Great Movie

Rating: 9/10 (15 January 2010)

James Cameron's newest film, Avatar, has already joined the ranks of being one of my favorite movies. It is not just a movie, but a complete cinematic experience that includes a great storyline, action, romance and mystery. The movie is roughly three hours long, but not one second was wasted in this film. Imaginations run wild, and creativity blossoms throughout this film. This is a movie I could watch over and over again.
The movie is located on a planet called Pandora, during the year 2154. Pandora is a tropical planet, that resembles a large rain forest, but with some differences. There are extreme waterfalls and floating mountains and the creatures that live on this planet are very dangerous and very different than animals on earth. United States military has set foot on this planet in search of a mineral that is very valuable on Earth. The movie begins with Jake Sully, who is the primary character of the movie. He is a paraplegic marine who has been recruited to take the place of his dead twin brother who was a scientist researching avatars. Avatars are human built look-a-likes of the Na'vi (people who inhabit Pandora). The Na'vi people are similar in appearance as a human being, except they are about ten feet tall, they have blue skin, and are muscular. Each avatar is built to match one specific human genetically. In this case, Jake Sully is a perfect fit for his twin brother. Each avatar is controlled by the human's brain and each avatar operator is left in a slumber while controlling their avatar. His job is to infiltrate the Na'vi people and diplomatically get them to leave their village, which rests on the largest deposit of the rare mineral on Pandora.
Having the ability to walk and run now, Jake finds himself really enjoying his avatar. This leads to him straying away from the other scientists, where he finds himself in a life threatening situation, at least to his avatar. He is saved by Neytiri, daughter to the leader of the Na'vi. This begins a series of adventures and encounters that grows a very strong relationship between Jake and Neytiri. The more Jake is around the Na'vi the more he begins to feel like one of them. He must go through all the steps to be accepted as a Na'vi. He eventually loses track of the mission at hand. As the story unfolds Jake begins to realize a strong connection between the planet and its inhabitants. When a diplomatic solution is not resolved, it leads to Jake having to decide between his own race and the Na'vi people.
The visuals of the movie are very stimulating. Although the movie is shown in 3D, it actually enhances the movie rather than hurts it. The land that is created by James Cameron is very creative and imaginative. The film sucks you into another world that is beautiful and mysterious. The love story that unfolds throughout the movie brings a human nature to the Na'vi people and also helps to connect the audience to the characters. The movie turns into a story of good versus evil, and you find yourself cheering on the Na'vi people. The many action sequences only enhance the experience by drawing you in even closer. Avatar is a great movie and a wonderful movie-going experience!