It was worth the wait

Rating: 9/10 (30 December 2009)

After 12 years with his success with Titanic, the great action director James Cameron is back with the long-waited Avatar. Avatar is the most expensive film ever made, a possible revolution in cinema technology and 3D, and a massive gamble for Fox studios who under Tom Rothman have become the laughing stock of Hollywood (Rothman himself is still derided and hated though). There was a lot of hype surrounding the film, and some feared that it would underwhelm audience, but luckily it didn't.
On the moon planet Pandora, the RDA corporation is trying to mine the planet for unobtainium, the most valuable resource known to man. The Na'vi tribes people, a tall, blue skinned, nature loving, cat like people, live on the abundant source of it. The Company is willing to use military force, led by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), a tough military man. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), a scientist wants to study the people and wildlife, and wants to use diplomacy to convince the Na'vi to move to a different site. She wants to win hearts and minds by educating the Na'vi. Here Jake Scully (Sam Worthington), a disabled former Marine, steps in. His twin brother had died, but he is a biological match to his Avatar, a genetically created Na'vi which human being could transfer their minds in. On a scientific mission Jake gets separated from the team and ends up meeting a native Na'vi, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña). He joins the tribe, starts to learn their ways, their love and link to nature and starts to fall for Neytiri. But Jake is stuck in a three way conflict between the military (who he promises to give them intelligence), the scientists who want to study the planet and befriend the Na'vi, and the Na'vi themselves which he gains their trust, and where his loyalties belongs.
The story is nothing too original, their are elements of films like Lawrence of Arabia and The Last Samurai where an outside becomes a member of close knit tribe, the Matrix with the idea of transferring your mind into another body and allows you to do extraordinary things and the Alien series where a company is responsible for aggressive action. The story and theme of colonisation in the film was properly influenced by America's actions in the Wild West against Native Americans, but to me it reminded me of the East India Company and colonisation in Africa where forming colonies was influenced by private business, not government action. James Cameron is an excellent writer and crafts a lot of different ideas and plot in an brilliant film. There are a lot of factions and themes which are well told and Cameron follows his old ideas of character development. His classics like the Terminator and Aliens were great because of the characters, not just the action. All the characters are interesting, my personal favourite was Neytiri but all were given a chance to shine. As well as the theme of colonisation, the Vietnam and Iraq wars much have influenced Cameron. Iraq because of a military invasion of a foreign people for a valuable resource, and because of Vietnam and Iraq because a technological superior force is outnumbered and in a foreign climate. The last theme is the idea of technology against nature and the balance of live. The Na'vi are linked to nature and it's a part of their culture and religion, whilst the humans just destroy nature without a care. A commentary about Global Warning in today's world? Cameron is follow the Gaia hypothesis where the world is a living being with everything being interlinked.
What James Cameron is truly great at is action, and of course action is some of the best ever put to screen. As an action film by itself Avatar is the best of 2009 (though District 9 and Inglorious Basterds were very good). You actually get to see the action, the camera follows it, not shaking about or too close so you can't see anything. It is well edited and just a join to watch compared to some modern action films. Cameron transfers you to another world. He creates a beautiful world with wonderful designs, and with great creature designs as well. It reminds me of King Kong (both the 1933 and 2005 versions). Cameron did put a lot of thought into the history and culture of the Na'vi as well. The CGI is fantastic and the 3D is brilliant. It was so well done that it added depth to the film, giving it a more hands on feel. However I think 3D life Avatar are going to be few and far between, with 3D mostly being the reserve of animated films and B-Movie horror.
There is a good cast, that goes without saying. Zoë Saldaña, Stephen Lang and Sigourney Weaver are of particular note of praise. Sigourney Weaver almost reminded of her role as Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist. Sam Worthington is clearly a star in the making, having stole the show in Terminator Salvation and now having the lead role in Avatar, I am looking forward to Clash of the Titans next year. It's also good to see Michelle Rodriguez career back on track.
There are some criticism of the film. First it's a bit too long, with a running time over two and half hours, and there are elements that could have been cut or shorten. Some of the dialogue was weak, and at times stated the obvious. I think Cameron was trying to come up with some more classic one-lines. And finally, as stated, some ideas and story elements were copied from other films.
Worth watching, and one of the most fun films I seen in the cinema for a whilst.