange creatures and becoming less inclined to return to his human body. As Pandora’s strange marvels enchant him, he finds the damage being done to its fragile ecosystem by the mining company is at odds with his respect and growing love for the planet and its people, especially Neytiri, and he must make a decision about whose side he wishes to be on.

Don’t let the fact this is a ‘message’ movie (and Cameron isn’t exactly subtle about the message either) put you off because there is more than enough action here to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Jake gets chased by huge, ferocious beasts, rides a rather cool horse-like animal and even bonds with his own dragon-esque flying monster before he’s rallying the natives to battle the evil marauding off-worlders. Islands float in the sky, trees rise miles into the air and the local greenery becomes phosphorescent after dark. Every scene contains some new wonder, and being rendered in perfect 3D just adds to the ‘wow’ factor. Although the real life actors perform admirably enough, they’re not what audiences go to see this movie for — the special effects are the real star attraction.

Avatar is not a brilliant movie, it’s more an entertainment extravaganza; a glorious spectacle really pushing the envelope as far as special effects and 3D technology are concerned.

The number of 3D films out there is going to dramatically increase in the next few years and although Avatar is currently the benchmark for excellence, with the technology now advancing fast it won’t be long before something even more spectacular hits our screens. But until then sit back, adjust your special specs and prepare to be wowed.

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• CINEMA: Juno (Part 1)
• CINEMA: Max Payne, Part 2
• CINEMA: Doghouse, Part 2
• CINEMA: Kisses, Part 2
• CINEMA: Avatar