'Avatar'

In the wake of the release of the CGI-laced epic film "Avatar" on Dec. 18, 2009, speculation about the movie was rampant. Many good pieces have been written about the film, which was released in 2-D and 3-D, and worldwide, it has already grossed over $1 billion. That's a ton of money. The film is playing now at the Ronan Entertainer in 2-D, and when I went to see the 7:20 show last Thursday, the theater was pretty full, despite the film's long running time of 2 hours 40 minutes. The word is out, and after a huge advertising campaign that began in October, "Avatar" is reaping the benefits with its huge worldwide haul of money.

The film takes place in 2154 on a planet called Pandora in a world way different than ours today. An evil corporation from Earth is on Pandora to mine a valuable mineral called unobtanium on the planet, with complete disregard to the life on the planet. The planet is inhabited by a group called the Na'vi, a blue, tall, strong being. Part of the corporations efforts include using scientists to study the planet and its inhabitants. They have created something called an Avatar, which resembles a Na'vi, but is controlled neurologically by a human at a base. It is as if the controlling person is the Na'vi itself.

The scientists recruit Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralyzed ex-Marine whose identical twin brother was originally recruited to control the avatar. Because of his genetic make up, Sully is able to control the avatar, an expensive experiment to see if humans can integrate with the Na'vi. To top it all off, using the avatar Sully can walk and run again, an exhilarating experience for him. While he is working with the scientists, he is also being used by the military security force the mining corporation uses to get information on the Na'vi, and ways they can get the tribe to move from their home tree, which stands on a huge cache of unobtanium they hope to mine. As you can imagine, as Sully befriends and is welcomed into the tribe, he feels conflicted about his double agent status, and has moral and ethical qualms about what he is causing and doing.

What "Avatar" really is to me is a modern day, CGI-enhanced version of "Dances with Wolves" or "Pocahontas." The Na'vi are similar to Indians tribes, and the humans are the explorers, forcing their brand of life on a people while simultaneously destroying their culture and land. This angle is contrasted with the loner who sees the beauty in their culture and way of life, and learns to love everything about the place and the people. It's a tried and true format, and spend hundreds of millions of dollars on special effects and advertising, and James Cameron has created himself a movie that could end up the highest grossing film worldwide of all time. That itself is pretty incredible.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. It's not so much a movie as an epic, and at times drags because it is so long. There are multiple points where I thought it might end, but it continued on and on. The dialogue is a little corny at times, and the characters themselves are sometimes unintentionally funny, but the rest is well executed. The CGI, which I thought looked somewhat fake in the trailer, was exceptional; it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake in many of the beautifully shot scenes. And this is undoubtedly a movie to see in the theaters. The experience of watching with other audience members on a big screen with great sound is worth the price of admission.

"Avatar" is rated PG-13 for some sexuality, violence and language. It is now the #2 grossing movie world-wide, trailing only the James Cameron directed "Titanic" from 1997. Cameron now owns the two highest grossing films of all time which is incredible. I'll keep you posted on its position, but few believe it will surpass "Titanic."

7 out of 10 stars

Here's the trailer: