Monday Movie Review #9 - Avatar

There wasn't too much exciting releasing at the theatres this weekend, so I decided to see Avatar again to review it. I saw it back when it first released, and I was blown away, but I figured maybe a second go would allow me to be more critical.



When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.
Taken from IMDB.

The film features an all-star cast from Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, and Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine. Set on a distant planet, Pandora, Avatar is the story of our civilization's endless greed and conquest and another civilization's desire for basic survival. The Na'vi believe that Pandora has a life force that sustains them all, but the humans on Pandora are threatening their lives and homeland with relentless drilling. Dr. Grace Augustine created a series of Avatars to assimilate into the Na'Vi people, understand their ways, and convince them to leave peacefully, but the humans running the Avatars grow attached. They see the beauty of the Na'Vi ways, and they decide to help them at all costs.

Ok, as I said, this is the second time I've seen this, so I can finally organize my thoughts a bit better. I went in the first time not knowing what Avatar was about, but I'd seen the trailer and thought it looked incredible...not to mention all the hype surrounding this film. James Cameron, legendary director of Titanic brought this film to fruition. And, while I wasn't so much a fan of Titanic, I can honestly say I loved Avatar. It's a brilliantly tragic and heartfelt story, somehow merging reality and fantasy into a story and plot that is completely believable. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about blue people the first time I went to see this, but I can honestly say I wouldn't mind having an Avatar of my own!

I give Avatar a 5 out of 5 for the stunning visuals, amazing acting, and incredible portrayal of something I could never have imagined. The only thing I would have changed about this was the length...it is verrrrrrryyyyyyy long. I loved it, but I shouldn't have had a soda first! ;) Below is the trailer I first saw...the one that made me want to see Avatar, though I had no idea what it was about.