You're no longer in Kansas.

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2010)

James Cameron's science-fiction epic is his first since his 1997 "Titanic", the biggest modern day blockbuster. AVATAR takes you beyond your wildest dreams. Special effects keep your eyes glued toward the screen. Cameron says that he has waited 15 years to let technology catch up to what he wanted to present. Four years of production and AVATAR gives us a whole new generation of cinematic experiences.
This movie takes place on Pandora, a human outpost light years away, where a rare mineral is being collected to help solve part of Earth's energy crisis. The atmosphere of Pandora is toxic, so the government has created an Avatar program that blends human DNA with that of Pandora's indigenous population called...the Navi. The program allows humans to become "drivers' of their own consciousness that is downloaded to an "avatar"...which is actually a hybrid remote-controlled body on Pandora. Jake, a wheelchair bound Marine(Sam Worthington)is given the chance to walk again(as an "avatar") as he takes the mission of infiltrating the Navi and convincing them to relocate so the government can mine the sought-after mineral below their communal home. Jake will form a strong relationship with his Navi teacher Neytiri(Zoe Saldana). Jake must make a choice of where his allegiance lies...will he become a traitor? Who's hero will he become? Or will he be a hero at all? Some, I'm sure, will take exception to AVATAR'S finale, which makes no apology to any religious conception. I'd like to think that Cameron chooses to please the most of the masses. Also in this busy cast are: Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Wes Studi, Matt Gerald, Laz Alonso and CCH Pounder. AVATAR is one of those movies not to be missed.